| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 Box Log Falls,Lamington National Park inQueensland | |
| Location | New South Wales andQueensland,Australia |
| Criteria | Natural: (viii), (ix), (x) |
| Reference | 368bis |
| Inscription | 1986 (10thSession) |
| Extensions | 1994 |
| Area | 370,000 ha (1,400 sq mi) |
| Coordinates | 28°15′S150°3′E / 28.250°S 150.050°E /-28.250; 150.050 |
  Barrington Tops Main Range National Park From theMain Range in the north to theBarrington Tops in the south, various grouping of the Gondwana Rainforests on the Australian continent | |
| Official name | Gondwana Rainforests of Australia |
| Type | National heritage (landscape) |
| Designated | 17 December 1994 |
| Reference no. | 105135 |
| Class | Natural |
| Legal Status | Declared property |
| Official name | Gondwana Rainforests of Australia;Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves;Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (new name from 2007);North East Rainforests World Heritage Area |
| Type | State heritage (landscape) |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 1002 |
| Type | Wilderness |
| Category | Landscape – Natural |
TheGondwana Rainforests ofAustralia, formerly known as theCentral Eastern Rainforest Reserves, are the most extensive area of subtropicalrainforest in the world.[1] Collectively, the rainforests are aWorld Heritage Site with fifty separate reserves totalling 366,500 hectares (906,000 acres) fromNewcastle toBrisbane.[2]
The Gondwana Rainforests are so-named because thefossil record indicates that whenGondwana existed it was covered by rainforests containing the same kinds of species that are living today. Not all Gondwanan rainforests in Australia are located in theNew South Wales – Queensland region; the largest Gondwanan rainforest in Australia is located inTasmania'sTarkine wilderness. The number of visitors to the Gondwana rainforest reserves in New South Wales and Queensland is about 2 million per year.[1]
The World Heritage status of the region was created and negotiated initially in 1986, with the area extended in 1994, following a nomination which was prepared in 1992 by the Rainforest Conservation Society.[3] The World Heritage listing carries the following inscription:[1]
The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia is a serial property comprising the major remaining areas of rainforest in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales. It represents outstanding examples of major stages of the Earth’s evolutionary history, ongoing geological and biological processes, and exceptional biological diversity. A wide range of plant and animal lineages and communities with ancient origins in Gondwana, many of which are restricted largely or entirely to the Gondwana Rainforests, survive in this collection of reserves. The Gondwana Rainforests also provides the principal habitat for many threatened species of plants and animals.
— Brief synthesis of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia as inscribed on theUNESCOWorld Heritage List.
The site wasgazetted on theAustralian National Heritage List on 21 May 2007[4] under theEnvironment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1), 2003 (Cth);[5] and the New South Wales portion was added to theNew South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.[6]
The forests were inscribed to the World Heritage list in 1986, covering only the New South Wales sites of approximately 310,800 hectares (768,000 acres) and extended in 1994 to cover the Queensland sites of approximately 59,200 hectares (146,000 acres) which is a total of approximately 370,000 hectares (910,000 acres). The rainforest reserves have an extremely high conservation value, with more than 200 rare or threatened plant and animal species.[2]
Eight separate areas have been identified as having outstanding heritage significance to Australia and are included on theAustralian National Heritage List.[4] The altitude of the reserves ranges from sea level to almost 1,600 m (5,200 ft).[7]
On 22 December 2000, theHigh Conservation Value Old Growth forest covering 24 national parks and 19 nature reserves spread across 12local government areas in the upper north east region of New South Wales were listed on theNew South Wales State Heritage Register.[8]
The Queensland areas include theMain Range, at its most northern point; and extending south, theLamington,Mount Chinghee,Springbrook andMount Barney national parks.
The New South Wales areas include theBarrington Tops, at its most southern point; and extending north, theDorrigo,Mount Warning,New England,Mebbin,Nightcap,Border Ranges,Oxley Wild Rivers,Washpool,Willi Willi andWerrikimbe national parks.[9]
The most heavily visited parts are Dorrigo National Park and the Natural Bridge section of Springbrook National Park.[7]
The region was historicallylogged extremely heavily, to such an extent that only 1% of the original range of the Gondwana rainforest remains in Australia. Most of the logged regions have been taken over byeucalyptus forest.[10]
During the2019-2020 Australian bushfire season, many regions of the Gondwana rainforest were devastated bybushfires for the first time, with some preliminary reports indicating that up to 53% of the forests may have burned as of January 2020. Among the devastated habitats are several locations that are significant for some critically imperiled species, such as thenightcap oak and thegiant barred frog. The presence of these devastating blazes in areas that have never burned before has been linked to the encroachment of the flammable eucalyptus trees into the logged areas adjoining the forests.[10][11] The general claim of "never burned before" has been challenged by several commentators, based on an article inThe Cairns Post on 25 October 1951 that reported a "fire has burnt out about 2000 acres of thick rainforest country" in the Lamington National Park.[12]
The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia are divided into sections for listing on theAustralian National Heritage List, from north to south, as below:
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence.
This Wikipedia article contains material fromGondwana Rainforests of Australia, entry number 01002 in theNew South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 underCC-BY 4.0licence, accessed on 2 June 2018.
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