- The Guardian
- Issue #2154
The fertiliser plant sits side by side with ancient rock art. Photo: Marius Fenger– wikimedia.org (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Murujuga, the world’s largest rock art site located on the Burrup Peninsula in West Australia, has officially been confirmed as a Cultural World Heritage Site at the 47th World Heritage Committee (WHC) at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
Murujuga was listed with an amendment by UNESCO member states for the Australian government to continue research and monitoring of industrial impacts on the site; this is a reference to the impacts of pollution from Woodsides North West Shelf LNG processing facility, which research has shown is accelerating the weathering and degradation of the over one million petroglyphs which make up this globally significant rock art site.
Environment Minister Murray Watt met with European ambassadors at the 47th World Heritage Committee at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris this week, lobbying for the approval to be based on the West Australian government’s executive summary of research into the industrial impacts on Murujuga.
WHC decision makers were also considering findings from a report written by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) which found that industrial activity of the gas industry on the Burrup peninsula is weathering and degrading the Murujuga rock art, which was also confirmed by a research paper published this week by Bonn University.
In May, the Environment Minister issued a conditional approval to Woodside to extend operations of its North West Shelf LNG facilities on the Burrup peninsula until 2070, the conditions of which are yet to be made public.
Raelene Cooper from Save our Songlines has also been in Paris, alongside other First Nations representatives, to ensure the conservation and protection of this ancient cultural site is considered in any ruling by the World Heritage Committee.
Prof Ben Smith Professor of Archaeology at the University of Western Australia said that while he celebrates Murujaga being listed as a World Heritage Site, the way in which the Australian government handled the scientific findings on industrial impacts on Murujuga during this process “reveals the extent to which they will go to play down the impacts of our gas industry.
“The scientific data clearly demonstrated the advanced weathering of the Murujuga petroglyphs from heightened levels of certain airborne pollutants from the nearby Woodside gas processing facility, yet we saw this repeatedly dismissed by different levels of government, with graphs and data being manipulated to back up the narrative that no conditions were required for the listing.
“One only hopes that Murujuga’s listing as a World Heritage Site spurs the government to no longer shirk their responsibility to conserve and protect this globally significant rock art site, and we see proper measures put in place to stop the polluting gas industry from degrading our First Nations cultural heritage.”
Raelene Cooper, a Murujuga custodian of the Mardudhunera people and the founder of Save our Songlines said: “My family and community have worked for many years for World Heritage protection for Murujuga’s ancient rock art.
“This is a momentous day for our old people and our future generations, to have Murujuga’s outstanding universal heritage values recognised by the world.
“Our rock art tells the stories of our people, and maintains our songlines and bloodline connection to our ngurra.
“Today, Australia rewrote the World Heritage listing in the interests of the gas industry. Even though all of the recommended protections were removed after concerted lobbying from the Australian government, we are still overjoyed to see Murujuga finally World Heritage listed by UNESCO.
“Meanwhile, fertiliser plants are still being built around our sacred sites and polluting gas plants will emit toxic acid on our rock art for another 50 years. The final decision today falls well short of the protections that expert body ICOMOS has recommended. But comments from World Heritage Committee members today send a clear signal to the Australian government and Woodside that things need to change to prevent the ongoing desecration of Murujuga by polluting industry. Global scrutiny will now be applied to what is happening at Murujuga. We will continue to fight for protection for this very special place, and the world is now aware of what we are up against.”
Climate Media Centre
