World Heritage site

Tongariro National Park is one of three World Heritage sites in New Zealand - the others are Te Wahipounamu and the sub Antarctic Islands. Te Wahipounamu is a massive area covering the south western corner of the South Island and containing within it Fiordland, Westland and Aoraki (Mt Cook) National Parks, all World Heritage areas as well as Mt Aspiring National Park.

Tongariro was nominated both natural and cultural World Heritage status in 1990 and was inscribed on the heritage list that year for its natural values. At that time the criteria for cultural World Heritage sites stipulated that there be some tangible evidence of cultural use of the site eg. a temple, habitation and so on.

Representations from New Zealand convinced the World Heritage Committee that there was justifiable reasons for including sites where the cultural association was intangible. Throughout the Pacific and Asia many mountains and other sites had long associations with cultures as the abode of gods and were treated as sacred areas. To Ngati Tuwharetoa and Ngati Rangi the mountains of Tongariro have always been regarded as spiritual and cultural entities.

Ngati Tuwharetoa Paramount Chief,
Tumu te Heuheu, head of New
Zealand's World Heritage delgation,
was appointed Chair in 2006

The World Heritage Committee added an additional criteria and in 1993 Tongariro National Park became the first World Heritage site to be added to the World Heritage list for its associative cultural values. The park is now of only 23 sites in the world with dual World Heritage status.

Another advance in New Zealand's World Heritage standing was its election to the World Heritage Committee at the end of 2003. Ngati Tuwharetoa Paramount Chief Tumu te Heuheu is New Zealand's Head of Delegation and sits on the committee. In 2005 he was elected chair in 2006 and New Zealand will host the World Heritage Committee in Christchurch in June 2007.