Conservation Status and Map
Conservation groups’ national park proposal 2021:
Conservation groups including Friends of the Great Western Tiers kooparoona niara, the Wilderness Society and the Tasmanian National Parks Association have put forward an updated plan for a kooparoona niara (Great Western Tiers) National Park and extended Mole Creek Karst National Park. This proposal was part of a submission regarding the status of designated Future Potential Production Forest (FPPF) in the World Heritage area.
A detailed map showing the areas proposed for national park by conservation groups (Friends of Great Western Tiers kooparoona niara, the Wilderness Society and Tasmanian National Parks Association ) in 2021 can be viewed here:
Detailed map of the two national parks proposed by conservationists in 2021
The areas shown on the map in blue with crosshatching were up to very recently classified as Future Potential Production Forest (FPPF) with World Heritage status. These areas were given FPPF status after their World Heritage listing. FPPF is not a statutory land classification and the body administering World Heritage, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recommended that these areas be given national park status. The Tasmania State government has made them Conservation Areas, a lesser status which allows resource extraction. In a recent public consultation process, 97% of submissions called for these areas to be made national park. The public submission process was a farce, with the Tasmanian government ignoring the public submissions.
The conservation groups’ proposal encompasses all the World Heritage listed forested escarpment and adjoining plateau, as well as important areas to the east which are not in World Heritage. The Mole Creek Karst National Park already exists in fragmented form. The conservation groups’ proposal extends this existing national park as well as calling on the remaining areas of the escarpment and adjoining plateau to be given National Park status (kooparoona niara Great Western Tiers National Park). Much of the area is classified by the State Government as Conservation Area, a lesser category which allows resource extraction, contrary to the requirements of World Heritage. Given that most of the proposed area is already World Heritage and thus not available for resource extraction, there should be no impediments to revising the tenure to national park.
World Heritage Areas Should be National Parks
The Tasmanian reserved land classes (Nature Conservation Act 2002) are described in Table 1 below. In Conservation Areas “the sustainable use of the natural resources of that area of land including special species timber harvesting” are allowed.
The management objectives for Conservation Areas, as described in the National Parks and Reserves Management Act 2002 Schedule 1, are more explicit than the Nature Conservation Act with respect to allowed uses. They include:
… (e) to provide for the controlled use of natural resources including special species timber harvesting, and including as an adjunct to utilisation of marine resources;
(f) to provide for exploration activities and utilisation of mineral resources;
(g) to provide for the taking, on an ecologically sustainable basis, of designated game species for commercial or private purposes, or both…
The management objectives for Regional Reserves include:
(a) to provide for mineral exploration activities and utilisation of mineral resources;
(b) to provide for the controlled use of other natural resources including special species timber harvesting…
These provisions might allow, for instance, Pencil Pines to be logged and carried out of the World Heritage Central Plateau Conservation Area. Mining is allowed in Conservation Areas and Regional Reserves.
Table 1: Tasmanian Nature Conservation Act 2002, Version current from 27 November 2023 (accessed June 2024)
| Class of reserved land | Values of land | Purposes of reservation |
| National park | A large natural area of land containing a representative or outstanding sample of major natural regions, features or scenery. | The protection and maintenance of the natural and cultural values of the area of land while providing for ecologically sustainable recreation consistent with conserving those values. |
| State reserve
|
An area of land containing any of the following:
(a) significant natural landscapes; (b) natural features; (c) sites, objects or places of significance to Aboriginal people.
|
The protection and maintenance of any one or more of the following:
(a) the natural and cultural values of the area of land; (b) sites, objects or places of significance to Aboriginal people contained in that area of land; (c) use of the area of land by Aboriginal people – while providing for ecologically sustainable recreation consistent with conserving any of the things referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), as applicable. |
| Nature reserve
|
An area of land that contains natural values that –
(a) contribute to the natural biological diversity or geological diversity of the area of land, or both; and (b) are unique, important or have representative value. |
The conservation of the natural biological diversity or geological diversity of the area of land, or both, and the conservation of the natural values of that area of land that are unique, important or have representative value.
|
| Game reserve | An area of land containing natural values that are unique, important or have representative value particularly with respect to game species. | The conservation of the natural values of the area of land that are unique, important or have representative value, the conservation of the natural biological diversity or geological diversity of that area of land, or both, and the ecologically sustainable hunting of game species in that area of land. |
| Conservation area | An area of land predominantly in a natural state. | The protection and maintenance of the natural and cultural values of the area of land and the sustainable use of the natural resources of that area of land including special species timber harvesting |
| Nature recreation area
|
An area of land –
(a) predominantly in a natural state; or (b) containing sensitive natural sites of significance for recreation. |
Public recreation and education consistent with conserving the natural and cultural values of the area of land.
|
| Regional reserve | An area of land –
(a) with high mineral potential or prospectivity; and (b) predominantly in a natural state. |
Mineral exploration and the development of mineral deposits in the area of land, and the controlled use of other natural resources of that area of land, including special species timber harvesting, while protecting and maintaining the natural and cultural values of that area of land. |
Mackey et al (Brendan Mackey, Sean Cadman, Nicole Rogers, Sonia Hugh, Assessing the risk to the conservation status of temperate rainforest from exposure to mining, commercial logging, and climate change: A Tasmanian case study, Biological Conservation 215 (2017) 19-29)emphasise that the current reserve class definitions allow logging and mining in Conservation Areas: “Since the [Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement] RFA was signed, there have been significant changes made to the reserve classes in Tasmania. In particular, additional rainforest reserves were declared in 2005 and amendments made to State legislation during 2013–2014. Schedule 1 of the State Nature Conservation Act (Government of Tasmania, 2014) was amended to redefine the purpose of the two large reserve classes of ‘Conservation Areas’ and ‘Regional Reserves’. Conservation Areas were defined as having the purpose of:
‘The protection and maintenance of the natural and cultural values of the area of land and the sustainable use of the natural resources of that area of land including special species timber harvesting’.
The purpose of Regional Reserves was defined as:
‘Mineral exploration and the development of mineral deposits in the area of land, and the controlled use of other natural resources of that area of land, including special species timber harvesting, while protecting and maintaining the natural and cultural values of that area of land’.
Both revised definitions therefore include mineral exploration, mining and commercial logging as permissible land use activities. Furthermore, the reserve status of certain rainforest areas was altered by changing their reserve category to one that now permits mining or logging.”
Cadman (Sean T. Cadman, Tasmanian Temperate Rainforests, Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences (2020)) further emphasises these concerns: “Recently, Tasmanian legislation has been amended to explicitly allow logging in many reserves, additionally some reserves with the highest nature conservation designations have been downgraded to allow logging and mining. The Australian government is misrepresenting the status of these reserves in its reporting obligations under the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity.”
Informal Administrative Mining Exemption not Sufficient
The status of the various reserves on kooparoona niara (Great Western Tiers) with respect to mining are listed in Table 2. In most cases, World Heritage areas are exempt from the Mineral Resources Development Act (MRDA) according to administrative arrangements by Mineral Resources Tasmania, as they are deemed incompatible with exploration or mining. (List Data, Unavailable Areas Data (Mineral Resources Tasmania), accessed June 2024). However, these are administrative arrangements only and do not provide secure protection from mineral exploitation consistent with World Heritage status.
Table 2: Status of Reserves on Kooparoona Niara (Great Western Tiers)
Source: LIST, Tasmanian Reserve Estate Spatial Layer, Retrieved June 2024
| IUCN Category | World Heritage | Mining status | |
| Central Plateau Conservation Area | VI | yes | Available under the Mineral Resources Development Act (MRDA) but not available under administrative arrangements |
| Great Western Tiers Conservation Area | VI | yes | Available under the MRDA but partially not available under administrative arrangements |
| Dogs Head Hill RR | IV | no | Available under the MRDA but partially not available under administrative arrangements |
| Mersey River CA | IV | part | Available under the MRDA but partially not available under administrative arrangements |
| Devils Gullet SR | II | yes | Not available under the MRDA |
| Mole Creek Karst NP | II | part | Not available under the MRDA |
| Sensation Gorge CA | VI | no | Available under the MRDA |
| Meander CA | II | yes | Available under the MRDA but not available under administrative arrangements |
| Jackeys Creek CA | IV | yes | Available under the MRDA but not available under administrative arrangements |
| Quamby Bluff CA | IV | yes | Available under the MRDA but not available under administrative arrangements |
| Liffey Falls SR | II | yes | Not available under the MRDA |
| Liffey CA | II | yes | Available under the MRDA but not available under administrative arrangements |
| Drys Bluff CA | II | yes | Available under the MRDA but not available under administrative arrangements |
| Great Lake CA | V | yes | Available under the MRDA but partially not available under administrative arrangements |
| Millers Bluff CA | IV | no | Available under the MRDA |
IUCN Categories:
The Tasmanian reserve system comprises a combination of the reserved land class under the Nature Conservation Act 2002 (eg Conservation Area, National Park) as well as overlying prescriptions from other considerations such as World Heritage status and IUCN Categories. The IUCN Categories are shown below. The IUCN categories assigned by the TSG to the various reserves on kooparoona niara (Great Western Tiers) are shown in Table 2. The Central Plateau Conservation Area and the Great Western Tiers Conservation Area, most of which are in World Heritage, are assigned the lowest possible IUCN category VI, while other conservation areas are assigned a higher IUCN classification.
Ia Strict Nature Reserve: Category Ia are strictly protected areas set aside to protect biodiversity and also possibly geological/geomorphic features, where human visitation, use and impacts are strictly controlled and limited to ensure protection of the conservation values. Such protected areas can serve as indispensable reference areas for scientific research and monitoring .
Ib Wilderness Area: Category Ib protected areas are usually large unmodified or slightly modified areas, retaining their natural character and influence without permanent or significant human habitation, which are protected and managed so as to preserve their natural condition.
II National Park: Category II protected areas are large natural or near natural areas set aside to protect large-scale ecological processes, along with the complement of species and ecosystems characteristic of the area, which also provide a foundation for environmentally and culturally compatible, spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational, and visitor opportunities.
III Natural Monument or Feature: Category III protected areas are set aside to protect a specific natural monument, which can be a landform, sea mount, submarine cavern, geological feature such as a cave or even a living feature such as an ancient grove. They are generally quite small protected areas and often have high visitor value.
IV Habitat/Species Management Area: Category IV protected areas aim to protect particular species or habitats and management reflects this priority. Many Category IV protected areas will need regular, active interventions to address the requirements of particular species or to maintain habitats, but this is not a requirement of the category.
V Protected Landscape/ Seascape: A protected area where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant, ecological, biological, cultural and scenic value: and where safeguarding the integrity of this interaction is vital to protecting and sustaining the area and its associated nature conservation and other values.
VI Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources: Category VI protected areas conserve ecosystems and habitats together with associated cultural values and traditional natural resource management systems. They are generally large, with most of the area in a natural condition, where a proportion is under sustainable natural resource and where low-level non-industrial use of natural resources compatible with nature conservation is seen as one of the main aims of the area.
An entry in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_areas_of_Tasmania, accessed June 2024, author unknown) draws attention to the concern that many of the IUCN categorisations assigned to individual reserves are no longer fit for purpose:
“Within each classification of reserve there may be a variation of IUCN categories Australia is a signatory to the Convention of Biological Diversity and as such has obligations to report the status of its National Reserve System. IUCN provides on its website a prescription for activities consistent with the categorisation system. Changes made to the Nature Conservation Act 2002 in 2014 permit timber harvesting. These changes made in addition to the already established right to access minerals means that many of the IUCN categorisations assigned to individual reserves in Tasmania are no longer fit for purpose. In addition many reserves have had their reserve status downgraded from a class excluding timber harvesting and mineral extraction to ones where these activities are now permitted. This mis-application of the IUCN protected area categories needs to be remedied or the reserves protected land class under the Nature Conservation Act 2002 should be adjusted to reflect its currently assigned IUCN category.”
Bee Keeping
Bee keeping is allowed on parcels of land in the TWWHA zoned as recreational. All roads within the TWWHA are zoned recreational and this zone extends 50 metres either side of the centre line.