Protecting values & integrity
The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) includes the state’s four largest national parks and several other land tenures. It encompasses 1.6 million hectares of Tasmanian’s southwest and central highlands (almost 25% of Tasmania).
Its World Heritage status implies the highest possible level of protection but pro-development governments and a regressive 2016 management plan mean threats to the area’s integrity and wild character persist.
Management prior to 2016 was not without its problems either, and there have been a range of issues related to assessments of values and monitoring.

The Pelion Plains in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. Part of the iconic Overland Track. Photo: Grant Dixon
Management & values
“… the Southwest Tasmanian wilderness is exceptional in size, quality and diversity in the Australian context and in the temperate regions of the world. As such it is of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science and conservation. The specific features of world heritage value which it contains only serve to enhance its value as an item of world heritage.”