Climbing ban

With its stunning landscapes and warm weather, Australia is a popular choice for European backpackers.

Like 20-year-old Oliver from Germany. Sporting a golden tan from three months travelling up the country's east coast, he's spending time in Sydney and has another four months before he heads back home.

Oliver hasn't made the trip to Uluru, the giant red monolith formerly known as Ayers Rock - and he doesn't intend to. He sympathizes with Aboriginal people who don't want visitors to climb the rock.

"For them it's holy and I could guess that it could maybe be destroyed by climbing it, and it could be ruined or be unholy after a while," he said.

But for others the opportunity to scale the UNESCO World Heritage Site is just too great to pass up.

"I probably will (climb), actually," said Justin, a backpacker from Britain who is staying at the same hostel as Oliver. "Being selfish, I probably will. It looks really, really good."

Justin wouldn't be alone. Some 350,000 tourists visit Uluru, in the middle of Australia, each year. Nearly 40 percent of them climb the rock, ignoring signs put up by the traditional indigenous owners requesting them not to do so because it is a sacred place for the local Anangu people.

Indigenous peoples object

According to the Anangu creation story, "the climb" is the traditional route taken by the people's ancestors on their arrival at the rock. And its not just tourists who are asked to stay off.

"I went out to Uluru back in the eighties and even then we were told by the indigenous traditional owners out there, not to climb the rock, it was a sacred spot," said Robert Welsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council in Sydney.

"None of the Aboriginal people that went out there in our group actually climbed Uluru."

Last year, the board of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, the local authority responsible for the site, called for a ban on climbing the rock. The board also cited environmental damage caused by tourists and said litter and human waste had contaminated waterholes at the base, causing problems for the flora and fauna.

The appeal for a ban ran into resistance from the government and Australia's tourism industry, and in the end the authority put forward proposal for the site which aims to accommodate the tourism industry's main concerns while holding out the possibility of a ban in future.

In January, Australia's environment ministry came out and endorsed this plan, which recommends introducing a ban when one of three conditions is met. The conditions include replacing the ascent as the main attraction at Uluru and providing alternative experiences for guests. At the moment nearly 40 percent of Uluru's visitors go there for the purpose of climbing the rock, but if that figure were to drop to just 20 percent, a ban could be introduced.

Balancing act

The economic implications of the plan are of most concern for tour operators. Uluru remains one of the Northern Territory's top attractions, despite the fact that the rock is off limits for much of the year due to extreme heat, wind and slippery conditions. Indeed, some 30 people have died trying to climb the rock to date.

Richard O'Neill, owner and director of Spirit Safaris, said it would be a shame if the climb were closed completely. He believes it is a substantial achievement to climb Uluru, but he also said that most of his customers who go there don't climb it.

"Part of our process is a strong connection with the elders and with Aboriginal teachings and understandings," he said. "And so most of the people that travel with us follow the preferences and desires of the elders, which is not to climb the rock," he said.

Although the tourism industry has a sympathetic ear with many in government, the country's environment minister, Peter Garrett, has publicly backed the local authorities' 10-year plan.

Garrett - the former lead singer of the rock band Midnight Oil, whose songs about environmental issues and Aboriginal land rights won pop recognition around the world in the eighties and nineties - said he supported the preconditions, provided the tourism industry was given fair notice.

"We'll work our way through seeing if these preconditions can be met…the tourism industry will get 18 months notice of any potential closure," he said.

Although Uluru provides Aboriginals with an opportunity to educate visitors about Australia's indigenous people, for community leaders like Robert Welsh from the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council, a ban is ultimately the most respectful course of action. He points out that visitors to a Cathedral in Europe wouldn't expect to climb that, so they shouldn't expect to do the same at Uluru.

"We don't go in and harass their churches or do anything like that. So it's all about respecting each other and respecting each other's culture. And you know we're going to stand and protect our heritage and our culture. It's our future."

Reporter: Cinnamon Nippard
Editor: Nathan Witkop