About the Plan

Christmas Island is a spectacular oceanic island that rises abruptly from the tropical waters of the eastern Indian Ocean. Its landscape is mostly covered with tropical rainforest and rugged limestone karst terrain.

Christmas Island National Park covers approximately 85 square kilometres (63 per cent) of Christmas Island’s land area as well as an important adjacent marine area. The park provides habitat for endangered, vulnerable, threatened and migratory species as well as endemic species, including seabirds and a diverse array of land crabs. Red crabs are a keystone species responsible for maintaining the structure and species composition of the island’s rainforest vegetation and are internationally renowned for their annual breeding migration.

As a Commonwealth reserve, the park is managed by the Director of National Parks under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation act 1999.

This plan sets outs how the park and its natural and cultural values will be managed, protected and conserved for a period of 10 years.