The Panel advised that the themes and sub-themes relevant to the forested areas of Australia are:
Theme: Origin and development of biota and landforms as a result of Gondwanan plate tectonics and more recent stability and long isolation
Sub-theme: Passive continental margins
Sub-theme: Palaeoplains
Sub-theme: Palaeo-drainage systems
Sub-theme: Fossils
Sub-theme: Refugia, relicts
Sub-theme: Rainforest
Theme: Evolution of landforms, species and ecosystems under conditions of stress
Sub-theme: Scleromorphy
Sub-theme: Eucalyptus-dominated vegetation
Theme: Climate change and its impacts
Sub-theme: Records of ancient climates
Theme: Traditional human settlement and land use
Sub-theme: Complex persistence of a hunting-and-gathering society on a single continent
Theme: Artistic expression
Sub-theme: Rock art
Theme: Religious expression
Sub-theme: Dreaming sites
Theme: European expansion of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
Sub-theme: Forced migration - a major way in which the expansion took place
Sub-theme: Land barriers as historical themes
Sub-theme: Integration of a continent into the global economy
Cultural Values (Aboriginal, European)
|
Theme of outstanding universal value |
Sub-themes, Exemplars |
Explanatory Sentence |
Listed World Heritage Areas which best express the themes, sub-themes, or aspects of these |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Traditional human settlement and land use |
Complex persistence of a hunting- and-gathering society on a single continent |
Australia provides the only example of where the hunting-and-gathering way of life has dominated a complete continent up to modern times. This way of life continues to play a significant role in the occupation of the continent, particularly in its northern and central sections. |
Kakadu National Park. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Willandra Lakes Region. The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. |
|
Artistic expression |
Rock art |
Australia has Aboriginal art sites that represent a unique artistic achievement, as well as providing an outstanding record of human interaction with the environment over tens of thousands of years. |
Kakadu National Park. The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. |
|
Religious expression |
Dreaming sites |
Australia provides an outstanding example of where the religious system of hunting-and-gathering societies is embodied in the landscape. |
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. |