New Flight Paths: Potentially significant impacts on wildlife of the Greater Blue Mountains Area.

Following an extensive review of the Environmental Impact Statement on the Flight Paths, we believe there may be significant impacts on the GBMWHA’s biodiversity, Integrity and cultural values.

As we wrap up the year, I’d like to share with you our Annual Report where we reflected on a transformative year for the Institute.  To assist us in delivering this mission we welcome two local experts in their field, Dr Lindsey Gray as Research Program Manager and Ms Julie Bishop in the role of Marketing and Communications Manager.

We are delighted to announce two new job openings that will play a pivotal role in our mission to protect the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. We are actively seeking candidates for the positions of Research Program Manager and Marketing & Communications Manager.

The Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute wholeheartedly supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart, including the call for a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution, Treaty, and Truth-telling. 

We acknowledge and deeply respect First Nations people as the original Traditional Custodians of the land and waters of Australia, recognising their sovereignty that was never ceded. We believe that a Voice to Parliament is a vital step towards recognising this in our nation's founding document and our laws.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is gearing up to host its much-anticipated 21st General Assembly and Scientific Symposium in Sydney August 31 - September 9. The overarching theme, "Heritage Changes," is a clarion call to examine the dynamic shifts shaping the 2020s and the pivotal role heritage plays in driving positive change and fostering a sustainable future. Find out more here.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) and the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute (BMWHI) are working on a shared research agenda designed to address the vulnerability of the site and focus on building ecosystem resilience in the face of multiple pressures such as Climate Change, Fire and Biodiversity Loss. This research agenda reflects a shared commitment to better manage, protect and promote the natural and cultural values of the Greater Blue Mountains through collaborative research that builds and integrates multiple knowledge bases and enables adaptive management. Find out more here.

The growing collaboration between NPWS, BMCC and the Institute aims to optimise existing and future efforts to protect, manage, and appreciate the GBMA, and to demonstrate impact through measurable outcomes based on protecting the Outstanding Universal Values. This includes focussing on current issues while anticipating future needs and threats. It also means setting up systems that drive reliable interagency engagement and innovation

This month's newsletter covers our community engagement efforts, plans for a collaborative research agenda, evidence-based positions on conservation, and an upcoming field trip for Master's students studying large-scale conservation in practice. Read our Newsletter here

Fuelled by evidence that the planet is entering its sixth mass extinction event, global leaders from 196 countries committed to 23 targets to stem this tide of extinction.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to address biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems and protect Indigenous rights, and includes concrete measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including putting 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030.

The full Framework and Targets can be read here

Vale Dr Haydn Washington - All of us at the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute are deeply saddened by the recent passing of Haydn Washington. Haydn was Research Manager for the Institute for a period of time and since the Institute’s inception has been a pivotal collaborator. He co-facilitated a workshop on varied perceptions of ‘wilderness’ with a focus on Indigenous perspectives, and later joined our teaching team in the Master of Environmental Management at the University of NSW, where he expanded his work in academia. Haydn was a person who felt deeply and passionately in his tireless work to protect the natural world and his presence is sorely missed.

IUCN DG Bruno Oberle addresses the plenary at UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP 15

“COP15 offers a unique, once in a lifetime opportunity to set a clear path towards a nature-positive society and economy by 2030. For this to happen, we must secure a bold, ambitious yet practical Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework here in Montreal.”

The full IUCN Statement is available here. 


Ever wonder why the Blue Mountains are regarded as World Heritage? Now is your chance to find out while having some fun too.

Scenic World and the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute are celebrating the anniversary of the Blue Mountains being globally recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site by hosting two guided tours on 3 December 2022 at Scenic World.

The Reimagining Conservation Forum - Working Together for Healthy Country, will be held in Brisbane from Nov 2nd - 4th, 2022. This First Nations-led Forum brings together First Nations leaders and practitioners involved in the policies and practices of land and sea management across Australia.

A video is now live on the critical post-fire monitoring project we are conducting in the Grose Valley region of the Blue Mountains. A diverse team of hydrologists, geomorphologists and ecologists is collecting data and modelling scenarios to inform remedial actions and fire preparations.

In Dec 2021 the public was invited to hear cultural ecologist David Abram in conversation with the leading voices of Australia’s First Peoples as they explored our place in the more-than-human world. The video recording of each webinar is now available to view.

Scenic World and the Institute are committed to collaborating to continue the ecological monitoring program in the Jamison Valley, below and around Scenic World, and contributing to ecological data sets for the benefit of science and the public.

We’re pleased to report that our iNaturalist project, capturing observations of flora and fauna across the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, surpassed 50,000 observations of over 4000 species in January 2022, thanks to over 2,000 citizen scientists.

In December 2021 the Institute held a workshop to demonstrate the first development iteration of our Upland Swamps decision support system. The workshop engaged end-users in prioritising early-warning and decision-making needs for future platform development.

This NAIDOC week we declare our support for the theme Heal Country! and reaffirm our commitment to learning from and working with the traditional owners of the lands on which we work and live. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and that it Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal land.

Our e-newsletter for May 2021 is available to view online: BMWHI May 2021 Update. Our May e-newsletter contains news and activity updates from earlier in 2021 as well as a glimpse at what events are to come. To sign up to receive our newsletter, please visit: https://www.bmwhi.org/newsletter