On Thursday 13 February 2020, Federal Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley invited ecologists, heritage experts, Indigenous land managers and community representatives to attend a ministerial roundtable at Parliament House to review the impacts of bushfires on Australian natural and cultural heritage sites, and to assist in identifying effective recovery strategies.
Dr John Merson, BMWHI Executive Director, was invited to speak on the impacts on the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and Dr Rosalie Chapple, BMWHI Education Program Leader, was also invited to participate in her capacity as a representative of the Executive of the Australian Committee for the IUCN.
Six of Australia’s World Heritage listed properties have been affected by the fires, including 80% of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area and approximately 50% of our ancient Gondwana rainforests, plus a number of Indigenous cultural heritage sites.
Discussions are currently taking place between the federal government and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre regarding the impact of the fires on Australian World Heritage sites and further advice will be provided to UNESCO once detailed field assessments can be completed.
Amid the devastation to our World Heritage sites, there have also been some positive rescue stories including the successful effort to save the ancient Wollemi pines in the Blue Mountains, the protection of the rare Nightcap Oak and other endangered species in the Gondwana rainforests, and the revealing of undiscovered elaborate sections of ancient stone-lined channels in the World Heritage listed Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in southeast Victoria. While more than 60% of the newly listed Budj Bim was affected by fire, these were relatively low intensity burns.
Thursday’s roundtable was one of a series of discussions Minister Sussan Ley is chairing with experts from environmental NGOs, land managers and leading environmental scientists to help shape the federal government’s wildlife and habitat recovery strategies.
This Monday 17th February, Dr John Merson attended another roundtable with Minister Ley and Australia’s Threatened Species Commissioner, Dr Sally Box, at the University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury Campus. The purpose of this localised meeting was to receive more specific feedback about the environmental impact of the fires on the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury regions, to help inform region-specific recovery interventions.
More information:
https://minister.awe.gov.au/ley/media-releases/experts-review-bushfire-damage-to-heritage-sites
https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/bushfire-recovery/research-and-resources