A World Heritage site since 1982, Tasmanian Wilderness in Australia covers over 1.5 million hectares, roughly one fourth of Tasmania.

It is a rare site inscribed for both cultural and natural values, boasting as many as seven out of 10 criteria for World Heritage status.

IUCN and ICOMOS – the advisory bodies on natural and cultural World Heritage respectively – recently carried out a mission to the site to assess its state of conservation.

Vast tracts of Tasmanian Wilderness are difficult to access, such as these remote forests dotted by scenic lakes in the heart of the site.

It is believed that most of Tasmania’s buttongrass moorlands have been strongly influenced by historic aboriginal fire management.

Some eucalypt species can live well beyond 400 years. Remarkably, the site’s mature tall eucalypt forests form a canopy above a temperate rainforest made up of completely distinct tree species.

The higher parts of Tasmanian Wilderness tend to be rocky and covered in alpine vegetation, such as this area in the Northeast.

The remote coasts in the south and southwest of Tasmanian Wilderness are among the world’s wildest temperate coastal areas.

Easily accessible, Mount Field National Park and its well-known Russell Falls became part of the World Heritage area in 2013.

A large dam built in the 1970s created Lake Gordon, which is not part of the World Heritage site but is surrounded by it.

Commercial logging occurs near the Tasmanian Wilderness. A road has recently opened access to this forest to the east of the site.

Intensive forestry has been taking place for decades in some of the land outside the site, oft converting natural forests with plantations.

The IUCN-ICOMOS mission report presents 20 recommendations, such as to clearly commit to no-go for commercial logging in the site and support joint management with the Aboriginal community.

Tasmanian Wilderness and over 60 other natural World Heritage sites will be discussed at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, from 10 to 20 July 2016.