UNESCO Rejects Bid for Australian Indigenous Rock Art to Receive World Heritage Listing

The World Heritage Committee said it wanted Australia to complete ongoing studies on the impact of local industry activities on the petroglyphs.

Aboriginal site preservation signs stand on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia, on June 16, 2008. Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images

The Australian government’s bid to have an area of rock art in Western Australia recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site has suffered a setback.

According to a draft decision (pdf) to be presented at its 47th session in Paris in July, the World Heritage Committee is set to refer the nomination of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape, which was made in February 2023, back to Australia.