distinction between Dharawal Nature Reserve and Dharawal State Conservation Area was due to coal mining being allowed in the state conservation area. Dharawal Nature Reserve was categorised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a category Ia Strict Nature Reserve and the Dharawal State Conservation Area was categorised as a category VI Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources. On 26 March 2012 most of the Dharawal State Conservation Area was declared a national park with a residual of three areas of state conservation area remaining on the western side and center of the national park to allow ongoing mining operations The government waited for its last mining exploration licence with BHP to expire before making the announcement. The national park status has meant that there are now much greater restrictions on activities such as coal mining within the protected area although in 2012 BHP was reported as continuing mining exploration in Darkes Forest, just outside the park’s border. The area is said to be protected to the centre of the earth which in theory means that no more mining activities can take place. Region description The Dharawal National Park is located on the southern rim of the Sydney Basin. The Woronora plateau gently slopes northwest towards the Cumberland Plain. The majority of the Dharawal region is located within the Nepean Ramp sub-region of the plateau, with a small portion in the west being part of the Macdonald region. The Dharawal National Park forms part of a larger protected area, which includes Royal National Park located in the north, the Budderoo and Morton national parks in the south and the extensive UNESCO World Heritagelisted Greater Blue Mountains Area in the west and northwest. Combined, these protected areas are one of the largest within the state of New South Wales. The Dharawal sites consist of the catchment of the O’Hares and Stokes Creeks, which are the headwaters of the Georges River on the Woronora Plateau. The annual average discharge of the catchment streams is estimated at . There are many waterways within the park, totalling over and including 26 swamps, draining towards the Nepean and Georges rivers. The plateau predominantly consists of Triassic Hawkesbury Sandstone, which is largely quartzose sandstone with some shale and ironstone. The soil in the park is generally shallow, sandy and of low fertility. The park is prone to high and extreme erosion threats.