• A summary of the Plan in Chinese (Mandarin), Bahasa Malay and English.
• A location and description of Christmas Island National Park provides relevant historical, cultural and natural history information and the basis for management.
• The Management Plan for Christmas Island National Park provides the management arrangements for the Park in the form of background information, objectives and prescriptions. A comprehensive Bibliography and a Glossary have also been included at the end of this Part.
This Management Plan outlines the management direction of Christmas Island National Park for 7 years from the day of its commencement. The Plan will ensure consistent and coordinated management appropriate for a park of such national and international significance.
The Plan takes account of submissions received in response to the Christmas Island National Park ‘Have Your Say’ brochure, comments provided at Christmas Island community meetings and input and advice from the Christmas Island National Park Advisory Committee (CINPAC). It also incorporates matters raised in submissions received as a result of the release of the Draft Plan.
YELLOW CRAZY ANTS ON CHRISTMAS ISLAND
The exotic invasive yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) arrived on Christmas Island more than 70 years ago, and is now widespread throughout rainforest and settled areas on the island. These ants have the ability to form multi-queened "supercolonies", in which the ants occur at enormously high densities. Supercolony formation on the island has been a relatively recent phenomenon; the first being discovered in 1989. Further dramatic increases in supercolony formation began around the mid-late 1990's.
At supercolony densities, this invasive ant species is having a devastating impact on the island's ecosystems. Red crabs, robber crabs, blue crabs and most other ground dwelling animals such as reptiles and leaf litter fauna have been, and are continuing to be, severely impacted, sometimes to the point of local extinction in heavily infested areas. By eliminating local populations of red crabs, the ants are also having a marked effect on forest composition and structure, and litter dynamics, in infested areas. Further, the feeding activities of these ants and their mutualistic scale insects can fatally stress large trees, and cause widespread canopy dieback in areas of supercolony infestation.
Following the submission, in January 1999, of a report from the Centre for the Analysis and Management of Biological Invasions (CAMBI) at Monash University, titled 'Alien Ant Invasion and Ecosystem Collapse on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean', a cooperative agreement was entered into whereby Parks Australia North and CAMBI jointly undertook to conduct research and control of this invasive species on Christmas Island.
Management and research of crazy ants was subsequently given an immediate and high priority, and progress in both areas has been steady and consistent. The implementation of objectives and prescriptions listed in the Management Plan for other Park management activities, and resources necessary for these, will be highly dependent on the requirements and outcomes of the yellow crazy ant control and research programs.
Further details about the colonisation of Christmas Island by these ants, their biology, impacts on native fauna and flora, and research and management strategies are contained in the Management Plan.
PROPOSED SATELLITE LAUNCHING FACILITY
At the time this Management Plan was being prepared a proposal to develop a satellite launching facility at South Point was being progressed. The potential environmental impacts of this proposal were assessed under the former Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 (which was replaced by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 on 16 July 2000) and approval was given subject to a number of recommendations. Should this development take place there may be impacts on the National Park that require a restructuring of the priorities of the objectives and prescriptions in the Management Plan for Park management activities. One of the conditions for approval was that a program to monitor the potential impact on seabirds be conducted by the proponent. This program was developed by the proponent with input and approval by an independent group of seabird experts. Field surveys prior to launching were started during the preparation of this Plan. Should this program detect serious impacts on the seabirds, a condition of approval requires launching to be suspended until the impact can be mitigated. Should this development proceed it is likely that the population of Christmas Island will increase and hence increase the number of visitors using the National Park. This may necessitate a change in priorities for Park management activities.
Christmas Island National Park - Management Plan
SUMMARY
This is the Management Plan for the Christmas Island National Park. A Management Plan is a requirement for all Commonwealth reserves managed by the Director of National Parks and sets out the way in which it is proposed to manage a reserve in order to provide for its protection and conservation. The legal basis for this Plan is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
In preparing this Management Plan the Director of National Parks has considered and taken into account:
public comments and community consultations;
the encouragement and regulation of the appropriate use, appreciation and enjoyment of the Park by the public;
the preservation of the Park in its natural condition and the protection of its special features;
the protection, conservation and management of biodiversity and heritage within the Park; and
the protection of the Park against damage.
When approved by the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, the Management Plan will be tabled in both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament and may be disallowed by either the House of Representatives or the Senate on a notice of motion brought within 15 sitting days. The Plan will be in effect for 7 years unless it is revoked or amended by a new Management Plan before then.
The Management Plan includes new information available from research carried out over the last five years, comments from the local community following public consultation and recent developments such as the space satellite launching proposal, closure of the casino resort and the impact of the crazy ant outbreak on the local environment.
The Christmas Island National Park Advisory Committee (CINPAC) will assist the Director of National Parks in implementing the Plan. CINPAC is made up of the Director of National Parks and representatives of the local community. Its structure will be reviewed at least once during the life of the Plan. The terms of reference for CINPAC are to:
advise the Government Conservator on implementation of the Management Plan; and
advise the Shire of Christmas Island and the Director of National Parks on matters relevant to the Christmas Island National Park.
The Plan is divided into two parts:
Part 1 - A Description of Christmas Island and the National Park
This part talks about the history of the island (including the first written record of the island in 1615), the history of the Park and its natural and physical characteristics such as climate, geology, habitats and the various plants and animals. Animals or plants which have been introduced, either accidentally or deliberately, such as feral cats, rats and crazy ants are also mentioned. The objectives of national parks are discussed and the conservation significance of Christmas Island National Park is explained. Christmas Island is very important and needs to be protected because most other islands in the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia region are losing habitat because of increasing human populations.
Christmas Island is a nearly intact ecosystem. The island supports the last remaining nesting habitat of the Abbott's Booby, many endemic species of plants and animals, and the world's largest remaining population of the robber crab.
Part 1 also includes lists of most animals and plants and gives their common names, their scientific names and their Malay names. Not all species of plants have a common name or a Malay name.
Part 2 - Christmas Island National Park Management Plan
This part is the formal Management Plan and sets out the specific ways in which the Park will be managed. The Director of National Parks is responsible for management of the Park. The Director discharges this responsibility through the Government Conservator and other Parks Australia staff, and with advice provided by the Christmas Island National Park Advisory Committee. Part 2 also talks in detail about how issues such as rainforest rehabilitation, weeds, feral animals, rare and endangered species, fishing, tourism, public education and research will be managed in the Park.
Each section in Part 2 gives a description or background of the particular activity, and a list of what actions the Director of National Parks will take to manage that particular activity during the life of the Plan. The lists of actions to be taken are called 'Prescriptions' .
This Management Plan will be in effect from 2002 until 2008. Towards the end of the Plan, there will be a technical audit carried out to assess how well the prescribed management actions have been implemented.