Ningaloo Reef nominated for World Heritage status

The Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia has been nominated for World Heritage listing due to the area’s outstanding natural beauty, biological richness and international geological significance.

The Ningaloo Coast is home to a virtually untouched fringing reef stretching 260km on the north-west cape, an area that includes Coral Bay and Exmouth. It is home to more than 500 species of tropical fish and 220 varieties of coral, as well as the largest fish in the world, the whale shark which visits Ningaloo between late March and June each year.

Currently 224,000-hectares of the coast form a protected marine park but if the United Nations agrees to World Heritage listing then more than 700,000 hectares of the oceanic wilderness will get special protection.

WA’s Environment Minister Donna Faragher said, “The reef is part of a marine ecosystem that ranks seventh on the world’s list of coral reef biodiversity ‘hotspots’ and is second in terms of the number of species to be found within a limited range,” she said.

“The Cape Range peninsula is an evolutionary laboratory that emerged from the sea over 26 million years, built from the skeletons of ancient marine creatures.

“The Ningaloo Coast represents the best opportunity in the world to encounter whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, together with globally significant populations of manta rays, dugongs, marine turtles, humpbacks, other cetaceans, rays and sharks.”

The heritage listing could boost tourism to the area, which has enjoyed growth as a destination for snorkellers and divers over the last few years thanks to its diversity of sea life and the opening of eco-luxury camp Sal Salis and the Ningaloo Novotel at Exmouth.

Ningaloo Reef and the adjoining Cape Range National Park currently attract more than 100,000 visitors a year, injecting approximately $127million into the local economy.

“World Heritage listing is the highest global recognition of a site’s importance and if listed, Ningaloo Coast will be recognised with the greatest of the world’s heritage sites such as the Grand Canyon, Egypt’s Pyramids, Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park and Stonehenge,” she said.

Ningaloo Reef differs from Australia’s other famous reef, the Great Barrier Reef, as it is a fringing reef, meaning visitors can snorkel over corals and exotic sea life just metres from the shore.

The nomination will be assessed during the next 18 months. Western Australia already has two World Heritage listed areas, the Shark Bay area most famous for its wild dolphins at Monkey Mia and Purnululu National Park, home to the beehive Bungle Bungle Range.

Visit Ningaloo Reef between late March and June on a 10-day tour which includes domestic flights, three nights in the 5-star Richardson Hotel in Perth, two nights at the luxury Sal Salis and a full day diving with whale sharks on the Ningaloo Reef. Prices start from £2806 per person.

For more information visit westernaustralia.com.