Kakadu National Park - Human Impacts

Human Impacts

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 30 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.