Why is Kakadu National Park a World Heritage site?
The cultural heritage and natural landscapes got Kakadu National Park World Heritage-listed. Kakadu qualifies for the UNESCO list under five of the possible ten criteria. The Aboriginal rock art and wildlife are key factors.
Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory near Darwin is the largest national park in Australia. Kakadu is on the UNESCO World Heritage list for cultural and natural reasons.
The Kakadu National Park World Heritage listing was inscribed in 1981.
UNESCO, the United Nations body that maintains the World Heritage list, has ten criteria for adding a site to the list. For inclusion, a site must meet at least one of the criteria. Kakadu National Park meets an astonishing five of them.
4 Kakadu experiences worth booking in advance
- Full day Kakadu tour from Darwin.
- Corroboree Billabong wetland cruises.
- Full day Arnhem Land tour from Jabiru.
- The Yellow Water crocodile cruise in Cooinda.
World Heritage list criteria
The first of these is Criterion (i) – “to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius”. Kakadu’s many Aboriginal rock art sites, including Ubirr and the Anbangbang rock art gallery, qualify here. The different artistic styles, number of sites and depictions of long-extinct animals helped get Kakadu National Park World Heritage-listed.
Kakadu also makes the list under Criterion (vi) – “to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.”
The rock art and archaeological record qualifies Kakadu under this criterion. It provides a wealth of evidence for social and ritual activities from the Pleistocene era until the present day.
Natural reasons for Kakadu’s World Heritage listing
The other three criteria that make Kakadu National Park World Heritage-listed are natural ones. First up is Criterion (vii) – to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. The vast, bird watcher-friendly wetlands such as Mamukala, plus the imposing sandstone escarpments qualify Kakadu here. Stunning waterfalls like Jim Jim Falls don’t hurt, either.
Criterion (ix) is a mouthful, but here goes. “To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals.”
For Kakadu, the relative lack of impact from European settlement is important here. The natural vegetation is largely unmodified. The two billion years of geological history in the stone country, plus the more recent, dynamic floodplains, show a clear picture of environmental change.
Kakadu Wotld Heritage listing: Wildlife
The final criterion for Kakadu’s inclusion on the World Heritage list is about the flora and fauna. Criterion (x) reads: “To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.”
Size, diversity of habitats and limited settlement protect Kakadu’s wealth of animal life. It plays home to more than one third of Australia’s bird species and a quarter of the land mammals. Throw in huge concentrations of seasonal waterbirds, plus exceptional numbers of reptiles, amphibians and fish, and Kakadu qualifies easily.
Kakadu is best visited on the multiday Nature’s Way driving route through Northern Territory’s Top End. This also visits Nitmiluk National Park and Litchfield National Park. The best place to stay in Kakadu is Jabiru, 254km from Darwin, where there’s a bizarre crocodile-shaped hotel as well as the the Anbinik Kakadu Resort or Aurora Kakadu Lodge
Book your Kakadu National Park tours.
Or, if self-driving, your kakadu accommodation.
More outback national parks
The Mutawintji National Park near Broken Hill, New South Wales.
Katherine Gorge canoe tours in the Nitmiluk National Park near Katherine.
Litchfield National Park camping opportunities.
The best things to do in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, Northern Territory.