The development of solar salt ponds along the Pilbara Coast, Western Australia – a coastline of global geoheritage significance used for industrial purposes

Abstract

AbstractThe Pilbara Coast, in NW Australia, stands unique as the most geologically/geomorphologically diverse arid coast globally and, as such, it is a coastline of Global Significance. Ideally, it should have been listed as a site of World Heritage. While there are a variety of coastal forms along the Pilbara Coast, a ubiquitous feature of the region is the development of extensive salt flats landward of mangrove-fringed coastlines, and leeward of barrier limestone ridges and barrier dunes. The aridity of the Pilbara Coast and the occurrence of extensive salt flats lend themselves to exploitation for development of solar salt production ponds but this has resulted in the destruction of unique coastal geomorphology, salt flat habitats, ‘sand island ecology’ and the natural diagenesis of arid-zone coastal geology. This contribution explores the significance of solar salt pond development along a globally unique coastline, and highlights that there needs to be a component of geoethics in government decision-making that considers all the values of a site.