Decision 45 COM 7B.79

Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (Australia) (N 368bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examinedDocument WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.89 adopted at its extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) session,
3. Noting with appreciation the State Party’s continued collaborative efforts in post-fire monitoring and recovery actions, expresses its utmost concern about the negative impacts of the 2019-20 bushfires to the attributes of the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), in particular species that are vulnerable to the impacts of fire;
4. Also recalling that the State Party initiated an immediate management response following the fires including assessment of impacts, planning and funding commitments to ensure long-term recovery, takes note that some recovery efforts have been delayed due to the recent flooding in the region, and encourages the State Party to continue management actions to support the recovery of the property, including the monitoring of ongoing health and recovery of areas and species, as well as recovery actions and adaptive management strategies;
5. Notes with concern the impact of Myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) across fire-affected areas of the property, requests the State Party to continue monitoring to address its impact on the property’s OUV;
6. Welcomes the continued efforts of the State Party to develop an understanding of projected changes resulting from climate change in relation to the property’s OUV, also requests the State Party to utilise the knowledge and understanding gained through these processes to guide adaptive management strategies to strengthen the climate and disaster resilience of the property;
7. Further requests the State Party to continue implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements in order to strengthen emergency management as well as climate and natural disaster risk reduction; and also welcomes the development of an updated climate variability assessment methodology and climate change toolkit for the World Heritage properties;
8. Appreciates the efforts of the State Party to share the lessons learned with other States Parties to the Convention facing similar threats, promoting knowledge exchange on fire management strategies at World Heritage properties;
9. Also noting the information that the approval process for the granting of a water mining license to extract water from the vicinity of Springbrook National Park is not completed, requests furthermore the State Party to inform the World Heritage Centre once the Australian Government has received the proposal referral and determined whether the proposed activity will be subject to further impact assessment in relation to the property;
10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session.