Object description

The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area is a World Heritage Site in Tasmania, Australia. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Australia, covering 15,800 km², or almost 20% of Tasmania. It is also one of the last expanses of temperate wilderness in the world, and includes the South West Wilderness. In 2014, the Abbott Government proposed de-listing the Tasmanian Wilderness as a World Heritage Site so as to allow the logging of trees within the protected area. This would have been the first time a developed nation has de-listed a site for economic purposes. It was rejected by the World Heritage Committee the same year. In 2016, the Tasmanian government withdrew the bid to allow logging in the Tasmanian Wilderness after a UNESCO report opposed the idea.