Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00002:front:0:p162
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00002
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 463967–467568

valuable witness to past environments in northern Australia and to the interaction of people with these environments;

    * the ongoing, active management of the landscapes by Aboriginal people through the use of fire, including fire-assisted hunting and the creation of environmental mosaics which contribute to species diversity, provide an important example of people's interaction with the environment: and

    * the diverse range of habitats and vegetation types including:

     -             open forest and woodlands

     -             lowland and sandstone (Allosyncarpa ternata closed forest) rainforests

     -             shrubland and heath

     -             wetland, riverine, and coastal environments

     -             mangroves and floodplains.

Criterion (x) Important habitats for conservation of biological diversity

Kakadu National Park's large size, its diversity of habitats and its position in an area of northern Australia subjected to considerably less disturbance by European settlement than many other parts of the continent have resulted in the protection and conservation of many significant habitats, including those where threatened species of plants and animals of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science and conservation still survive.

The World Heritage values include:

    * the wide range of natural habitats, including:

     -             open forest and woodlands
     -             monsoon rainforest areas
     -             heaths and shrublands
     -             freshwater wetlands
     -             mangrove and estuarine areas
     -             foreshore and beach areas.

    * significant plant associations, including those associated with Eucalyptus koolpinensis, the heath vegetation on the margins of the Marrawal Plateau, and woodland containing Terminalia platyptera on Snake Plains;

    * plant species of conservation significance (including endemic species and relict species) such as Arthrochilus byrnessii, Cycas conferta, Desmodium sp. 2, Eucalyptus koolpinensis, Hildegardia australiensis, Micraira spp., Neobyrnesia suberosa, Pityrodia spp., Plectrachne aristiglumis, Triodia radonensis, Typhonium russell-smithii;

  *

    * animal species of conservation significance, including:

     -            mammals (such as Calaby's mouse Pseudomys calabyi, Kakadu dunnart Sminthopsis sp. Nov., nabarlek Petrogale concinna, false water rat Xeromys myoides, golden backed tree rat Mesembriomys macrurus, and ghost bat Macroderma gigas);

     -            reptiles (such as the pig-nosed turtle Carettochelys insculpta, Pacific or olive ridley turtle Lepidochelys olivacea, green turtle Chelonia mydas, loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta, saltwater crocodile Crocodylus porosus and freshwater crocodile C. johnstoni);

     -            birds (such as the Gouldian finch Erythrura gouldiae, partridge pigeon Geophaps smithii, hooded parrot Psephotus dissimilis, little tern Sterna albifrons, masked owl - northern subspecies Tyto novaehollandiae kimberli and red goshawk Erythrotriorchis radiatus);

     -            invertebrates (such as crustaceans of the plateau and escarpment streams, especially the families Amphisopodidae, Atyidae and Palaemonidae);

     -            fish (such as two newly discovered taxa of goby, including the new genus Cryptocentrus, and a speartooth shark Gyphis sp);

    * species which have experienced range reductions (such as the magpie goose Anseranas semipalmata, Gouldian finch Erythrura gouldiae, partridge pigeon Petrophassa smithii, pale field rat Rattus tunneyi