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Decision 22 COM VIII.A.1
Inscription: New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands (New Zealand)

Property: New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands

Id. N°: 877

State Party: New Zealand

Criteria: N (ii)(iv)

The site consists of five island groups (the Snares, Bounty Islands, Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, and Campbell Island) in the Southern Ocean south-east of New Zealand. The islands, lying between the Antarctic and Sub-tropical Convergences, and the seas have a high level of productivity, bio-diversity, wildlife population densities, and endemism among birds, plants and invertebrates. The bird and plant life, especially endemic albatrosses, cormorants, land birds and "megaherbs" are unique to these islands and are clearly of outstanding universal value under criterion (iv). Under criterion (ii) the islands display a pattern of immigration of species, diversification and emergent endemism. Several evolutionary processes such as the development of loss of flight in both birds and invertebrates offer particularly good opportunities for research into the dynamics of island ecology. Human impacts are confined to the effects of introduced species at Auckland and Campbell islands but their ongoing eradication is leading to a recovery of native vegetation allowing evolutionary processes to continue.

The Committee inscribed this property under criteria (ii) and (iv). The Committee noted the Bureau's comments, which commended the State Party for submitting a model nomination but at the same time expressed its concern over the integrity of the marine area and the conservation of the marine resources. The need for co-operation with the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in elaborating strategies for strengthening the protection of the marine environment (especially regarding fishery by-catch) was noted. The Committee recalled that at its twenty-first session it had encouraged the Australian authorities to consider for the future a re-nomination of Macquarie Island with the Sub-Antarctic Islands of New Zealand as one single Sub-Antarctic site. It invited both States Parties to continue to liaise on this possibility.

The Delegate of Australia underlined the willingness of her Government to co-operate with New Zealand in considering a single site. The Observer of New Zealand informed the Committee that the responsible Minister would meet his Australian counterpart the following week and would discuss this issue, and that New Zealand is in contact with the Secretariat of CCAMLR. His Government participated in the seventeenth CCAMLR meeting in Hobart, which discussed prohibition of daylight fishing and alternative mitigation measures for the Antarctic waters.

Decision Code
22 COM VIII.A.1
Themes
Inscriptions on the World Heritage List
States Parties 1
Year
1998
Documents
WHC-98/CONF.203/18
Report of the 22nd Session of the World Heritage Committee
Context of Decision
WHC-98/CONF.203/10Rev.
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