About million years ago, Kakadu is part of a shallow sea. As time went on, the sea drained and the former sea cliffs are now transformed into dramatic escarpment walls. If you explore the land at the Kakadu National Park, you will discover various landscape features that were formed out of various geological activities over the years.
These landscape formations include vast floodplains, cross-bedding, ripple marks, igneous intrusions, conglomerates, and unconformity. As mentioned above, the park is also known for its biological diversity. There are six main landforms within the park and each one is home to different species of plants and animals. According to researchers, there are more than 2, plant species in the park and many of them had been used by early Aboriginal settlers for medicinal and weaving purposes.
Meanwhile, the diverse ecosystem also enables mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians to thrive in this environment. Many endangered, endemic or rare species are living in the Kakadu National Park. Kakadu National Park is more than just a park showcasing the natural beauty of the Northern Territory in Australia.
It is also of cultural importance to the land where it is located. Before the national park was established, it is a living cultural landscape.
The original settlers on the land were the Bininj Mungguy. They settled in the area where Kakadu National Park is for more than 50, years. Hence, they have established a deep spiritual connection to the land and are integral parts of the history of Kakadu. The Kakadu National Park in Australia is a wild place. As is the case for many protected areas, the straight-line boundaries of Kakadu are artificial ones.
They relate to a long history of administrative land use decisions with the Northern Territory Government and the Arnhem Land aboriginal reservation. Although the South Alligator River drainage basin is contained within the park, headwaters of other rivers lie outside. There are also important natural values in the Cobourg Peninsula and in some of the coastal wetlands to the west of the park. There are mining interests adjacent to the property, and the long-term aspects of waste disposal and eventual recovery required ongoing attention and scrutiny.
In addition to the uranium mine at Ranger, which is excised from the property, there is one other excised lease at Jabiluka which is located close to an important floodplain inside the park. A third previously excised area at Koongarra was incorporated into the property in , at the request of the State Party and the Traditional Owner.
Large areas of Kakadu are virtually inaccessible to people other than the Indigenous traditional owners, and the Indigenous and non-Indigenous national park managers. Cultural sites are therefore subject to little interference. The property is well protected by legislation and is co-managed with the Aboriginal traditional owners, which is an essential aspect of the management system.
These arrangements ensure that the park has effective legal protection, a sound planning framework and that management issues are addressed. It aims to protect the values of the World Heritage properties, including from impacts originating outside the property. By law, any action that has, will have, or is likely to have, a significant impact on the values of the World Heritage property, must be referred to the responsible Minister for consideration.
Penalties apply for taking such an action without approval, and the Act has been tested in court in relation to protection of the values of World Heritage properties.
Once a heritage place is listed, the Act provides for the preparation of management plans which set out the significant heritage aspects of the place and how the values of the site will be managed.
In , Kakadu was added to the National Heritage List, in recognition of its national heritage significance under the Act. Key management issues that have been identified include:.
Tourism — significant increase in visitation as a result of its World Heritage inscription. Visitors are encouraged to enjoy the park in ways that do not adversely affect its natural and cultural values;. Mining — management of abandoned small-scale uranium mining sites and monitoring the existing Ranger mine lease. A rehabilitation program has been completed to reduce the physical and radiological hazards of old mine sites. The future potential effects on the park of current uranium mining will require ongoing scrutiny;.
Cultural sites — work to conserve rock art sites in the face of natural and chemical weathering from increasing age and damage from water, vegetation, mud-building wasps, termites, feral animals and humans;.
Introduced flora — ongoing management to control and prevent the spread of introduced weeds particularly Mimosa pigra and Salvinia molesta ; and. Introduced fauna — removal of Asian water buffalo and the resulting restoration of affected ecosystems. Climate change — saltwater incursions into freshwater ecosystems, changing fire seasons and regimes and an increased potential for spread of exotic flora and fauna.
Park managers are implementing a climate change strategy for the park that recommends a range of adaptation, mitigation and communication actions to manage the anticipated consequences of climate change;. Decline of small mammals across northern Australia — the causes of decline are unclear however initial theories suggest fire management regimes, feral cats and introduction of disease as the likely causes; and.
Cane Toads — rapid colonisation by cane toads. Monitoring programmes are in place to determine cane toad distribution and the impacts on native wildlife within different habitats of the park. Kakadu National Park meets an astonishing five of them. The different artistic styles, number of sites and depictions of long-extinct animals helped get Kakadu National Park World Heritage-listed. The rock art and archaeological record qualifies Kakadu under this criterion. It provides a wealth of evidence for social and ritual activities from the Pleistocene era until the present day.
First up is Criterion vii — to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.
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