World-class management of natural heritage recognised in global report

14 October 2025

Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt has welcomed a global independent report on the conservation outlook for World Heritage sites with natural values.

The fourth World Heritage Outlook Report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) examined key trends across 271 natural World Heritage sites.

This included assessments of 16 of Australia’s 21 World Heritage properties which recognised our strong efforts to manage and protect our natural World Heritage. 

This included:

  •  Macquarie Island’s native vegetation recovery is in the best shape in over a century resulting in an increase in its overall status to good. This is due to increased action to combat invasive species and significant joint investments made by the Australian and Tasmanian governments.
  • Uluṟu Kata Tjuṯa National Park continues to be an exemplar model for joint management arrangements between the Australian Government and Aṉangu, the Traditional Owners of this cultural and naturally significant landscape.
  • Lord Howe Island Group’s unique endemic ecosystems continue to be well protected and thriving due to an outstanding invasive species and biosecurity management framework. Efforts to protect these native systems serves as a global model for island conservation.

The Albanese Government has invested significantly to conserve and protect our environment, including our World Heritage properties, from threats such as climate change and invasive species. 

Initiatives to manage and protect our 16 natural World Heritage properties include: 

  • Increasing protection levels and almost tripling the size of Macquarie Island Marine Park in 2023 and investing more than $370 million to support delivery of a new Macquarie Island Research Station.
  • An environmental management campaign to Heard Island and McDonald Islands led by the Australian Antarctic Division to undertake integral science and monitoring tasks to advance protections and management including informing the development of a new management plan.
  • Setting a global standard for conservation with the addition of Lamington National Park in Queensland (part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia), to the IUCN Green List.
  • Investing $1.2 billion over 9 years to deliver the Great Barrier Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan—the most comprehensive plan of corrective measures developed for a World Heritage property.
  • Investing an additional $262.3 million to protect Australia’s national parks and delivering on key projects including the refurbishment of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa Cultural Centre and Ranger station upgrades in Kakadu National Park.
     

Australia is working with others in the World Heritage system to protect World Heritage properties from the impacts of climate change. This includes supporting the development and implementation of a Climate Action Toolkit for World Heritage.

Through our work, Australia is keen to support the greater good of humankind, and we remain poised to share learnings, stewardship and leadership to support other State Parties and Indigenous Peoples to build capacity under the World Heritage Convention.

Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt welcomed the findings of the report released at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

“Australia is a world leader in environmental management – including the way we protect our precious natural World Heritage properties,” Minister Watt said.

“The IUCN World Heritage Outlook Report provides important insights on the challenges faced by World Heritage properties across the globe and the actions being taken to protect them. 

“The Albanese Government is strongly committed to the ongoing protection of our World Heritage, establishing ambitious emissions reduction targets and working together with States Parties, the World Heritage Centre and World Heritage Advisory Bodies to strengthen capacity to respond to climate change.”

Key global findings of the report include: 

  • Biodiversity values of World Heritage sites continue to be at most risk.
  • Climate change remains the greatest current threat to natural World Heritage properties globally with 43% of sites impacted. Since 2020, the number of sites where climate change is a high or very high threat has increased by 31 sites, with now 117 out of 271 properties threatened.  
  • Invasive alien species including pathogens that cause plant and animal diseases is the second most prevalent threat.
  • Stronger regional, national and global action is needed to address threats from outside site boundaries as effective site management alone is not sufficient to ensure a positive conservation outlook for natural World Heritage.
  • Concerted local effort by site managers can improve the conservation outlooks with 13 sites improving their overall status since the last assessment in 2020.