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Ayers Rock - World Heritage in Danger

Text of letter sent to the UN World Heritage Committee. In banning climbing of Ayers Rock Parks Australia and the Park Board risk having the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park removed from the World Heritage List.
Climbing route and lookout location in map submitted with the 1987 World Heritage Nomination.

 Ms Mechtild Rössler
DIRECTOR OF THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE CENTRE
World Heritage Centre
UNESCO
7, place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP
FRANCE

RE: WORLD HERITAGE IN DANGER: CLOSURE OF ULURU/AYERS ROCK CLIMB BREACHES WORLD HERITAGE LISTING 

Dear Ms Rössler,
In 1987 the Australian Government nominated Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park for the World Heritage List based on its outstanding Landscape values. The nomination was accepted by the UNWHC and the site was proclaimed a WORLD HERITAGE SITE in 1987.

World Heritage sites are places that are important to and belong to everyone, regardless of where they are located or who owns the land on which they occur. They are an irreplaceable legacy that the global community wants to protect for the future.

One of the reasons the Park was nominated and the UN accepted the nomination in 1987 was the outstanding views available from the summit of Uluru. The nomination states[1]:


Justification for listing the site emphasized the outstanding natural scenery available in the Park:

The spectacular views of Mt Connor and the distant ranges mentioned in the nomination are not visible from ground level and only visible to visitors by climbing to the summit of Uluru/Ayers Rock.
The practice of climbing to the summit is a long established tradition of local Aboriginal land holders and international visitors. Since the area was first protected as a National Park in 1958 over 7 million visitors have experienced the joy, wonder and exhilaration of the Climb and the remarkable views over the desert it provides. The Climb is truly an international iconic experience and the views it reveals are clearly protected under the World Heritage Listing.

In November 2017 the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board gave notice that the Climb to the summit of Uluru/Ayers Rock would be banned for subjective reasons outlined in the management plan that have been shown to be deeply flawed and have not been met [2]. The ban along with the threatened removal of the safety chain, summit monument and 5 memorial plaques (currently being nominated for Australian Heritage Register) will effectively destroy the values identified in the World Heritage Listing. Along with the loss of the outstanding landscape values the ban will also result in significant loss of historical authenticity and long established cultural values and practices of both visitors and Traditional Owners.

The inconsiderate actions of Parks’ Administrators and the Australian Government is threatening the World Heritage Values of the Park. I request the UNWHC add the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to its list of World Heritage in Danger. 

Under the 1972 World Heritage Convention, a World Heritage property - as defined in Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention - can be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger by the Committee when it finds that the condition of the property corresponds to at least one of the criteria in either of the two cases described in paragraphs 179-180 of the Operational Guidelines.
The threatened ban on access to the summit of Uluru/Ayers Rock meets the following criteria for Sites in Danger:
For cultural properties
Ascertained Danger
The property is faced with specific and proven imminent danger, such as:
  • significant loss of historical authenticity
  • important loss of cultural significance.
For natural properties
  • modification of juridical status of the property diminishing the degree of its protection;
  • the management plan or management system is lacking or inadequate, or not fully implemented.

Clearly the Australian Government is failing to live up to its duties in protecting the unique World Heritage values of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The Park needs to be added to the Danger list to help raise awareness of the destruction of World Heritage values currently taking place.

If a site loses the characteristics which determined its inscription on the World Heritage List, the World Heritage Committee may decide to delete the property from both the List of World Heritage in Danger and the World Heritage List. It would be a great shame if the poorly thought through management actions of the current Park administration allowed this to happen.


Regards
Marc Hendrickx 



[1] Nomination of Uluru (Ayers Rock – Mt Olga) National Park for inclusion on theWorld Heritage List. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service 1986.

[2] A Guide to Climbing Ayers Rock – Marc Hendrickx. Connor Court Publishing 2018



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