The Natural Attributes for World Heritage Nomination of Cape York Peninsula, Australia
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The natural attributes for World Heritage nomination of Cape York Peninsula, Australia 9 April 2013 Editors: Valentine, P.S., Mackey, B. and Hitchcock, P. Authors: Hitchcock, P., Kennard, M., Leaver, B., Mackey, B., Stanton, P., Valentine, P., Vanderduys, E., Wannan, B., Willmott, W. and Woinarski, J. Table of Contents Section Page Author affiliations 2 Preface 3 Overview of Outstanding Natural Attributes of Cape York Peninsula 4 Section 1 Tropical Savanna Landscapes 6 Section 2 Aquatic Ecosystems and Freshwater Biodiversity 10 Section 3 Rainforest Ecosystems 15 Section 4 Continental Scale Biological Bridge 19 Section 5 Coastal Aeolian Dune Systems 23 Section 6 Bauxite Landscape 27 Section 7 Development of Scleromorphy 29 Conclusion 35 Acknowledgements 35 References 36 Author Affiliations Valentine, P.S., School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University. Mackey, B., Director, Griffith Climate Change Response Program, Griffith University. Hitchcock, P., OC Consulting, Cairns. Kennard, M., Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University and National Environmental Research Program, Northern Australia Hub. Leaver, B., Ashley Fuller Associates, Coolagolite. Stanton, P., Ecological Consultant. Vanderduys, E., Ecosystem Sciences, CSIRO. Wannan, B., Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland Government, Cairns. Willmott, W., Chelmer, Brisbane, Queensland 4068. Woinarski, J., Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University. 2 Cover photos clockwise from top left: Tropical savanna grasslands with termite mound (K. Trapnell), threatened wetland orchid Spathoglottis plicata (B. Wannan), coastal wetlands (K. Trapnell), yellow-billed kingfisher (P. Valentine). Preface This statement of the outstanding natural attributes of Cape York Peninsula that address world heritage criteria was prepared by an Independent Scientific Expert Panel. The panel was convened by the Australian Government in response to long-standing recognition of the outstanding qualities and potential world heritage attributes of Cape York Peninsula (IUCN 1982; Mackey et al. 2001; Valentine 2006). This Panel was commissioned to produce a succinct statement about the outstanding natural heritage attributes of Cape York Peninsula that could support a world heritage nomination. The Panel’s statement draws upon the many decades of experience, research and expertise of its members (and many others), many of whom were involved in earlier reviews and assessments. The Panel met for a two-day workshop to clarify and describe the particular natural heritage attributes that are likely to meet world heritage criteria, thereby forming the basis of a nomination. The workshop, held on 9-10 October 2012 concluded that there are a series of key natural attributes likely to have outstanding universal value in terms of the World Heritage Convention criteria. Using data from numerous sources the Panel identified seven major attributes that should form the basis of a nomination for world heritage listing. Maps were subsequently developed that reflected the geographic locations and extent of these outstanding attributes and that provided a basis for identifying the specific boundaries for a nomination. Figure 1 Rainforest shrouded river snakes its way towards coastal lagoon through savanna woodlands. (K. Trapnell) The seven particular natural attributes that were identified and recognised by the Panel to be outstanding are: (1) tropical savanna landscapes; (2) aquatic ecosystems and freshwater biodiversity; (3) rainforest ecosystems; (4) Cape York Peninsula as a continental scale biological bridge; (5) coastal aeolian dune systems; (6) bauxite landscapes; and (7) the development of scleromorphy. Each of the seven focal attributes contributes to one or more of the four criteria in the World Heritage Operational Guidelines for evaluating natural heritage: (vii) contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance; (viii) be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features; (ix) be outstanding examples representing significant on- going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals; and (x) contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of Outstanding Universal Value from the point of view of science or conservation. 3 Overview of Outstanding Natural Attributes of Cape York Peninsula Tropical savanna landscapes dominate and characterize the ecological matrix of Cape York Peninsula. Their integrity, extent, biodiversity and connectivity provide the underpinning for the region’s other biodiversity values. The Australian tropical savannas provide the World’s most significant representation of the biome, because they are far less modified and degraded by human impacts than comparable examples on other continents, and this intact state is likely to be enduring. In an Australian context, the tropical savannas of Cape York Peninsula are pre-eminent due to their intrinsic diversity and the extent to which their biota has been maintained. These vast natural landscapes are on a scale sufficient to: maintain and foster ongoing evolutionary processes and ecological functions; retain viable populations of their many endemic and threatened species; and provide protection to maintain the integrity of the rich diversity of other habitats embedded within or abutting them. Cape York Peninsula features an outstanding range of aquatic ecosystem types – including estuaries, rivers, lakes, palustrine wetlands, soaks and water holes, riparian strips, ground water systems - that are shaped and sustained by the movement of water through the landscape and in many cases by ground water discharge through the monsoonal dry season. Unlike many areas of the world, aquatic ecosystems of Cape York Peninsula are extensive and have exceptional ecological integrity. They support a diverse and unique variety of aquatic, riparian and terrestrial biodiversity (and provide a robust refuge for many globally threatened species), with natural flow regimes, and relatively intact riverine landscapes. Cape York Peninsula has extensive areas of outstanding tropical rainforest of regional and global bioclimatic distinctiveness. The biogeographic and evolutionary significance of these ecosystems is evident from the significant interdigitation of rainforests with other vegetation communities, forming a complex landscape matrix which maintains the ecological and evolutionary processes across extensive geographic areas. They are also the pathway by which there has been, and continues to be, an exchange in both directions of Asian and Australian rainforest biota. As well as many endemic species (10 vertebrates, more than 220 plants), the Peninsula rainforests contain many species which occur only on Cape York Peninsula (in Australia) but are shared with New Guinea (20 vertebrates, more than 100 plants). For over 15 million years, Cape York Peninsula has been the main and most enduring part of a globally significant biological bridge between the unique post-Gondwanan biota of the rafting Australian continent and the rest of the world. Isolated for 50 million years, the biota of Australia developed distinctive characteristics, which have subsequently contributed to global biodiversity in unique ways. Of great significance has been the development, within the isolated Australian continent, of the ancestors of all the songbirds of the world (the oscine branch), which then spread to Asia and the rest of the world some 15 million years ago. The bridge has also facilitated the mixing of the Australian and Asian biotas; seen north and south of Torres Strait. Cape York Peninsula provides a continuing biological bridge between Australia and Malesia/Asia as well as a symbol of the mixing of unique post- Gondwanan biota of Australia with the rest of the planet. The extensive Cape York Peninsula silica sand dune systems are a distinctive and dramatic illustration of large aeolian coastal dune complexes formed by the interaction of a major barrier reef system, ice- age sea-level fluctuations and reworked regionally derived siliclastic sediments. These spectacular landforms meet several key themes for world heritage including coastal systems (the role of water at oceanic margins on large-scale erosional and depositional coasts); ice ages (global patterns of continental icesheet expansion and recession, isostasy, sea-level changes and associated biogeographic records); and arid and semi-arid desert systems (land systems and features reflecting the dominant role of wind - aeolian processes - and intermittent fluvial action as agents of landform development and landscape evolution). Within the active dune system are hundreds of shallow freshwater lakes providing a distinctly significant environmental complex. The dune fields are in a relatively natural state over much of the area and these dune fields are outstanding and rare examples 4 of tropical dune systems, with geological/geomorphological conservation values of international significance and occur on a scale unusually large for the humid tropics generally. It is one of the few places in the world