Национальный парк Какаду: природа, история и защита аборигенного наследия

Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, southeast of Darwin. It is a World Heritage Site. Kakadu is also gazetted as a locality, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded living there in the 2016 Australian census. Kakadu National Park is located within the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory, covering an area of , extending nearly from north to south and over from east to west. It is roughly the size of Wales or one third the size of Tasmania, and is the second largest national park in Australia, after the Munga Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park. Most of the region is owned by the Aboriginal traditional owners, who have occupied the land for around 60,000 years and, today, manage the park jointly with Parks Australia. It is highly ecologically and biologically diverse, hosting a wide range of habitats and flora and fauna. It also includes a rich heritage of Aboriginal rock art, including highly significant sites, such as Ubirr. Kakadu is fully protected by the EPBC Act. The Ranger Uranium Mine site, one of the most productive uranium mines in the world until it ceased operations in January 2021, is surrounded by the park. Domestic Asian water buffalo, which are now an established feral population and invasive environmental pests, were released into the area in the late 19th century. Feral pigs, cats, red foxes and rabbits are further examples of invasive species, all of which compete with and wreak havoc upon the sensitive, unique ecosystems of the Northern Territory, and of the whole of Australia. These species were intentionally brought to the continent by the early settlers, pastoralists, and missionaries. The European presence, albeit less than in more populated regions (on the east and west coasts), was still felt. In Kakadu, missionaries established a mission at Oenpelli (present day Gunbalanya) in 1925. A few pastoralists, crocodile hunters and wood cutters also made a living in the area at various times up until the early 20th century. The area was progressively given protected status from the 1970s onward.

The name Kakadu probably originates from the mispronunciation of Gaagudju, which is the name of an Aboriginal language spoken in the north western part of the park. Explorer Baldwin Spencer had incorrectly ascribed the name "Kakadu tribe" to the people living in the Alligator Rivers area

Aboriginal peoples have occupied the Kakadu area continuously for around 60,000 years. This site had initially been excluded from the park but was added as part of stage 3. Its mining was blocked following environmental and social campaigns. Despite internal disagreement the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, vetoed mining in a Cabinet Meeting in May 1991. In the mid 1990s a similar debate over additional uranium mining at Jabiluka was prevented by a campaign and blockade initiated by the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation. The Ranger uranium mine closed in 2021.

Most of Kakadu was under a shallow sea approximately 140 million years ago, with the escarpment wall formed from sea cliffs and Arnhem Land from a flat plateau above the sea. The escarpment rises above the plateau and extends approximately along the eastern edge of the park and on into Arnhem Land. The escarpment varies from near vertical cliffs in the Jim Jim Falls area to isolated outliers and stepped cliffs in the North. There are six main landforms in Kakadu National Park: the Arnhem Land plateau and escarpment complex, known as the stone country; the outliers; the lowlands; the southern hills and basins; the floodplains; and the tidal flats. Each landform has its own range of habitats. Kakadu's varied landscapes and the habitats they contain are features that contributed to its listing as a World Heritage Area. Chasms and gorges form a network that dissects the rocky platforms on the plateau. The plateau top is a harsh, dry environment where water drains away quickly and topsoil is scarce. Sparse pockets of open forest and woodlands have developed in these areas. Creeks have carved deep gorges in the escarpment in which tall monsoon forests grow. These areas form microclimates for plants and animals and often serve as a refuge during the dry season. These parts also were progressively added to its World Heritage Status as those additions were made. The first was Stage 1 in 1981, then in 1987 (Stages 1 and 2), in 1992 (Stages 1, 2 and 3). Between 1988 1991 an exclusion zone to allow exploration and mining, particularly of gold, at Coronation Hill and El Sherana by BHP existed. Groups from environmental, social and indigenous perspectives opposed the proposal. Miners and some economists supported it. In Victoria the Kakadu Action Group (KAG) was formed by Lindsay Mollison at the Melbourne offices of the Australian Conservation Foundation where regular meetings were held. The Group held public meetings to encourage support for opposition to the proposal. Mollison also participated by contributing and rebutting letters to the "Letters to the Editor" of The Age newspaper over the several years. The organisation was being surveilled by the Australian Government with archives of its meetings still held secretly by the Government (due for release in 2026). In a hearts and mind campaign, including KAG's contributions, the excluded sections within the proposed stage 3 were progressively decreased in size and were eventually completely removed after the mining proposal was ultimately vetoed at a Cabinet meeting by the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, in May 1991. Those actions were important in his being replaced later that year. The area was added to Kakadu National Park as part of its stage 3 inclusions in 1992. Local First Nations Gaagudju man Big Bill Neidjie was an important leader in the campaign against the proposed Jabiluka mine and the inclusion of the area in the park. In 2011 the Koongarra area, where there remained a proposal for another uranium mine, was added to the World Heritage Region.

The Kakadu National Park is proclaimed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) and is managed through a joint management arrangement between the Aboriginal traditional owners and the Director of National Parks. The Director manages Commonwealth national parks through Parks Australia. Parks Australia and the Aboriginal traditional owners of Kakadu are committed to the principle of joint management of the park and arrangements to help this happen are highlighted in Kakadu's Plan of Management. The EPBC Act provides for boards of management to be established for parks on Aboriginal land. The Kakadu Board of Management, which has an Aboriginal majority (ten out of fifteen members), representing the Aboriginal traditional owners of land in the park, was established in 1989. The Board determines policy for managing the park and is responsible, along with the Director, for preparing plans of management for the park. The Plan of Management is the main policy document for the park and strives to balance strategic or long term goals and tactical or day to day goals. Day to day management of Kakadu is carried out by people employed by Parks Australia, which is a branch of the Australian Government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Approximately one third of the staff in Kakadu are Aboriginal people. Kakadu National Park re introduced a park use fee from April 2010, to help manage the natural and cultural values of the park environment and improve visitor services.

Approximately half of the land in Kakadu is Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976. Most of the remaining land was under native title claim by Aboriginal people for several decades until March 2022, under four different claims. On 24 March 2022 a ceremony took place today to mark the formal handback by Minister for Indigenous Affairs Ken Wyatt of nearly half of the park to Aboriginal traditional owners. These are the Limingan/ Minitja, Murumburr, Karndidjbal, Yulhmanj, Wurngomgu, Bolmo, Wurrkbarbar, Madjba, Uwinymil, Bunidj, Djindibi, Mirrar Kundjeyhmi and Dadjbaku peoples. The areas of the park that are owned by Aboriginal people are leased by the traditional owners to the Director of National Parks to be managed as a national park.

Kakadu is ecologically and biologically diverse.

About 74 mammal species—marsupials and placental mammals—have been recorded in the park. Most of them inhabit the open forest and woodlands and are nocturnal, making it difficult to see them. Others, such as wallabies and kangaroos (macropods, 8 species), are active in the cooler parts of the day and are easier to see. Among the larger more common species are dingoes, antilopine kangaroos, black wallaroos, agile wallabies, and short eared rock wallabies. Smaller common mammals are northern quolls, brush tailed phascogales, brown bandicoots, black footed tree rats, and black flying foxes. Dugongs are found in the coastal waters. However, recent surveys have revealed a disturbing decline of nearly all mammal species throughout Kakadu, including once common and widespread species such as northern tart bats.

Kakadu's many habitats support more than 280 species of birds, or about one third of Australia's bird species. Some birds range over a number of habitats, but many are found in only one environment. Some 11,246 km2 of Kakadu's savanna habitats has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports populations of the endangered Gouldian finch, the vulnerable red goshawk, the near threatened partridge pigeon and chestnut backed button quail, and the restricted range hooded parrot and rainbow pitta. The Kakadu Savanna IBA also supports varied lorikeets, northern rosellas, silver crowned friarbirds, white gaped, yellow tinted, white lined, bar breasted and banded honeyeaters, sandstone shrike thrushes, white browed robins, canary white eyes, and masked and long tailed finches. Waterbirds include large populations of magpie geese, wandering whistling ducks, green pygmy geese, comb crested jacana, black necked stork, Australian pelicans, little black cormorant, Australian darter, nankeen night herons, pied herons, black bittern, sarus crane and brolga. The iconic frill necked lizard has also significantly dropped in numbers. Two species of crocodile occur in Kakadu: the freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstonii) and the estuarine, or saltwater crocodile (C. porosus). Freshwater crocodiles are easily identified by their narrow snout and a single row of four large boney lumps called "scutes" immediately behind the head. Estuarine crocodiles do not have these scutes and their snout is broader. The maximum size for a freshwater crocodile is 3 metres, whereas a saltwater can exceed 6 metres. On October 22, 2002, a twenty four year old female German tourist was killed by a saltwater crocodile assault while swimming in Sandy billabong with other foreign backpackers including her sister.

Kakadu's 25 frog species are extremely well adapted to the region's climatic extremes. Many remain dormant during rainless times. With the onset of the wet season, when the billabongs and swamps start to fill with water, the night air is filled with the sounds of frogs such as the northern bullfrog and the marbled frog. As the water builds up, frogs and tadpoles have an abundance of food, such as algae, vegetation, insects, dragonfly nymphs, and other tadpoles. Not all of Kakadu's frogs are found in the wetlands: many live in the lowland forests.

Fifty three species of freshwater fish have been recorded in Kakadu's waterways; eight of them have a restricted distribution. In the Magela Creek system alone, 32 species have been found. In comparison, the Murray–Darling river system, the most extensive in Australia, now supports only 27 native fish species. Although introduced fish have been found in most Australian waterways, none have been recorded in the park.

Kakadu supports more than 10,000 species of insect. Among the insect groups are grasshoppers, beetles, flies, termites, butterflies and moths, bees, wasps, ants, dragonflies and damselflies, caddisflies, non biting midges and mayflies. The great variety of insects is a result of the varied habitats and relatively high temperatures throughout the year. Perhaps the most striking insect created features in the park are the termite mounds. The mounds in the southern part of the park are particularly large and impressive. Leichhardt's grasshopper, in colours of orange, blue and black, is perhaps the most spectacular insect found in Kakadu. It is also found on the Arnhem Land plateau and in Gregory National Park.

Kakadu has seen several invasive species that threaten the native habitat, particularly in recent decades. Introduced fauna including the water buffalo, wild pig and more recently, the cane toad have damaged habitat. Invasive weeds include Mimosa pigra, which covers of the Top End, including vast areas of Kakadu, invasive para grass (Urochloa mutica) displaces the native food of much of Kakadu's birdlife. Salvinia molesta has infested the Magela floodplain. Brumbies also inhabit areas of the National Park, including Yellow Water. The controversial Ranger Uranium mine, one of the world's most productive uranium mines, is surrounded by the park, and presents a significant management challenge both now and into the future, with the question of how to safely contain low level radioactive wastewater. The escape of contaminated wastewater into the Park's wetlands, which may become more likely under climate change–induced rainfall events, would have a devastating impact on the Park's biodiversity.

Human impacts during the 19th and 20th century have been significant. Introduction of domestic Asian water buffalo from Southeast Asia has resulted in damage to the fragile floodplains and wetlands. Since then, buffalo have largely been eradicated from the area so the land is now rehabilitating itself. Crocodile hunting which has been banned since 1972 made a huge impact on crocodile populations. In the 40 or so years that they have been protected, however the crocodile population has recovered so successfully that some consider there to be an over population. Mining has an obvious impact on the landscape, but only one operational uranium mine (Ranger) remains. Mine operators are required to completely rehabilitate the area once the operation is wound down. Some small scale logging occurred in the early part of the 20th century, but little evidence of this remains. Tourism represents a significant human impact to Kakadu National Park with hundreds of thousands of visitors arriving annually. Infrastructure such as roads, tracks, interpretive signage and shelter, accommodation, telecommunications and other services must be provided to support this activity.

Fire is part of the landscape of Kakadu National Park, as the park contains large areas of woodland and grassy plains that are subject to long periods of dry hot weather. The flora of the region has adapted to frequent fires. Fires in northern Australia are less threatening than in southern Australia as many of the trees are largely fire resistant while other plants simply regenerate very quickly. Controlled burning is practised by the national park in consultation with traditional owners who have used fire as a land management tool for thousands of years. Fire is an important hunting tool for Aboriginal people using it to flush out prey. The other benefit is that once the fire has gone through an area the tender shoots of the fast regenerating grasses attract wallabies into a clearly defined area. Birds of prey such as whistling kites also rely on fire to flush out small animals and are usually found in large numbers circling a fire front. Other species such as white throated grasswrens have declined because of too many fires. Aboriginal people understand that fire is necessary to "clean up" the landscape and believe that many small fires are preferable to one large fire.

Kakadu National Park is a major tourist attraction in Australia's north. Visitation numbers in 2005 were 202,000. Kakadu's dramatic landscape, Aboriginal cultural significance and diverse and abundant wildlife are what visitors are drawn to. There are many beautiful waterfalls and gorges within the park that are popular with visitors, such as Maguk, Gunlom Falls, Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls. Kakadu National Park has some of the best examples of Aboriginal rock art in Australia. The sites of Nourlangie and Ubirr are among the most visited locations in the park. It is possible to view some of Kakadu's diverse wildlife at places like Yellow Water Billabong, Cooinda on board a wildlife cruise or at Mamukala Wetlands or Anbangbang Billabong. The Kakadu region is one of the world's best for bird watching as approximately 30 percent of Australia's bird species can be seen here. Large saltwater crocodiles are also commonplace and visitors are likely to see them at Yellow Water and East Alligator River, so it was no coincidence that the "Crocodile" Dundee films were shot here. The significance of these creatures to the local aboriginal people, as well as the success of the film, inspired the design of the Gagudju Crocodile Hotel in Jabiru. Visitors are urged to exercise caution around crocodiles as they have been responsible for a number of fatal attacks. Recreational fishing is a popular activity inside Kakadu National Park. The main target species is barramundi, and the most popular locations are Yellow Water, the South Alligator and the East Alligator River. Hunting is not allowed in Kakadu National Park. There are several accommodation options in the park, mostly found in the town of Jabiru, as well as a range of services to cater to visitors' needs. Visitors can travel through Kakadu National Park with a recognised tour operator, or they can drive themselves. Many of the park's sites are accessible by standard two wheel drive vehicles, but areas like Twin and Jim Jim Falls and Gunlom require four wheel drive vehicles. Visitors can experience Kakadu National Park via the Nature's Way tourism drive, which is a loop from Darwin to Jabiru then onto Katherine and back to Darwin covering approximately 900 km.

Kakadu National Park is linked to Darwin by the Arnhem Highway and to Pine Creek and Katherine by the Kakadu Highway. Both roads are sealed all weather roads although they may be cut off periodically during periods of heavy rain. The town of Jabiru has several accommodation options, a service station, police, a medical clinic and a shopping centre with a range of outlets. The town was built for the uranium mine that was established prior to the founding of Kakadu National Park and provides infrastructure for the mine's workforce as well as the national park activities and tourism. Jabiru has a small airport from which scenic flights operate daily. Other small tourism centres such as Cooinda and South Alligator provide limited facilities. Cooinda, south of Jabiru on the Kakadu Highway is the site of Gagudju Lodge Cooinda, Yellow Water Cruises and the Warradjan Cultural Centre. Fuel and limited provisions are available at Cooinda and there is also a small airstrip for scenic flights. South Alligator approximately west of Jabiru on the Arnhem Highway includes a hotel and service station. The Border Store near Ubirr Art Site and Cahills Crossing, north of Jabiru, is a general store.

There is a wide variety of designated camping sites throughout the park. Jabiru, Cooinda and South Alligator all have commercial camping areas and are in close proximity to most of the important natural attractions in these areas. Some of the park's campsites charge a nominal fee as these have shower and toilet facilities, others are free, however they have limited or no facilities. A list of the sites can be obtained from the Kakadu National Park's Glenn Murcutt designed Bowali Visitor Centre or from their website.

On 4 April 2007, the land occupied by the national park was gazetted by the Northern Territory Government as a locality with the name Kakadu. The locality is part of the local government area of the West Arnhem Region. The 2016 Australian census which was conducted in August 2016 reports that Kakadu had 313 people living within its boundaries.