Raising Blue Mountains dam risks flooding world heritage area, Unesco warned
Government says scheme for Warragamba dam lessens flood risk for residents, but activists say it jeopardises wildlife and Aboriginal sites
Conservationists have written to the Unesco requesting a moratorium on New South Wales government plans to raise the height of Warragamba dam, which could flood parts of the Blue Mountains world heritage area.
The group of 14 signatories, led by the former NSW environment minister Bob Debus and including Bob Brown, Christine Milne, the Australia Conservation Foundation chair Paul Sinclair, and Gundungurra traditional owner Kazan Brown, wrote to the chair of Unesco's world heritage committee last month warning that natural heritage values of the area would be "significantly degraded" if the proposal were to go ahead.
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