Currently in Paris to make the case for UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape, representatives of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation say the listing represents "greater protection of our country and the hopeful dreams of our elderly people and our membership".

MAC chairperson Peter Hicks said the organisation wanted to secure for the landscape – home to the world's greatest collection of ancient rock art - "the deserving protection that it needs under World Heritage".

"This nomination is a fully Aboriginal-led nomination written by and for the Aboriginal people of the area. It's been a long, long process for us. It's been a 20-year journey for me as a board member and many, many years before that for our elderly people have been on this journey to see this protection here.

"In doing so, to write this nomination, we first realised that we would have to reduce the footprint of industrial activity on the Murujuga landscape and therefore we work closely with the current government to take back all our lands and therefore reduce any further and stop all further industrial development on Murujuga."

Mr Hicks said it "has been the dreams of our elderly people" to secure World Heritage Listing for the Murujuga Cultural Landscape.

"Today we are here to represent that dream for our old people and on Friday, we are more than confident within the delegation that stands here, to have this inscripted into history for our people," he said.

"It is a nomination that was inspiring to other Aboriginal people across the world to see that this can actually happen for Aboriginal people.

"The science that's been put into this is led by our senior scientist Ben Mullins and a team of 55 experts from across the world to put this science together. The science shows that there's no acid rain or effect on our rock art currently and therefore the scaremongering of third parties out there trying to destroy the dreams of our people is absolutely unacceptable."

Mr Hicks said acknowledged the work of the scientists, MAC heritage term and rangers on monitoring and protecting the landscape.

"We have been entrusted to come here and to gain protection for the world heritage site, for our area," he said.

The MAC chair said the research to date into the landscape would be "passed down to the rangers and be taught through the current technology and with current science, up-to-date science that will be able to lead our people into the future and monitor the area".

"I can honestly say standing here today that should there be anything that is showing that there's issues with the rock art and the science, we the Murajuga Aboriginal Corporation will be the ones that are standing there protesting. We don't need other people to be doing that for us.

"I'd just like to say that you the people who are here protesting and have protested across Australia; if you want to have a fight with the government or industry then you go right ahead and do that. Don't hijack the dreams of our elderly people and destroy their dreams."

The federal government, which supports the UNESCO listing bid, recently approved an extension of Woodside's operations in the region to 2070.

Groups including Friends of Australian Rock Art and Save Our Songlines have called for conditions to be placed on any World Heritage listing to limit and ultimately reduce industrial activity in the region surrounding the Murujuga Cultural Landscape in order to protect the ancient rock art.

Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation Vice Chair and Heritage Officer Belinda Churnside told National Indigenous Times "we have come with a team of delegates from the Pilbara, Western Australia, to hear what the outcome is going to be".

"We are thinking very positive. We have been positive since we have started this journey. There was a few hiccups and setbacks along the road, but our passion and drive... is to continue this legacy and finish this journey that our ancestors and our elderly people, our Elders have started," she said.

"We are very positive, hoping that we are going to go home with the World Heritage nomination. It is going to be history in the making for us, especially Australia, our country where we come from, and also for the Pilbara region, that we are actually going to be recognised on a global scale, and to work closely with scientific experts, guided by our cultural experts, to manage and care for country the way we have done for more than 50,000 years and to protect and preserve now, into the future and forever."