The hopes of a World Heritage listing for the Murujuga Cultural Landscape and its extraordinary collection of ancient Indigenous rock art have been dealt a blow, with UNESCO set to delay a decision over the impact of industrial emissions in and around the Burrup Peninsula.
The federal government nominated the site for a listing in Jannuary, 2023, and a decision was expected in July this year, after a bureaucratic bungle by the government delayed the process by 12 months.
Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation has been at the forefront of the World Heritage Listing campaign, dedicating four years of research work to the bid.
Murujuga National Park, which overlooks Woodside's gas plant operations in Karratha, in WA's Pilbara region, is home to more than one million petroglyphs.
On Friday, a report by the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program was released, showing studies had identified higher-than-expected levels of ammonia (NH₃) and ozone (O₃) in the airshed, as well as significant black carbon (soot) levels. The study said the pollutants are likely to be human-generated, with industrial operations being the major source. Ozone and formaldehyde are noted as potential risks to the microbiome on rock surfaces.
UNESCO's World Heritage committee this week published a draft decision recommending the application be sent back to the federal government to address concerns about the impact of emissions on the petroglyphs in the area.
The committee urged the Australian government "ensure the total removal of degrading acidic emissions, currently impacting upon the petroglyphs of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape", and "prevent any further industrial development", WA Today reports.
On Wednesday Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt announced the federal government approved Woodside's application to extend its North West Shelf operations, 10km from Murujuga, for another 45 years. The WA government had already greenlit the extension.
Senator Murray Watt said the government was disappointed with UNESCO's decision.
"It's important to note this is only a draft decision and a final decision will be made by the World Heritage Committee when it meets in Paris in July. We will work constructively with the World Heritage Centre to ensure the factual inaccuracies that influenced the draft decision are addressed. We will strongly advocate to the World Heritage Committee to reconsider the nomination when it meets," he said.
Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation said the evaluation "is exceptionally positive about the Murujuga Cultural Landscape" and while the organisation "is deeply disappointed with the recommendation to refer the nomination back to the State Party", it is now "working through the recommendations from the report".
MAC Chairperson Peter Hicks said it "is clear from the ICOMOS report that the Murujuga Cultural Landscape should be on the World Heritage List".
"The evaluation report provides the pathway to finalising World Heritage Listing and while the referral adds another small step to our journey, it is a positive outcome and not a rejection.
"While it is disappointing, we are determined to finish our journey and see the Murujuga Cultural Landscape included on the World Heritage List as soon as possible."
A Woodside spokesperson told National Indigenous Times that the company "acknowledges that ICOMOS has made a recommendation" which it noted was issued prior to the release of the latest Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP) report.
"The MRAMP report addresses a number of the concerns raised by ICOMOS," they said.
"The ICOMOS recommendation is not the final decision, which rests with the World Heritage Committee. Woodside will continue to support the leadership of Traditional Custodians, including the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, which holds cultural authority, and work with the Commonwealth and State Governments as they prepare their responses to the recommendation.
"We believe the World Heritage nomination should proceed on the strength of the evidence and stand as proof that cultural heritage and industry can responsibly co-exist when collaboration, transparency, and rigorous scientific monitoring are in place."
