Australia’s bid to secure UNESCO World Heritage status for a site with indigenous rock art has been dealt a blow after a UN advisory body warned it was at risk from nearby industrial pollution.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) advised UNESCO to refer the nomination back to the Australian government so it could “prevent any further industrial development adjacent to, and within, the Murujuga Cultural Landscape.”
Located on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia state, the Murujuga rock art, which is of cultural and spiritual significance to local indigenous Australians, was nominated for heritage listing in 2023.
Photo: Reuters
The Burrup Peninsula is also a key industrial hub, home to two gas plants run by Woodside, and fertilizer and explosives plants run by Norway’s Yara International.
The Australian government yesterday extended the lifetime of Woodside’s largest gas plant in the region, the North West Shelf, until 2070. The extension would generate up to 4.3 billion tonnes of additional carbon emissions.
Scrutiny over the impact of Australia’s resources industry on indigenous heritage sites has been magnified since Rio Tinto destroyed the Juukan Gorge rock shelters as part of a mine expansion in 2020.
Australia has said the Murujuga petroglyphs were in “good condition overall” and presented findings from a study of the site that said there were no suggestions “acid rain or deposition is contributing to damage of the rock art.”
Despite this, ICOMOS recommended preventing further industrial development near the site, and called for a “decommissioning and rehabilitation plan for existing industrial activities.”
ICOMOS, citing media reports quoting rock art experts and information received about the proposed North West Shelf extension, concluded that “the conservation conditions of the petroglyphs are extremely vulnerable and threatened by industrial acidic emissions.”
The ICOMOS draft decision was a “setback” for the Australian government, Deakin University cultural heritage expert Luke James said.
“ICOMOS has identified some concerns around protection and management,” James said. “It is now up to the Australian government to demonstrate to the committee that these are surmountable, or it will need to wait at least a year — and do further work — for another chance at inscription.”
Woodside in a statement said it continued to support the heritage listing of the rock art, and would work with the Murujuga traditional owners and government to prepare its response to ICOMOS’ recommendation.
“We believe the World Heritage nomination should proceed on the strength of the evidence and stand as proof that cultural heritage and industry can responsibly coexist when collaboration, transparency and rigorous scientific monitoring are in place,” it said.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is to meet in July.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
COMPETITION: The US and Russia make up about 90 percent of the world stockpile and are adding new versions, while China’s nuclear force is steadily rising, SIPRI said Most of the world’s nuclear-armed states continued to modernize their arsenals last year, setting the stage for a new nuclear arms race, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said yesterday. Nuclear powers including the US and Russia — which account for about 90 percent of the world’s stockpile — had spent time last year “upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions,” researchers said. Since the end of the Cold War, old warheads have generally been dismantled quicker than new ones have been deployed, resulting in a decrease in the overall number of warheads. However, SIPRI said that the trend was likely
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
RSS