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The Kimberley – Beautiful, Unique, Threatened… 
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One of the last great wilderness areas on Earth
Natural and Cultural Values
The Kimberley Under Threat
Environmental Impacts
The Kimberley Campaign
What you can do
Links Latest News WA Government must set bar high for Kimberley conservation strategy The Conservation Council of WA has joined other major environment groups to produce a submission that outlines a number of recommendations to the State government for the government's Kimberley Science and Conservation Strategy. Together with Pew Australia, WWF, Environs Kimberley, The Wilderness Society and ACF are calling for a dramatic change in the conservation management and planning for the Kimberley – saying the current ad hoc approach was putting one of the largest and intact natural areas in the world at severe risk. Click here to download the Environment NGO's response to the WA Government Kimberley Science and Conservation Strategy, here. (pdf document 2.6MB) Media Releases 26 November 2008
‘Australia’ star Jack Thompson lends voice to Kimberley conservation campaign
4 July 2008
Rush to find Kimberley hub threatens process, environment
5 March 2008
Kimberley gas giant told to ‘get off the Marets’ - First protest at company head office today
6 February 2007
Green groups urge immediate Federal action on INPEX: Cautious optimism on detail of assessment process
6 December 2007
Conservation organisations welcome joint statement with KLC on gas development in the Kimberley
30 July 2007
Appeal Win Sends Message to Inpex
10 May 2007
Kimberley Coast drilling by INPEX must cease
9 February 2007
TOTAL – INPEX gas processing facility must not go on an island!  | The Kimberley coast in northern Western Australia is one of the last great wilderness areas on Earth. The region is internationally recognised for its unspoilt marine and coastal environments including islands, coral reefs, mangroves, rainforests and rivers, home to a variety of wildlife including endangered whales, turtles, dugong and rare snubfin dolphins. The Kimberley also has outstanding cultural values as a result of over 50,000 years of indigenous settlement. At least 36 local languages are spoken, and indigenous people in many areas retain significant environmental knowledge and land management skills. The region's ruggedness and isolation have protected it to some extent from human impact and as a result has outstanding natural values. But the unspolit wilderness is currently under threat from large scale industrial development. back to top |
The Kimberley has outstanding natural and cultural values including: - ♦ One of the few relatively pristine coastal areas left on Earth, according to a recent global analysis of human impact on marine ecosystems
- ♦ Calving areas for the Humpback Whale, a species listed as vulnerable
- ♦ Nesting beaches for vulnerable Green and Flatback Turtles
- ♦ Part of the largest intact savanna remaining on Earth
- ♦ Two global shorebird hotspots - Roebuck Bay and 80 Mile Beach – which each year attract nearly a million shorebirds of more than 25 species
- ♦ The richest rock art galleries in the world
- ♦ Almost all of Western Australia’s ‘wild’ (pristine or near-pristine) rivers: the largest, the Prince Regent, is one of the most spectacular and beautiful and possibly the best preserved river in Australia
- ♦ Important habitats for conservation (savanna woodlands, mangrove, tropical rainforest thickets) with a still complete natural flora, fauna and biological diversity
- ♦ One of Australia’s 15 biodiversity hotspots (the North Kimberley) with populations of the endangered Gouldian Finch and endemic and threatened mammals including the Golden Bandicoot, Scaly-tailed Possum and Monjon (a rock wallaby)
back to top The Kimberley Under Threat At the same time as the Kimberley’s extraordinary natural values are beginning to be recognised, its mineral resources are also attracting attention. Development proposals include two large LNG plants to process gas from the Browse Basin; two bauxite mines, two ports and an alumina refinery; a zinc mine and smelter; and an iron ore mine on an island. Each of these projects alone would have significant local environmental and social impacts, but together they add up to an industrialisation of the Kimberley that could destroy its natural values and have a severe impact on its society and economy. A recent study of the natural values of northern Australia observed, the intact nature of the North provides a basis for much of the economic activity and the general quality of life for residents of the area. Most of the major industries – tourism, pastoralism, Indigenous economies – rely on productive, functioning and healthy natural ecosystems. This intact nature is currently at risk. The most immediate threat at present is from the exploitation of the huge Browse Basin gas field. Recoverable reserves in the Browse Basin are estimated at more than 50 trillion cubic feet, or more than a third of Australia's known offshore gas reserves. At present Woodside and Inpex are both in the advanced stages of planning LNG plants, Karoon Gas/ConocoPhillips and Shell are planning exploration drilling, and a number of other companies have exploration permits in the Browse Basin. |  |
back to top  | Exploitation of this gas field will bring with it major environmental impacts including: - ♦ Drilling in sensitive marine environments
- ♦ Dredging and blasting of coral reefs and other sensitive marine environments for pipeline construction and construction of new ports
- ♦ Offshore facilities with emissions including produced formation water (containing hydrocarbons and heavy metals), flared gas, and sewage from a workforce of hundreds
- ♦ Over 10 million tonnes per annum of greenhouse gas emissions from the Inpex and Woodside LNG projects alone, representing 2% of Australia’s current estimated emissions
- ♦ A huge increase in shipping movements potentially interfering with the migration and breeding of humpback whales and other marine life, and risking the introduction of marine invasive species
- ♦ Lights at both offshore and onshore facilities affecting sea turtles
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The campaign aims to ensure that: - ♦ Proper regional planning occurs, taking into account the cumulative impact of different developments
- ♦ Comprehensive scientific and cultural assessments of the region are carried out before any development occurs
- ♦ Any gas development is limited to a single gas processing hub and that all options to process gas outside of the Kimberley have been adequately investigated.
- ♦ Information about the scope of the proposed projects and their potential cumulative impacts on cultural and natural values is made available to Traditional Owners in the affected areas and the wider community
- ♦ Natural and World Heritage listing for the West Kimberley, coasts and islands is pursued in consultation with Traditional Owners and backed up by an expansion of National Parks, Marine Parks and Nature Reserves in the Kimberley
- ♦ The unique wilderness, cultural and biodiversity values of the Kimberley are protected for future generations.
back to top Links Save the Kimberley
Coastal and Marine Natural Values of the Kimberley WWF Australia 2008 back to top
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