Houtman Abrolhos Islands Visitation Study Air Charter Operator Postal Survey 2004
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ISLAND-BASED TOURISM: GOVERNANCE AND USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES AT THE HOUTMAN ABROLHOS ISLANDS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA Emily Ogier Bachelor of Arts (Honours) This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Research) of The University of Western Australia School of Earth and Environment April 2013 DECLARATION FOR THESES CONTAINING PUBLISHED WORK AND/OR WORK PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION The examination of the thesis is an examination of the work of the student. The work must have been substantially conducted by the student during enrolment in the degree. Where the thesis includes work to which others have contributed, the thesis must include a statement that makes the student‘s contribution clear to the examiners. This may be in the form of a description of the precise contribution of the student to the work presented for examination and/or a statement of the percentage of the work that was done by the student. In addition, in the case of co-authored publications included in the thesis, each author must give their signed permission for the work to be included. If signatures from all the authors cannot be obtained, the statement detailing the student‘s contribution to the work must be signed by the coordinating supervisor. Please sign one of the statements below. 1. This thesis does not contain work that I have published, nor work under review for publication. Student Signature ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to examine the role of governance in the development of an island-based tourism sector which is sustainable and has a low impact on the local resource base. The propositions were investigated that island-based tourism is significantly dependent upon local natural resources (Baine et al., 2007; Baldacchino, 2010; Buerger et al., 2000; McElroy & Potter, 2006); and that the level of access, use, alteration and consumption of local natural resources by the tourism sector in island settings is a function of the level of knowledge, coordination and policy capacity characterising existing and historical governance arrangements (Baum et al., 2000; Conlin & Baum, 1995; Graci & Dodds, 2010; Hall, 2000; Heylings & Bravo, 2007; Lockhart, 1997). Island-based tourism at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia, was selected for investigation as characteristics of the tourism sector and its resource use and impact on those resources were not known. Limited planning and management of the tourism sector had occurred while sustainable development of the sector had been identified as a policy goal and preferred economic development pathway. Evaluation of tourism governance arrangements at the Houtman Abrolhos determined that the policy promulgation and implementation process has been hampered by minimal information concerning the characteristics of the tourism sector with which to frame the policy problem and select appropriate instruments; limited integration and coordination of agencies with various interrelated management responsibilities; and, the lack of enabling legislation to support regulation, enforcement and evaluation of tourism governance processes. Examination of the tourism sector determined that visitation levels and participation in non-consumptive ecotourism activities had not increased for the period from 2003-4 to 2005-6 in contrast to global and regional trends in tourism in islands and other comparable settings. The majority of visitors to the Houtman Abrolhos travelled by either commercial charter or private boat and undertook fishing as their primary recreational activity, highlighting the reliance of the sector on activity which is consumptive of marine resources. Investigation of tourist impacts on terrestrial resources found that substantive loss of vegetated areas and fauna habitat had occurred historically due to the establishment of extensive unmanaged track networks on those highly visited islands surveyed. However ongoing levels of this type of tourist impact on resource conditions were found to be low for the period from 2004 to 2006. The proximity of the tourist track network to nesting areas of high conservation value seabird and Australian Sea-lion populations was detected and indicated that disturbance to breeding activity of these populations could be inferred. Linkage of the research themes has supported the conclusion that the tourism sector at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands cannot be described as sustainable, given its reliance on consumptive activities and the level of changes to terrestrial resource conditions which have occurred. The failure to achieve the policy goal of sustainable tourism development is explained by the failure to account for the significant reliance of the tourism sector at the Houtman Abrolhos and on this basis to integrate its management with broader natural resource management frameworks. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Context ............................................................................................ 3 1.2 The Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia ....................................... 5 1.3 Research Objectives ........................................................................................ 8 1.4 Research Structure ......................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2 NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND TOURISM AT SMALL ISLANDS ..................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Natural Resource Systems ............................................................................ 11 2.2 Management Systems ................................................................................... 15 2.3 Natural Resource Units and Users ................................................................ 20 2.4 Tourism Resource Units and Users .............................................................. 25 2.5 Research Sites ............................................................................................... 31 2.6 Summary ....................................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODS ................................................................. 41 3.1 Research Design ........................................................................................... 43 3.2 Research Techniques .................................................................................... 48 3.2.1 Review of literature ............................................................................... 48 3.2.2 Tourist Visitation and Activity .............................................................. 50 3.2.3 Tourism Impact Assessment ................................................................. 56 3.2.4 Analysis and Presentation of Results .................................................... 64 CHAPTER 4 GOVERNANCE ............................................................................... 73 4.1 Governance systems ..................................................................................... 74 4.1.1 Theories of governance ......................................................................... 74 4.1.2 Governance arrangements for dependent island territories ................... 78 4.1.3 Governance and policy capacity for island-based tourism .................... 81 4.2 Methods ........................................................................................................ 85 4.3 Results ........................................................................................................... 86 4.3.1 Assignment of responsibility ................................................................. 86 4.3.2 Promulgation of Policy .......................................................................... 91 4.3.3 Development of Guidelines and Instruments ........................................ 95 4.3.4 Policy Implementation .......................................................................... 99 4.3.5 Assessment .......................................................................................... 104 4.3.6 Evaluation ............................................................................................ 106 4.4 Discussion ................................................................................................... 108 CHAPTER 5 TOURISM VISITATION AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT........... 113 5.1 Tourist Visitation, Recreation and Impacts ................................................ 115 5.2 Tourist Visitation, Recreation and Impacts at the Houtman Abrolhos ....... 119 5.2.1 Tourist Visitation and Recreational Activity....................................... 119 5.2.2 Impacts ................................................................................................ 123 5.3 Methods ...................................................................................................... 126 5.4 Results......................................................................................................... 128 5.4.1 Tourist Visitation and Recreation ........................................................ 128 5.4.2 Tourism Impact Assessment ............................................................... 133 5.5 Discussion ................................................................................................... 167 CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS .......................................... 175 6.1 Critique of Research Methods