CATASTROPHIC IMMEDIATE THREAT TO KEY PARTS OF THE TASMANIAN WILDERNESS WORLD HERITAGE AREA An ancient pencil pine burnt by wild fire in the Tasmanian Wilderness, January 2016. Rob Blakers Wild fires destroy and threaten ancient alpine conifers and beech forests A report to UNESCO s World Heritage Centre February 2016
A Preliminary Report to UNESCO s World Heritage Centre on the Catastrophic Threat Posed by Tasmanian Wild Fires to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area The fires are extremely destructive for two main reasons. First, the fires are threatening vegetation that is unique to Tasmania, including iconic alpine species such as the Pencil Pine and cushion plants, as well as temperate rainforests. Second, the fires are burning up large areas of organic soils upon which the unique Tasmanian vegetation depends. It is extremely unlikely burnt areas with the endemic alpine flora will ever fully recover given the slow growth of these species and the increased risk of subsequent fires given the change to more flammable vegetation and the slow accumulation of peat soils, which takes thousands of years. Past fires have resulted in a permanent switch from the unique Tasmanian alpine vegetation to more fire-tolerant vegetation. Professor David Bowman, 29 January 2016 (Bowman 2016) 1. Worst threat in decades The Tasmanian Wilderness faces its worst immediate threat in several decades. Since a series of dry lightning strikes on 13 January 2016, over 15 fires have been burning out of control inside the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. More than 30 others have been burning adjacent areas with high natural values, such as the Tarkine wilderness in the state s north-west. Many of these fires pose a direct threat to critical Outstanding Universal Values of the property. Rain at the end of January 2016 subdued but did not extinguish some of these fires. With at least five weeks of the fire season yet to run, the threat to Outstanding Universal Value remains. February is usually the worst month for fire danger in Tasmania. Hot, dry northerly winds could make all of these fires flare up again, with potentially catastrophic impacts on ancient vegetation. At the conclusion of the fire-danger period, the Wilderness Society will augment this report with a further update. 2. Ancient life forms of outstanding universal value destroyed or threatened The wildfires threaten some of Tasmania s most important stands of highland vegetation, including ancient conifers, deciduous beech, cushion plants, and the organic soils that sustain them. These life-forms, unique to Tasmania, are known as palaeoendemics because of their ancient lineage, some of them dating back to the Cretaceous. The Athrotaxis genus, which includes king billy and pencil pines, is believed to be over 150 million years old (Jordan G.J., Harrison P.A. et al. 2015). These long-lived, statuesque trees occur amongst pristine streams and lakes in glaciated mountains, forming landscapes of great beauty. Their Outstanding Universal Value was recognised with the listing of the Tasmanian Wilderness in 1982 and its extensions in 1989 and 2013. However, unlike many other parts of Australia, these ecosystems are not fire-adapted if burnt by intense fires, they will not recover. The
palaeoendemic species will be replaced by more fire-tolerant species. According to the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service: These fire-sensitive vegetation communities can take hundreds or even thousands of years to recover following a bushfire. Fire-sensitive vegetation communities in the TWWHA include rainforest, native conifers, and alpine vegetation with sensitive species including pencil pines, Huon pines, King Billy pines, myrtle-beech, deciduous beech, and sphagnum. (Pyrke 2013) In Tasmania, there are approximately 53,000 ha of Athrotaxis-dominated vegetation, 41,000 ha of which occurs within the World Heritage property. Pristine pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides) and deciduous beech (Nothofagus gunnii) in the Tasmanian Wilderness. Rob Blakers. 3. The current situation According to the Australian Government (Australian Parliament 2016), some 18,464 ha of the World Heritage Area were burnt between 13 January and 8 February 2016, including parts of the Southwest, Walls of Jerusalem, Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers, and Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair national parks. The heartland of Tasmania s alpine country, including the Ducane Range, Mt Anne and Walls of Jerusalem, occurs in the paths of fires that have been burning out of control. If these areas burn, the consequences for ancient highland vegetation within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area will be catastrophic.
Distinguished Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick, who has played a major role in the listing, extension and monitoring of the Tasmanian Wilderness since its nomination in 1981, has expressed alarm at the situation: The fires in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area could turn scientific and tourist icons like the Walls of Jerusalem into ugly, charred landscapes with little heritage value. We have the chance to supress the fires now if enough resources are put into it before severe fire weather occurs. My decades of research on Tasmania s alpine and rainforest regions and their responses to fire have shown that it is not just a matter of replanting trees. How do you replace the burnt organic soil? How do you replace individual native pines that were thousands of years old? The need is for a massive effort now, to put out fires in places like Lake Bill. We need to dedicate some of our resources during severe fire weather to the protection of our heritage. (Kirkpatrick 2016) Burnt alpine vegetation, Central Plateau Protected Area, Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, 29-30 January 2016. Rob Blakers. Destruction of Athrotaxis has already been documented in the Central Plateau Conservation Area (part of the World Heritage property). Relevant photos by long-term professional wilderness photographer Rob Blakers are included as part of this report (Appendix 1). Approximately 150 ha of Athrotaxis-dominated vegetation are known to have burnt out of a total of approximately 41,000 ha within the World Heritage property. The following map illustrates the impact of two of the fires (the Lake Mackenzie and Lake Bill fires) and their proximity to irreplaceable mountain landscapes. Together, they occupy some 30,000 ha.
This map shows the proximity of current fires to vulnerable Athrotaxis vegetation within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property. Cradle Mountain, the Walls of Jerusalem and the Ducane Range are some of Tasmania s most famous landscapes.
Another cluster of fires poses a threat to stands of lowland rainforest, including Huon pine, in the catchment of the Gordon River (part of the World Heritage property). Huon pine is another long-lived Tasmanian endemic (some more than 3000 years old), one of the world s most significant tree-species for dendrochronology, and a recognised attribute of Outstanding Universal Value. The fires concerned occur near the Denison River, the stronghold of virgin stands of Huon pine. Other uncontrolled fires are burning to the west of the World Heritage property, in the Tarkine wilderness, south of Macquarie Harbour, and in the foothills of the Tyndall Range. These threaten additional tracts of rainforest and highland conifers and beech. These places have been proposed by the Wilderness Society as extensions to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property (The Wilderness Society 2015). Rain at the end of January reduced fire activity. However, over six weeks of the fire season remain. Only sustained, drenching rain will completely extinguish these fires. A recurrence of hot, dry, windy weather will cause them to flare up dangerously and resume their trajectory towards vulnerable World Heritage attributes. 4. The fire-fighting efforts Tasmania s three fire-fighting agencies (Tasmanian Fire Service, Forestry Tasmania, and the Parks and Wildlife Service) and their volunteers have fought these blazes with great determination. However, they have been stretched to breaking point by the size, distribution, unpredictability and sheer number of these fires. Seasoned fire-fighters have commented on the dryness of the vegetation in western Tasmania and the difficulty in controlling these fires. In addition to defending heritage areas, these agencies have fought fires in settled areas, saving farms, towns, houses and people from an outbreak that the Tasmanian government has described as unprecedented (ABC News 2016). Although their capacity has been significantly augmented by personnel and resources from other parts of Australia, the Tasmanian fire-fighting agencies have sometimes appeared overwhelmed by the scale of the crisis. From 13 January to 10 February 2016, more than 80 fires burnt over 105,000 ha of Tasmania s land area (Tasmanian Fire Service 2016) most of it native vegetation. 5. A result of climate change Experts in ecology believe the exceptional dryness of western Tasmania and the new phenomenon of dry lightning ignitions are the result of climate change. Professor David Bowman says: The current fire season is shaping up to be truly extraordinary because of the sheer number of fires set by lightning, their duration, and erratic and destructive behaviour that has surprised many seasoned fire fighters. The root cause of the (fires) has been the recordbreaking dry spring and the largely rain-free and consistently warm summer, which has left fuels and peat soils bone dry. There are two ways to think about the recent fire situation in Tasmania. We can focus on the extreme climate conditions and unusual fire behaviour, or we can see what is happening as
entirely predictable and consistent with climate change. I have formed the latter view because the current fires are part of a global pattern of increasing destructive fires driven by extreme fire weather. A critical feature of the current Tasmanian fires is the role of lightning storms climate is not only creating the precursor weather conditions for the fires, it is also providing the storms that ignite them. (Bowman 2016) Such widespread, simultaneous outbreaks of uncontrolled fires in remote, difficult country are therefore likely to become a frequent feature of Tasmanian summers. The threat to Outstanding Universal Value will become a permanent one. 6. Responses by Government Over 15 remote-area fires in and around the World Heritage property had been reported by 18 January 2016. More were reported on 18 and 19 January. On 21 January, the Tasmanian Government issued a media release saying that assistance had been sought from other parts of Australia and that further requests may include specialist planners and remote area fire fighters. Meanwhile, one of the fires (the Lake Mackenzie fire ) had roared up on to the Central Plateau, burning alpine vegetation including cushion plants and pencil pines, and threatening to burn further south into some of the state s best stands of pencil pine. In recognition of the potentially catastrophic loss of irreplaceable alpine ecosystems and rainforests in the Tasmanian Wilderness, conservationists urged the Tasmanian Government to call in additional support, particularly remote-area fire-fighters (Bayley 2016). These additional resources arrived between 23 and 26 January, about 10 days since the fires were first ignited. During this period, the Australian Government was urged to provide emergency back-up to the Tasmanian Government, including financial resources and fire-fighting infrastructure, in letters sent from 24 January (Law 2016). It is believed that over 500 such letters were received by the Australian Government. Two weeks after the fires commenced, Australia s Minister for the Environment (the Minister responsible for World Heritage properties) said that he had activated national response mechanisms to assist the fire-fighting effort (Hunt 2016). The Minister also expressed his concern for the Tasmanian Wilderness, describing the situation as deeply serious (Richards 2016). 7. Cultural Heritage The intensity of so many fires in so many sensitive locations could have destroyed Aboriginal cultural heritage in the form of middens and stone scatters. In particular, fires that burnt to Tasmania s west coast could have impacted on hut depressions and shell middens within the Western Tasmania Aboriginal Cultural Landscape, listed on Australia s Register of National Heritage (Department of the Environment 2013). This is an area proposed as an extension to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (The Wilderness Society 2015). In addition, fires burning in the Maxwell River area could impact on caves which contributed to the listing of the Tasmanian Wilderness as World Heritage for its cultural values.
Concerns about the impacts of these very intense fires on Aboriginal heritage have been expressed by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community (O'Conner 2016). A proper assessment of such impacts should be carried out when the fires have been safely extinguished. 8. Recommendations To respond to the still current threat of catastrophic damage to key mountain landscapes, ancient flora and cultural heritage in the Tasmanian Wilderness, the Australian Government should, in the immediate short term: Recognise the catastrophic threat and recent impacts to key Outstanding Universal Values of the Tasmanian Wilderness and other major natural attributes posed by the current fires; Offer adequate financial backing for the suppression of the uncontrolled fires that threaten the Tasmanian Wilderness and other irreplaceable environmental attributes (such as the Tarkine rainforest, Tyndall Range and Western Tasmania Aboriginal Cultural Landscape); Report on this issue to the World Heritage Committee in its March 2016 State of Conservation report, including a preliminary assessment of impacts on both natural and cultural heritage; Provide funding to the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service to rejuvenate its education program about fire for outdoor recreationalists using the Tasmanian Wilderness. To address the longer-term threat, the Australian Government should: Recognise the catastrophic threat to key Outstanding Universal Values of the Tasmanian Wilderness and other major natural attributes posed by fire; Report on wild fires as a routine part of its State of Conservation reports; Provide coordination and financial support to enable the Tasmanian Government to develop and implement a long-term bushfire response plan designed to protect Outstanding Universal Value and other environmental attributes in Tasmania; Provide financial resources for additional research into the relationship between climate change, bushfires and ecology in Australia; Oversee the review of the Management Plan for the Tasmanian Wilderness to ensure wildfires and their threats to Outstanding Universal Values are adequately addressed; Bolster its efforts to research, model and tackle climate change. The Tasmanian Government should: Recognise the current impacts and ongoing catastrophic threat posed by wildfires to key Outstanding Universal Values of the Tasmanian Wilderness and other major natural attributes such as the Tarkine rainforest and Western Tasmania Aboriginal Cultural Landscape; Formally seek support from the Australian Government to address threats to the natural environment as well as to Tasmanian communities;
Provide regular briefings and a liaison officer to inform ENGOs of progress in firefighting strategies and efforts; After the fire season, carry out a thorough review of the entire incident, including state of preparation, applicability of action plans, response following first ignitions, coordination between agencies, and communications with the public and stakeholders. The review should take the form of a formal, independent inquiry and seek input from key stakeholders, including ENGOs; In conjunction with the Australian Government, modify and publish action plans for responding to outbreaks of wildfires and recognise these in the property s revised management plan; In conjunction with the Australian Government, develop and publish long-term plans for ameliorating threats to Outstanding Universal Value and other natural and cultural attributes. The Wilderness Society believes that the seriousness of the threat to the Outstanding Universal Value of the Tasmanian Wilderness should be recognised and stated by the World Heritage Centre and the World Heritage Committee s advisory bodies. We believe the threat should form part of the agenda for the Committee at its meeting in July 2016 in Turkey.
Appendix 1. Photographs by Rob Blakers of fire damage to primitive flora of Outstanding Universal Value in the Tasmanian Wilderness, taken 29, 30 January 2016. Burnt and killed pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides), Central Plateau Conservation Area, part of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property Burnt and killed pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides), Central Plateau Conservation Area, part of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property
Burnt and killed pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides), Central Plateau Conservation Area, part of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property Burnt and killed pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides), Central Plateau Conservation Area, part of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property glacial lake in background
Burnt and killed pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides) with frond, Central Plateau Conservation Area, part of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property Charred cushion plants, Central Plateau Conservation Area, part of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property Lake Mackenzie in background
Burnt cushion plants and other alpine species, Central Plateau Conservation Area, part of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property. Burnt cushion plants and other alpine species, Central Plateau Conservation Area, part of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property
Burnt cushion plants and other alpine species, Central Plateau Conservation Area, part of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage property
Appendix 2. Some media reports on the impact and threat to the Tasmanian Wilderness from current wild fires, January and February 2016 Nature Tasmanian bushfires threaten iconic ancient forests http://www.nature.com/news/tasmanian-bushfires-threaten-iconic-ancient-forests-1.19308#/ Sydney Morning Herald Like losing the thylacine : Fire burns Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area http://www.smh.com.au/environment/like-losing-the-thylacine-fire-burns-tasmanian-wilderness-worldheritage-area-20160131-gmi2re.html#ixzz3zo96duud Explainer: Why is Tasmania's world heritage area burning? http://www.smh.com.au/environment/explainer-why-is-tasmanias-world-heritage-area-burning-20160205- gmn9ay.html#ixzz3zo9ee381 Guardian World heritage forests burn as global tragedy unfolds in Tasmania http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/27/world-heritage-forests-burn-as-global-tragedy-unfoldsin-tasmania Tasmania bushfires leave world heritage area devastated in pictures http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/gallery/2016/feb/02/tasmania-bushfires-leave-world-heritage-areadevastated-in-pictures Call for urgent inquiry into world heritage forest fires in Tasmania http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/feb/04/call-for-urgent-inquiry-into-world-heritage-forestfires-in-tasmania Tasmanian bushfires 'worst crisis in decades' for world heritage forests http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jan/22/tasmanian-bushfires-worst-crisis-in-decades-for-worldheritage-forests The Japan Times Tasmanian bush fires raze ancient World Heritage forests http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/01/31/asia-pacific/science-health-asia-pacific/tasmanian-bush-firesraze-ancient-world-heritage-forests/#.vq7wfz87bqb Hobart Mercury All at risk of being lost forever http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/all-at-risk-of-being-lost-forever/newsstory/4e52c12a3b950e820140dca25895f7b3 The Conversation Fires in Tasmania s ancient forests are a warning for all of us https://theconversation.com/fires-in-tasmanias-ancient-forests-are-a-warning-for-all-of-us-53806 The Daily Mail (UK) Paradise lost: The devastation of Tasmanian wilderness where bushfires wiped out thousand-year-old trees and left sad kangaroos dying in the mud is revealed http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3429623/tasmanian-world-heritage-area-devastated-bushfire.html
Appendix 3 Letter by the Australian Minister for the Environment regarding the fires
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