UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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![]() Forest near Daintree. Queensland | |
Location | Queensland, Australia |
Includes | components:
|
Criteria | Natural: (vii), (viii), (ix), (x) |
Reference | 486 |
Inscription | 1988 (12th Session) |
Area | 893,453 ha (3,449.64 sq mi) |
Coordinates | 15°39′S 144°58′E / 15.650°S 144.967°E |
Components in Queensland | |
The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km2 of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all four of the criteria for natural heritage for selection as a World Heritage Site.[1] World Heritage status was declared in 1988,[2] and on 21 May 2007 the Wet Tropics were added to the Australian National Heritage List.[3]
The tropical forests have the highest concentration of primitive flowering plant families in the world.[4] Only Madagascar and New Caledonia, due to their historical isolation, have humid, tropical regions with a comparable level of endemism.[2]
The Wet Tropics rainforests are a biodiversity hotspot and recognised internationally for their ancient ancestry and many unique plants and animals. The area covers 0.1% of the Australian landmass but contains 50 per cent of all the nation's species.[5] Many plant and animal species in the Wet Tropics are found nowhere else in the world. The Wet Tropics has the oldest continuously surviving tropical rainforests on earth.[6]
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