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.
It is our great pleasure to formally announce the appointment of Jane Powles as our CEO. Jane brings an impressive skill set, experience and background to the role, including executive leadership, policy development and advocacy in a range of for-purpose organisations. Jane comes with a strong passion for working collaboratively to drive change for a more just, equitable and sustainable world and is looking forward to supporting conservation efforts in the region.
After 2 years of teaching online, we are thrilled to once again be able to offer our field-based course on Applying the Conservation Standards.
From 12th -16th September 2022 we will be hosting conservation professionals from across Australia and the Asia-Pacific at the Katoomba Convention Centre for a 5 day intensive, collaborative learning experience in residence and in nature. Registrations of interest are now open, with enrolments closing at the end of July.
In late 2020, the Protected Areas Collaboration for Learning & Research (PAC) was established as a joint venture between the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute and the Tasmanian Land Conservancy. In 2021, The Nature Conservancy also joined the venture through a Memorandum of Understanding. A comprehensive update on the activities and initiatives of the PAC joint venture can be viewed here: https://www.bmwhi.org/protected-areas-collaboration
The Institute is pleased to support the release of the independent documentary ‘Mining the Blue Mountains’ by filmmaker James O’Connor, investigating mining pollution in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area.
The film features Dr Ian Wright, a BMWHI research associate and WSU water scientist who has been studying pollution from mines and the related impact on waterways in the World Heritage Area for over ten years.
Covid-19 has changed Australia’s focus, but it hasn’t changed the fact that flora, fauna and whole ecosystems are still struggling to recover from the summer wildfires that affected over 800,000 hectares of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and the torrential rainfall that followed immediately after.
BMWHI is grateful to the following organisations who are supporting our monitoring, impact assessment, recovery and communication efforts through these challenging times.
The Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute has established an exciting education and training partnership with the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority of Papua New Guinea, funded by the United Nations Development Program.
Through this partnership, BMWHI will deliver a capacity building program to help train customary landowners and CEPA to effectively manage the network of protected areas in Papua New Guinea.
We are pleased to reassure all concerned that the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute (BMWHI) is unlikely to face any major financial or operational crises in relation to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
However, BMWHI is making a few operational adjustments.
BMWHI staff and contractors will all be working online from home for the foreseeable future and we are scaling back our fieldwork.
On Clean up Australia Day 2020, staff and volunteers from BMWHI and Scenic World will join the Blue Mountains City Council and the Garguree Swampcare group in a clean up of the Maple Grove Park area next to Katoomba Falls.
This will involve more than picking up rubbish, we will also be weeding and conducting general remediation to help swamp conservation. All interested members of the community are encouraged to join us and support the excellent work of Swampcare.
Dr John Merson and Dr Rosalie Chapple have been invited to represent BMWHI and the Australian Committee for the IUCN in a series of ministerial roundtables reviewing the impacts of bushfires on Australian world heritage sites.
Chaired by Environment Minister Sussan Ley and including the Threatened Species Commissioner, Dr Sally Box, these roundtables are helping shape the federal government’s wildlife and habitat recovery strategies.
Approximately 80% of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area has been affected by wildfires and it’s possible that more fires will follow before the season ends. However, the situation may not be a total catastrophe.
Fire has not burnt through all places equally and the impact may not be as severe as we previously thought. In several fire affected areas, the canopy was spared and we are seeing promising signs of recovery and refugia as more data become available.
The past year has been one of rapid expansion for the Institute, including internationally. It has also been a year of growing concern about the increasingly vulnerable state of wildlife and ecosystems under climate change.
The fires have come at a time of rising public concern about the impacts of urban developments in Western Sydney and the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall. These concerns increase the urgency of the Institute’s work in engaging science, Indigenous knowledge, local communities and government.
We knew this was coming. We’ve known for many years about the impacts of climate change, the danger of growing fuel loads and the increasing threat of fire. It was only a matter of when.
But it’s still a shock to see enormous, out of control wildfires rage so suddenly and so powerfully, burning through hundreds of thousands of hectares of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area in a matter of days.
