Cape York Peninsula
Twenty-one major wild river systems sustain Cape York's unique tropical landscape. Cape York is one of the last great wild places on Earth. Like the Congo, the Serengeti and the Amazon, it deserves the highest protection possible. It is an extraordinary environment with seamless transitions between mangroves, tropical rainforests, savannahs, wetlands - and bountiful coasts and seas. Bounded by the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics World Heritage areas, it is half the size of Britain, and nearly as big as the entire state of Victoria.
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| Cape York for World Heritage |
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Cape York Peninsula is a land of abundant nature and culture - where less than 1% of the land has ever been cleared. But this diverse and unspoilt landscape is largely unprotected. Today, you and I have an opportunity to ensure it becomes part of the largest network of World Heritage areas on the planet. |
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| Protecting our Wild Rivers |
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Cape York Peninsula’s wild rivers are the lifeblood of the Cape’s communities and home to a huge abundance of wildlife. But these rivers are under threat. We stand at the crossroad: protect these magnificent natural assets, or condemn them to the same fate as degraded rivers such as the once mighty Murray. |
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| Indigenous Conservation |
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Taking a WildCountry “big picture” approach to conservation, The Wilderness Society is supporting the development of a globally recognised Indigenous Conservation Estate on Cape York Peninsula. |
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Watch Cape York slideshow |
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Take action online - help protect Cape York. |
Cape York Updates
- A 'new' deal for Cape York Peninsula - November 10, 2008
- A prosperous future for Cape York - October 13, 2008
- Australia’s newest National Park! - August 13, 2008
The Wilderness Society has launched the Cape York Heritage Protection Plan as a blue print for coordinated, strategic and funded action for Cape York’s future.
A World Heritage nomination for Cape York Peninsula will help shape a healthy and prosperous future by integrating the needs of communities with the needs of nature, creating real jobs and a sustainable futures, while conserving the superlative natural and cultural values of the region.
On Wednesday, 6 August 2008, the Kulla National Park was created. The new National Park, on Cape York Peninsula, protects 160 000 hectares of irreplaceable wild country - including the largest remaining tract of wilderness tropical rainforest in Australia.
Cape York Media Releases
- Cape York critters warn Cape Alumina investors of impacts of bauxite mine - November 14, 2008
- Push for World Heritage protection for Cape York - October 08, 2008
- Australia’s largest tropical rainforest wilderness protected in Cape York - August 06, 2008
Outside a Cape Alumina meeting held in Cairns last night, critters from Cape York warned potential investors of the serious environmental threat that the company’s large bauxite mine proposal poses to the Wenlock River and its surrounding environment.
A leading Australian environment group, The Wilderness Society, will seek the support of the World Conservation Congress in Spain this week for a World Heritage nomination for Cape York. A resolution will be voted on later this week at the Congress in Barcelona urging the Federal and Queensland Governments to continue to work with Traditional Owners to develop a nomination and seek their final consent for a World Heritage listing.
The Wilderness Society applauds the announcement of the protection of Australia’s largest tropical-rainforest wilderness in Cape York - the Aboriginal-owned Kulla (McIlwraith Range) National Park.
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