Q2. Why was the Wet Tropics World Heritage Listed?

Question 2 – Why was the Wet Tropics World Heritage listed?

It’s a really big deal when an area of the world becomes listed as a World Heritage site. A really big deal! In Australia, only 16 places are World Heritage Listed. In the entire world there are only about 812 World Heritage sites. Some of the ones you may have heard of include the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Amazon River in Brazil and the Grand Canyon in the United States.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) decides who gets World Heritage listing. You’ve probably heard of the United Nations, even seen what they do on the TV. But you may not know exactly what this notion of World Heritage is all about.

Basically, UNESCO is trying to identify, protect and preserve both cultural and natural heritage around the world that is considered of outstanding value to humanity. When they put it like this, you might be able to see why some people (like the Wet Tropics Management Authority) think it’s pretty special that the Wet Tropics is listed.

So, what are the reasons the Wet Tropics got the nod from UNESCO? What’s so good about our tropical rainforests? Did we get nominated for our cultural values or natural values? Or were we nominated for both? And, if the United Nations thinks World Heritage nomination is such a good thing, why were some people opposed to it (including the Queensland government and many timber cutters)? What are some of the supposed disadvantages of turning the Wet Tropics into a World Heritage area? Did anyone lose out in the whole deal? Finally, if people did lose out, then can we argue that overall the benefits of World Heritage listing outweigh the disadvantages?

Focus Questions

Why does the Wet Tropics deserve World Heritage listing?
This is an important question. It’s probably important to get an idea of firstly, why the Australian Federal Government decided to nominate the Wet Tropics for listing. Secondly, it’s important to understand the reasons why UNESCO listed the site. Activities 2.1 and 2.2 give you a chance to delve into the justification behind such a momentous decision.

What were some of the concerns over World Heritage listing?
It’s strange to think that while the Federal Government of Australia was pushing to get the Wet Tropics listed as a World Heritage site, the State Government of Queensland was strongly opposed to it! In fact, many different stakeholder groups, like the timber cutters, had a variety of concerns. Activities 2.3 and 2.4 will help you determine their worries.

Are you ready to start on the First Learning Activity? (2.1)