Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00002:front:0:p38
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00002
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 111690–114545

one of the world's great rock art provinces, containing a vast number of sites, with over 5,000 known sites and possibly 10,000 to 15,000 in total

    * represents a continuous tradition over tens of thousands of years

    * provides a storehouse of traditional knowledge including stories and law and is a powerful teaching tool for young Bininj/Mungguy

    * provides links to ancestors and the landscape and a record of a changing environment and lifestyle over many thousands of years.

    * The condition of rock art in the park continues to suffer the impacts of fire, feral animals, weathering and insect damage. There has been no systematic survey of rock art in the park since 1996 and hence the condition of most recorded sites is largely unknown. There is also a lack of knowledge of the condition of sites that have not been formally recorded, particularly in areas that are difficult to access.

Existing threats to values

    * Loss of traditional knowledge (highly significant)

  There has been a major loss of knowledge relating to rock art sites throughout the park due to insufficient recording and intergenerational transfer of knowledge about these sites. This has impacted on the values of the sites, making active interpretation and management difficult due to a lack of knowledge of appropriate management protocols.

    * Fire (highly significant)

  Fire can significantly impact on rock art sites, particularly when there is a build-up of native vegetation or weeds close to sites.

    * Insect damage (highly significant)

  Wasps and termites damage rock art by building nests and tunnels over it. While some management actions are undertaken to reduce this impact at some sites, damage from insects remains an issue for much of the rock art in the park.

    * Weathering (highly significant)

  Water flowing over or seeping through the rocks is a common problem. Apart from the water's dissolving action, salts deposited on the rock surface can cover some of the art.

    * Number and inaccessibility of sites (highly significant)

  The number of rock art sites and their remote and inaccessible nature makes management and monitoring of rock art very difficult.

    * Feral animals (moderately significant)

  Feral animals (particularly pigs and buffalo) frequently take refuge in the shade of ground level shelters and damage rock art by rubbing on rock faces. This has been a significant cause of degradation of some rock art sites.

    * Visitor impacts (of low significance)

  Some impacts from tourism are evident at rock art sites, such as dust accumulation on rock faces from roads, and vandalism has occurred at some sites.

Actions

     5.1.1              Develop and undertake a rock art conservation programme to address issues impacting on the condition of priority rock art sites, focusing on: