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World Heritage status for Burrup another step closer

Alicia PereraPilbara News
Rock art on the Burrup Peninsula.
Camera IconRock art on the Burrup Peninsula. Credit: Pilbara News, Alicia Perera

A submission for the Pilbara’s Burrup Peninsula to be added to Australia’s World Heritage Tentative List has been given the nod by State and Territory Environment Ministers from across the nation.

The submission for the site’s addition to the list, which indicates which nominations Australia intends to pursue in coming years, is expected to be formally submitted to the Federal Government after being endorsed at the Meeting of Environment Ministers last Friday.

The Federal Government would then determine whether the submission should be progressed to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for formal consideration for World Heritage status.

Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said the submission’s approval at the meeting was a great result for the State Government and Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, which had been working together to prepare it for the past year.

“The addition of an area to Australia's World Heritage Tentative List is the first required step in the World Heritage nomination process, as a nomination will not be assessed until it has been on the Tentative List for at least 12 months,” he said.

“We will continue to work in partnership with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and in collaboration with the Australian Government and stakeholders to ensure the success of the nomination.”

Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Peter Jeffries said it was exciting news that environment ministers from across Australia had agreed that the Burrup should be added to the Tentative List.

The Burrup, or Murujuga, is home to more than a million Aboriginal rock carvings between 200 and 50,000 years old and has long been the subject of a campaign for World Heritage listing.

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