Table Of ContentExploring UNESCO World Heritage Site listing
for the Mount Lofty Ranges agrarian landscape
A report by the Mount Lofty Ranges working group and EconSearch Pty Ltd for
Adelaide Hills Council
The Barossa Council
District Council of Mount Barker and
City of Onkaparinga
June 2012
Exploring UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for the Mount Lofty Ranges agrarian landscape
© University of Adelaide, 2012
All rights reserved.
Cite as: Exploring UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for the Mount Lofty Ranges agrarian landscape,
S. Johnston, J. Morison, R. Stringer, P.Mickan, M. Salver, G. Sarre and J.Tagliaferri, University of
Adelaide 2012.
Cover image: Painting by Dorritt Black, The Olive Plantation, 1946, reproduced courtesy of the Art
Gallery of South Australia.
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Exploring UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for the Mount Lofty Ranges agrarian landscape
For our grandchildren’s children
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The Environment Institute
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Exploring UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for the Mount Lofty Ranges agrarian landscape
‘[South Australia] is the Australian version of Tuscany, except
[they] have extraordinary seafood.’
New York Times, 23 December 2007
–
In May 2010 four councils within and adjoining Adelaide’s Mount Lofty Ranges dared to envision
a truly world-class future. Not with a hyperbolic marketing campaign, but with a bold growth
strategy to secure and enhance the qualities that make this productive agrarian landscape so
special. The councils contracted researchers at the University of Adelaide to investigate the
feasibility of making a bid for UNESCO World Heritage listing for the working agrarian landscape
of the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa Valley, Mount Barker and McLaren Vale.
World Heritage Site status would conserve the area’s unique qualities, not just for future
generations of Australians but also for the world. Not as a museum, but as a working, growing,
changing landscape under local planning control. This is the report of that investigation.
World Heritage listing for agrarian landscapes is very rare, and rarer still for working agrarian
landscapes. The Val d’Orcia in Tuscany is one example. So are Portugal’s Alto Duoro Valley,
Hungary’s Tokaj wine region, and Mexico’s famous tequila-producing area of Jalisco. This detailed
report provides a wealth of information about what World Heritage Site status is, what it means
(and what it doesn’t), the basis for a South Australian bid, the benefits and costs associated with
such status, comparisons with other World Heritage Sites and areas seeking listing (for example,
England’s Lake District), and the nomination process.
The main conclusion of the report is that seeking World Heritage status is a no-lose proposition,
whether or not it succeeds. However, many factors suggest that the probability of success for a
South Australian bid is strong – for historical and philosophical reasons that most South
Australians probably know little about, in addition to the natural beauty and cultural qualities
they might acknowledge but may not fully appreciate.
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Exploring UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for the Mount Lofty Ranges agrarian landscape
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………………vii
List of tables…………………………………………………………………………………………...viii
List of figures…………………………………………………………………………………………..viii
Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………………………...ix
PREFACE……………………………………………………………………………………………..x
FOREWORD………………………………………………………………………………………..xii
EXECUTIVESUMMARY………………………………………………………………………...xiv
FULL REPORT……………………………………………………………………………………...1
1. INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………...……………...1
1.1 What are World Heritage Sites?
1.2 The Mount Lofty Ranges World Heritage agrarian landscape concept
1.3 Geographic scope and rationale of the proposed site
2. THE CASE: VALUES, JUSTIFICATION AND LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS…..6
2.1 Do we want it?
2.2 Can we get it?
3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT BACKGROUND STUDIES……………………….19
3.1 2006 Lake District and Cumbria ERS Report
3.2 Gillespie Economics Study of the Economic Activity of Australia’s World Heritage Areas
3.3 2007 PricewaterhouseCoopers Report
3.4 2010 Lake District World Heritage Project Rebanks Analysis
3.5 Implications of the background studies for the proposed Mount Lofty Ranges site
4. ECONOMIC IMPACT PROJECTIONS………………………………………………...28
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Indicators of economic impact
4.3 Profile of economic activity in the regions
4.4 Trends in land use change
4.5 World Heritage inscription and trends in visitation
4.6 Impact of World Heritage Site inscription
5. THE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CASE……………………………………..41
5.1 Investments, grants and funding in appropriate local infrastructure
5.2 Unique and high quality architecture and landscape design
5.3 Branding opportunities for communities and local products
5.4 Catalyst effects for entrepreneurial business opportunities
5.5 Enhanced coordination for more sustainable transport policies
5.6 Integrated planning, recreation and environmental policies
5.7 Protection of aesthetic values, heritage, and wildlife habitat
5.8 Education, learning, community and cultural benefits
5.9 Partnerships for socioeconomic and cultural development
5.10 Conclusion: A World Heritage Site bid could be a ‘rising tide that lifts all boats’
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Exploring UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for the Mount Lofty Ranges agrarian landscape
6. STAKEHOLDER REACTIONS, ISSUES AND CONCERNS……………………..54
6.1 Summary of meetings, presentations and consultation
6.2 Public presentations and media coverage
6.3 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act implications
6.4 Other consultee issues and concerns
6.5 Implications of not proceeding
6.6 Conclusions regarding levels of in principle support for a bid
7. THE BID PROCESS………………………………………………………………………...78
7.1 National Heritage listing and the Tentative List
7.2 World Heritage listing Stage One
7.3 World Heritage listing Stage Two
8. THE KEY STEPS…………………………………………………………………………...84
8.1 Defining and understanding the property in the context of National Heritage listing and World
Heritage listing
8.2 How will we manage the bid process?
8.3 How long will it take?
8.4 How much will it cost?
8.5 Who will pay?
9. SITE MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS………………………………………………98
10. CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………………………...101
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………..103
BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………....107
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Alignment with government policy and strategies
Appendix 2: Stakeholder consultation
Appendix 3: Mount Lofty Ranges World Heritage Bid detailed budget estimate
Appendix 4: Peer commentary
Appendix 5: Val D’Orcia World Heritage Site descriptions and justifications
Appendix 6: Adelaide Park Lands and City Layout National Heritage listing gazette notice
Appendix 7: Australian Convict Sites World Heritage listing nomination dossier executive summary
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to acknowledge with sincere thanks all those contributors, named and unnamed, whose
ideas, knowledge, insights and enthusiasm have guided this report. Thank you Kathy Sharrad and
Wakefield Press for the editorial and production help, and Christo Reid and Mick Bradley for
permission to use your photographs.
We also acknowledge and thank the Adelaide Hills Council, The Barossa Council, the District
Council of Mount Barker, the City of Onkaparinga, the University of Adelaide's Environment
Institute and the Global Food and Agricultural Business Program for providing funding.
The report's conclusions, recommendations and any errors are the sole responsibility of the
authors. Constructive criticism and invaluable assistance was provided by many, but most
particularly:
Bron Anderson Craig Johns
Kym Anderson Mary Kennedy
Jan Angas Lyn Leader-Elliot
Catherine Barnett Margaret Lehmann
Shaun Berg James Lindner
Michael Bevan Pamela Lyon
Leon Bignell Scott Mills
Veronica Blazely Robert O’Callaghan
Steven Bourne Tim Mares
Phillip Broderick Anne Moroney
Robert Brokenshire Nick Noske
Cecil Camilleri Tony Parkinson
Don Donaldson Trevor Ranford
Lauren Drewery Lorraine Rosenberg
Christopher Findlay Justin Ross
Tom Gara Katherine Russell
Zannie Flanagan Theo Simos
Pip Forrester Stephen Smith
John Hill John Spoehr
James Hillier Cam Stafford
Evan Hiscock Philip Taylor
Sam Holmes Steven Thomson
Tim Horton Wendy Umberger
Peter Houston Ilse Wurst
Jim Hullick Mike Young
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1 The four regions by Statistical Local Area
Table 4.2 Growth scenarios in response to World Heritage Site designation
Table 4.3 Cost benefit analysis summary results
Table 6.1 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act implications
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 World Heritage Sites
Figure 2 Val d’Orcia, Tuscany and Jalisco, Mexico
Figure 3 E.G. Wakefield, J. Bentham and J.S. Mill.
Figure 4 Estimated direct economic benefits of World Heritage Site listing over 10 years by
region, industry segment and growth scenario
Figure 5 The Barossa Valley, Tour Down Under, McLaren Vale and Woodside Cheese Wrights,
Adelaide Hills
Figure 6 UNESCO’s cultural criteria.
Figure 7 Estimated actual and in-kind costs of a two-stage nomination process
Figure 8 Brickendon Estate, Tasmania and Rymill Park, Adelaide Park Lands
Figure 1.1 Martha Berkeley's Mount Lofty From the Terrace, 1840
Figure 1.2 ‘Preliminary Survey Districts and Special Surveys to 1840’ map
Figure 1.3 Geographic scope of the study
Figure 2.1 The PricewaterhouseCoopers cost-benefit framework
Figure 2.2 Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Figure 2.3 Painting the McLaren Vale landscape
Figure 3.1 Potential areas of benefit from World Heritage Site designation
Figure 3.2 Naracoorte World Heritage Site case study
Figure 3.3 Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands World Heritage Site case study
Figure 4.1 Mount Lofty Ranges Study Area
Figure 4.2 Summary of estimated direct economic benefits of World Heritage Site listing over 10
years by region, industry segment, and growth scenario
Figure 4.3 Projected gross regional product impacts of World Heritage Site inscription, years one
to 20, medium-growth scenario
Figure 4.4 Projected employment impacts of World Heritage Site inscription, years one to 20,
medium-growth scenario
Figure 5.1 Shark Bay World Heritage Site case study
Figure 5.2 Branding opportunities for communities and products
Figure 5.3 The World Heritage emblem
Figure 5.4 Catalyst effects for entrepreneurial opportunities
Figure 5.5 Brickendon and Woolmers case study
Figure 5.6 The Cradle Mountain shuttle bus
Figure 5.7 Lake District World Heritage Project Steering Group
Figure 5.8 Lake District World Heritage Project Financial Sponsors
Figure 6.1 Branding association becomes part of the nomination process
Figure 6.2 Urban encroachment into McLaren Vale
Figure 7.1 The bid process
Figure 7.2 National Heritage list criteria
Figure 8.1 The key steps in the bid process
Figure 8.2 Authenticity assessment of
how
well
the
identified
attributes
convey
potential
OUV.
Figure 8.3 UNESCO’s suggested sequence for carrying out a nomination
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Figure 8.4 The evaluation process
Figure 8.5 Lake District World Heritage project partnership and governance structure
Figure 8.6. Estimated actual and in-kind costs of a two-stage nomination process.
Figure 8.6. Estimated actual and in-kind costs of a two-stage nomination process.
Figure 9.1 Snapshots of Australian site management scenarios
ABBREVIATIONS
ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics
ACC Adelaide City Council
AHC Australian Heritage Council
ATO Australian Tax Office
AWHAC Australian World Heritage Advisory Committee
BCR Benefit-Cost Ratio
C City
DC District Council
DEEWR Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations
DENR Department of Environment and Natural Resources
DPLG Department of Planning and Local Government
DPTI Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure
DSEWPaC Department for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and
Communities
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
EPBC Act Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
EPHC Environment Protection Heritage Council
fte full-time equivalent
GRP gross regional product
GSP gross state product
ICOMOS International Council on Monuments and Sites
I-O input-output
NES Matters of National Environmental Significance
NPV net present value
NRM Natural Resource Management
OUV Outstanding Universal Value
PIRSA Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia
RDA Regional Development Australia
RET Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism
SASP South Australia’s Strategic Plan
SAWIC South Australian Wine Industry Council
SATC South Australian Tourism Commission
TRA Tourism Research Australia
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
WHS World Heritage Site
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PREFACE
The idea to explore the feasibility of mounting a bid
for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural ‘[A] place consists of
Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage listing of
everything that has happened
Adelaide’s agricultural hinterland was sparked by a
collaboration between South Australian researchers there; it is a reservoir of
and the Thinker-in-Residence program, which in 2009
memories…
focused on the Food and Wine Value Chain.
Professor Randy Stringer, a University of Adelaide
understanding those memories
agricultural economist with extensive experience at
is not a trap but liberation, a
the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization, advanced a proposal, which was then menu of possibilities.
championed by Professor Mike Young, a member of
the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. The richer the knowledge, the
Young saw it as a unique opportunity to assist
wider the options…
integrated planning and development at the landscape
and regional level. The following four councils
The enemy is narrow, singular
subsequently commissioned the University of
Adelaide’s Environment Institute to conduct the definition.’
feasibility study:
Adam Nicholson,
o Adelaide Hills Council
landscape historian
o The Barossa Council
o District Council of Mount Barker
o City of Onkaparinga
Each council nominated a staff representative to the Mount Lofty Ranges working group (hereafter
referred to as the working group), which met monthly during 2011 and early 2012 to discuss and
explore relevant topics. Each workshop was held in a different council area so that interested staff
members from the host council were able to participate in the discussions. A total of 10 workshops
were held and covered questions concerning stakeholder engagement, geographic scope, the values
on which a UNESCO bid might be built, the bases for generating economic cost-benefit scenarios,
the likely implications of achieving World Heritage Site (WHS) designation, and the bid process and
timeframes. The Environment Institute engaged urban planner Stephanie Johnston as project
manager, and Julian Morison of EconSearch Pty Ltd as economic consultant and advisor.
In addition, a workshop was held with the Adelaide City Council (ACC) regarding its successful
nomination of the Adelaide Park Lands and City Layout for National Heritage listing. A scoping
session with Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) identified
alignments between a potential bid proposal and state government policy in a number of strategic
areas. A series of seminars were also staged in the Barossa, the Waite Institute and McLaren Vale in
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Description:World Heritage listing for agrarian landscapes is very rare, and rarer still for working agrarian 4.5 World Heritage inscription and trends in visitation.
