The State of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area 2004 can be downloaded as separate a PDF Files.

Cover (560 Kb)
Front Matter - (1000 Kb)
Contents - (48 Kb)
Chapter 1 - Introduction (440 Kb)
Chapter 2 - General Management and Arrangements (796 Kb)
     Figure 5 - Land Tenure (148 Kb)
Chapter 3 - Identification and understanding of the natural and cultural heritage (2107 Kb)
Chapter 4 - Protection of the natural and cultural heritage (2169 Kb)
Chapter 5 - Conservation and rehabilitation of the natural and cultural heritage (1800 Kb)
     Figure 17 - Wilderness Quality (180 Kb)
Chapter 6 - Presentation of the natural and cultural heritage (984 Kb)
Chapter 7 - Stakeholders’ assessments of management performance (812 Kb)
Chapter 8 - Conclusions and proposed actions (676 Kb)
Appendices (760 Kb)
References (752 Kb)
Index (164 Kb)

The full summary report on the State of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area 2004 is available for download as a PDF (3054 Kb).

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Overview
This is a summary of the first State of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Report.

Publication of this report marks a significant step in making management of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) more open, informed, and accountable.

The main purposes of the report are:

1. to provide a structured, evidence-based account of how management of the TWWHA is performing in achieving its management objectives and obligations under the World Heritage Convention—to identify, protect, conserve, present, transmit to future generations and, if appropriate, rehabilitate the World Heritage values of the property;

2. to provide informed feedback that guides management to better achieve objectives and deliver desired outcomes; and

3. to increase the transparency of management for the TWWHA.

The focus of this evaluation is on management effectiveness over the decade since the first statutory management plan for the TWWHA was approved in 1992. This evaluation establishes the methodology for evaluating management effectiveness for the TWWHA, allows the progress in management to date to be examined, and provides a sound reference set of data against which management effectiveness under the 1999 and subsequent management plans can be evaluated in future.

The main inputs to this evaluation were:

• scientific data and other measured evidence about performance indicators (especially in relation to the management objectives for protecting, conserving and rehabilitating the natural and cultural heritage);

• information and professional advice from experts (especially natural and cultural heritage specialists);

• the views of the general public and on-site visitors (especially in relation to the management objectives for presenting the natural and cultural heritage); and

• assessments and critical comment on management performance by internal and external stakeholders closely associated with management of the TWWHA.

This report presents evidence of management effectiveness against the objectives, and also includes key stakeholders’ assessments of management performance. The report concludes with an overall indication of management effectiveness under the 1992 management plan and identifies opportunities for enhancing management performance. Actions are proposed to address the identified opportunities for improving management.

The preparation of regular State of the TWWHA Reports is an integral component of the overall adaptive management system that has been developed for the TWWHA. This system, which operates through the management plan and linked State of the TWWHA Reports, facilitates the recognition of areas of management strength and weakness, and provides a sound basis for guiding continuous improvement in management.