As one of the last great wilderness areas of the world, the Kimberley region has outstanding biodiversity and cultural values. The region's beautiful landscape is characterised by extensive areas of sandstone gorges, riparian rainforest and savanna while the coast has highly complex shoreline ecosystems and large areas of mangrove and intertidal flats. There are many species unique to the region, including several unique birds, mammals and reptiles and the coastal waters are a major breeding area for Humpback whales. The region's environmental beauty is matched by the Indigenous heritage and cultural values of the region - the consequence of 50,000 years of connection to the land.
Despite the region's global significance, the Kimberley is facing serious threats; including feral animals, invasive weeds and wild fires. There is also no over-arching conservation plan or adequate protective tenures and arrangements in place to tackle these threats. The Wild Australia program is aimed at meeting these challenges , and securing significant new conservation outcomes for the Kimberley, including support for a large increase in Indigenous Protected Areas along the Kimberley coast.
Click here for a map and background information about the recent oil spill off Australia's Kimberley coast.
Conservation of Australia's Outback Wilderness (PDF) - Carol Booth and Dr Barry Traill 2008
The Wild Australia Program study identified 12 major regions of Australia that remain almost completely undamaged by humans, including the Kimberley. The study found more than 40 percent of Australia qualifies as unspoilt wilderness, confirming the country's status as among the five most significant wild areas on Earth with areas in size and quality equivalent to the Amazon Forest, the Antarctic and the Sahara Desert.