Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00002:front:0:p16
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00002
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 43508–46309

as it is their home and they have important cultural obligations to look after country. Many Bininj/Mungguy consider that they cannot or should not move to other places to live or work. The park is their traditional homeland and it is important to them that they are able to look after their country and culture and make sure that visitors to their country are safe. Many other people also enjoy the benefits that come from living in the park. For many residents in Jabiru and the Kakadu region, Kakadu is not only a place to live and work but also a place for recreation and a place where they can appreciate and learn about the park's natural and cultural heritage.
How Kakadu is significant regionally

Conservation
The park is both representative and unique. It is representative of the ecosystems of a vast area of northern Australia. It is unique because it incorporates a large drainage basin (the South Alligator River) in its near entirety and all of the major habitat types of the Top End. It is where the Arnhem Land Plateau meets the southern hills and basins and the Alligator Rivers coastal floodplains (see Figure 4).

The stone country in Kakadu is part of the plateau of western Arnhem Land, which is the most significant region in the Northern Territory for biodiversity. It contains the greatest number of endemic and threatened species in the Northern Territory and also supports a high proportion of the Northern Territory's rainforest estate. Kakadu is important for conservation in the region because it is a large area managed as a national park, whereas other areas of Top End habitats are managed primarily for purposes such as pastoralism, mining, or defence force use.

Most of Kakadu is included within two Northern Territory Sites of Conservation Significance, the Western Arnhem Plateau and the Alligator Rivers coastal floodplain, due to the occurrence of large numbers of threatened and endemic species and large aggregations of waterbirds.

Regional economy
Tourism is very important to the regional economy, particularly in terms of employment. For the financial year 2013–14, Tourism NT reported that the direct value of tourism to the Northern Territory was $790 million (Tourism NT 2014a) and in the year ending March 2015 the Northern Territory attracted 1.34 million visitors (Tourism NT 2015a). It is estimated that in 2013–14 Kakadu National Park attracted 190,400 visitors. In addition to its significant contribution via the tourism market, the park purchases significant quantities of goods and services from regional suppliers.

It is important to the Northern Territory Government, Bininj/Mungguy and park management that tourism development in the park complements the tourism marketing strategies and plans for regional tourism development. The park is