More than a million pieces of ancient rock art have secured World Heritage status in a bittersweet listing for environmentalists and traditional custodians fearful nearby industrial activity is damaging the engravings.
The Murujuga rock art landscape in Western Australia was listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a heritage site on Friday after intense lobbying by the federal government.
"For more than 50,000 years, the Ngarda-Ngarli people have protected and managed this significant land and seascape — and today, I am proud to announce that Murujuga will receive another level of protection via the World Heritage system," Environment Minister Murray Watt said while visiting the organisation's headquarters in Paris.
"Achieving World Heritage status ensures stronger protections under Australian legislation and will allow the world to celebrate this unique cultural landscape," the minister added.
Watt, who was accompanied on his trip by representatives from the Western Australian government and Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, said the World Heritage nomination "had the free, prior and informed consent of the five language groups who all come together to care for Murujuga today".
Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation director Peter Hicks said the nomination "was led by Aboriginal people, for Aboriginal people and guided by Aboriginal people. And therefore, it is world-first."
Another director, Belinda Churnside, said the listing "was a testament to the true dedication, commitment and resilience of Aboriginal people".
Murujuga contains the world's largest, densest and most diverse collection of rock art engravings — known as petroglyphs — and some are estimated to be more than 50,000 years old.
They depict animals, plants and human figures, and are visible due to the colour and contrast between the removed varnish layer and the underlying brighter weathered rind of the host rocks.
The site, which has been called the oldest art gallery in the world, was previously put forward to UNESCO in 2023 but Australia's application was referred back in May.
Woodside's North West Shelf gas processing plan sits alongside the Murujuga Cultural Landscape in Burrup Peninsula, Western Australia. Source: Supplied / Save Our Songlines / Conservation Council of Western Australia
The peninsula in northwest WA near Karratha is home to two gas plants, a fertiliser plant and iron ore and salt export facilities.
Watt recently gave provisional approval for a Woodside project on the peninsula to continue operating until 2070.
Speaking after UNESCO's announcement today, Watt said: "In the end, what persuaded the committee was both the scientific evidence that was put forward, which disputed some of the claims that were being made, but also the genuine passion from the Traditional Owners to see this World Heritage listing be secured."
The 21 UNESCO member nations voted unanimously in support of the listing but requested that Australia continue to research and monitor the effects of industry on the rock art.
Environmentalists, Traditional Custodians vow to continue fight
While environmentalists welcomed the heritage listing, they warned that the Woodside project extension could cause further damage.
"The world is now watching," Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy said.
"The onus is on the Australian government to make sure the values recognised by UNESCO are not jeopardised by ongoing industrial pollution. If the federal government is serious about protecting Murujuga and making sure it is not moved to an "in danger" list, Senator Watt should reject the gas hub's proposed expansion," O'Shanassy added.
Mardathoonera woman and Murujuga traditional custodian Raelene Cooper, who was at the UNESCO meeting, welcomed the World Heritage listing but criticised the removal of recommended protections, including halting industry expansion.
"Today, Australia rewrote the World Heritage listing in the interests of the gas industry," she said.
However, she said it was "a momentous day for our old people and our future generations, to have Murujuga's outstanding universal heritage values recognised by the world".
"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.
"We will continue to fight for protection for this very special place, and the world is now aware of what we are up against."
Woodside said the listing was "well-deserved global recognition of the petroglyphs and the unique living cultural values of Murujuga" to Australia and the world.
"Woodside has been a proud supporter of the World Heritage nomination and assessment process. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and Traditional Custodians on the continued protection and management of this globally significant area," the company said in a statement sent to SBS News.
Mardathoonera woman Raelene Cooper, a former Chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, has previously said she was "sickened" by Environment Minister Murray Watt's decision to grant Woodside a 40-year extension to its North West Shelf project. Source: Supplied / Raelene Cooper
"UNESCO had warned that Woodside's gas plant threatened the longevity of the rock art prior to the listing, but Minister Watt successfully lobbied other nations when he should have simply rejected Woodside's climate bomb extension in the first place," she said.
Woodside has estimated that keeping the North-West Shelf operating until 2070 could lead to emissions of up to 4.3 billion tons tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e), the majority of which will come from exported fossil fuel products.
That's over nine times Australia's total annual emissions, which currently sit around 440.2 million tonnes CO2-e.
Senator Waters added that world heritage laws should be bolstered to better protect listed sites.
Australia has 21 properties on the World Heritage list, which includes the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the Great Barrier Reef.
UNESCO added several other sites to its list, including the Xixia Imperial Tombs in China and the Faya Palaeolandscape in the United Arab Emirates.
