Wilderness in Western Australia

Tourism

Western Australia is a unique holiday destination. According to the WA Tourism Commission, nature-based tourism generates around $3 billion annually for the State. About 60 per cent of visitors to WA travel to regional areas, supporting thousands of jobs in small and remote towns.

By restricting access to wilderness areas, tourism potential is also restricted. A vision for wilderness areas that allows for sustainable eco-tourism such as walk trails and other built features, but which otherwise enhances conservation of natural values, may be appropriate in some areas.

Management issues

While the “naturalness” of a wilderness area may suggest that a management plan is not needed, the existence of many threats to a wilderness area’s natural values will require on-going management. The potential for inappropriate fire regimes, feral animals and exotic weeds to affect wilderness areas has the capacity to irrevocably damage biodiversity and conservation values.

Access to wilderness areas is vital to undertake management actions such as fire suppression and pest control. Appropriate management actions would, however, be severely restricted by any limitations on the use of vehicles, as enforced in other wilderness areas.

Fire

It is generally accepted that the vegetation of Australia in 1788 was a result of complex Aboriginal burning practices, which had become a part of the natural system. Present day management of wilderness areas must therefore fully consider the future role of Indigenous people and fire in wilderness areas.

The loss to property, human life and natural areas through wildfires in Canberra and around Sydney has dramatically shown the impacts of wildfire in the Australian environment. In WA, last summer’s fire in the proposed Walpole Wilderness Park burnt out some 400 square kilometres.

Setting aside large tracts of land as wilderness without effective plans to deal with such situations invites the loss of natural values in both the short and long terms. Damage to habitats, whole ecosystems and surrounding property would be substantial.

The Labor approach

The Gallop Government’s recent draft wilderness policy statement, if implemented, would be bureaucratic, restrictive and expensive. It would also not protect most of the important natural values of wilderness areas since long-term management actions would be severely constrained.

For example, permission from the executive director of the Department of CALM would be required before a helicopter could gain emergency access to a wilderness area. Access for essential management actions such as fire control or weed eradication would require a costly and lengthy report to first be presented to the Conservation Commission.