The Director of National Parks is responsible for managing Christmas Island National Park as a Commonwealth reserve established under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The Director does so in accordance with the management plan that is prepared in accordance with the Act.
The Director is supported by the staff of Parks Australia, part of the federal environment department.
Parks Australia has an office at Drumsite with a staff of seventeen.
Contact Christmas Island National Park.
Christmas Island National Park is assigned to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) category II (national park). It is managed mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation in accordance with relevant Australian IUCN reserve management principles.
Conserving the natural environment
Christmas Island National Park is the only declared nature conservation area on Christmas Island, and fulfils an important role preserving examples of the natural features of the island. These features include:
- most of the island’s uniquely structured and largely intact tropical rainforest habitat
- unique wildlife, including 254 endemic species and 165 species occurring nowhere else in Australia, and 110 species listed as threatened, migratory or marine under the EPBC Act
- nesting colonies of large populations of diverse Indian Ocean seabirds
- diverse and abundant populations of land crabs
- largely intact fringing coral reefs and waters which support a host of marine species, including more than 600 fish species as well as hybrid fish
- Significant geomorphological features such as the island’s terraces and cave systems, including anchialine cave systems (caves containing a subterranean water body with connections to the ocean) which provide animal habitat. Anchialine cave systems occur at only one other known locality in Australia
- The Dales and Hosnies Spring wetlands which are listed as Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Managing recreational values
The park’s unique tropical rainforest, its large variety of endemic plants and animals, its coral reefs and spectacular landscapes are major attractions for island visitors.
Visitors can participate in a range of nature-based recreational activities including wildlife observation, nature photography, scuba diving, fishing, boating, snorkelling, bushwalking and scenic walks and drives.
For more, see our tourist site.
The national park plays an important role in the local economy, helping to support tourism businesses and activities. Commercial tourism activities that have minimal impacts on the park are encouraged. People wishing to conduct commercial activities in the park require a permit.