Ecotourism Book Series

General Editor: David B. Weaver, Professor of Tourism Management, George Mason University, Virginia, USA.

Ecotourism, or nature-based tourism that is managed to be learning-orientated as environ- mentally and socioculturally sustainable, has emerged in the past 20 years as one of the most important sectors within the global tourism industry. The purpose of this series is to provide diverse stakeholders (e.g. academics, graduate and senior undergraduate students, practitioners, protected area managers, government and non-governmental organizations) with state-of-the-art and scientifically sound strategic knowledge about all the facets of eco- tourism, including external environments that influence its development. Contributions adopt a holistic, critical and interdisciplinary approach that combines relevant theory and practice while placing case studies from specific destinations into an international context. The series supports the development and diffusion of financially viable ecotourism that fulfils the objective of environmental, socio-cultural and economic sustainability at both the local and global scale.

Titles available 1. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management Edited by R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver

Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management

Edited by

R. Buckley

International Centre for Ecotourism Research Griffith University Queensland Australia

C. Pickering

International Centre for Ecotourism Research Griffith University Queensland Australia

and

D.B. Weaver

Department of Health, Fitness and Recreation Resources George Mason University Manassas USA

CABI Publishing CABI Publishing is a division of CAB International

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fenner Conference on Nature Tourism and the Environment (2001 : Canberra, A.C.T.) Nature-based tourism, environment, and land management / edited by R. Buckley, C. Pickering, and D. Weaver. p. cm. -- (Ecotourism book series) Papers presented at the Fenner Conference on Nature Tourism and the Environment, held in Canberra, Australia, 2001. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-85199-732-5 (alk. paper) 1. Ecotourism--Congresses. 2. Ecotourism--Australia--Congresses. 3. Land use--Congresses. 4. Land use--Australia--Congresses. I. Buckley, Ralf. II. Pickering, C. (Catherine) III. Weaver, David B. (David Bruce) IV. Title. V. Series. G156.5.E26F47 2001 338.4‘791--dc21 2003004153

ISBN 0 85199 732 5

Typeset by Wyvern 21 Ltd, Bristol Printed and bound in the UK by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn. Contents

Contributors vii Preface ix 1. The Practice and Politics of Tourism and Land Management 1 Ralf Buckley 2. Nature-based Tourism and Sustainability: Issues and Approaches 7 Catherine Pickering and David Bruce Weaver 3. Sustainable Tourism: World Trends and Challenges Ahead 11 Eugenio Yunis 4. Private Reserves: the Conservation Corporation Africa Model 17 Les Carlisle 5. Applying Public-purpose Marketing in the USA to Protect Relationships witht Public Land 25 Alan E. Watson and William T. Borrie 6. The Financial Liability of Park Managers for Visitor Injuries 35 Jan McDonald 7. Visitor Fees, Tour Permits and Asset and Risk Management by Parks Agencies: Australian Case Study 51 Ralf Buckley, Natasha Witting and Michaela Guest 8. The Net Economic Benefits of Recreation and Timber Production in Selected New South Wales Native Forests 61 John Ward 9. Moving Nearer to Heaven: Growth and Change in the Greater Yellowstone Region, USA 77 Jerry Johnson, Bruce Maxwell and Richard Aspinall 10. Visitor-impact Data in a Land-management Context 89 Ralf Buckley and Narelle King 11. Small Recreational and Tourist Vessels in Inshore Coastal Areas: a Characterization of Types of Impacts 101 Jan Warnken and Troy Byrnes 12. Establishing Best-practice Environmental Management: Lessons from the Australian Tour-boat Industry 111 Troy Byrnes and Jan Warnken 13. Impacts of Nature Tourism on the Mount Kosciuszko Alpine Area, Australia 123 Catherine Pickering, Stuart Johnston, Ken Green and Graeme Enders

v vi Contents

14. Ecological Change as a Result of Winter Tourism: Snow Manipulation in the Australian Alps 137 Catherine Pickering and Wendy Hill 15. A Method for Calculating Environmental Sensitivity to Walker Trampling in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area 151 Jennie Whinam, Nicole Chilcott, Roger Ling and Phil Wyatt 16. Modelling Potential for Nature-based Tourism 167 Colin Arrowsmith 17. Contributions of Non-consumptive Wildlife Tourism to Conservation 181 Karen Higginbottom, Andrew Tribe and Rosemary Booth 18. Balancing Conservation and Visitation in Protected Areas 197 Robyn Bushell 19. Conclusions 209 Ralf Buckley Index 211 Contributors

C. Arrowsmith, Department of Geospatial Science, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, Vic 3001, Australia. [email protected] R. Aspinall, Department of Earth Science, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA. R. Booth, School of Animal Studies, University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4343, Australia. W.T. Borrie, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA. R. Buckley, International Centre for Ecotourism Research, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia. r.buckley@griffith.edu.au R. Bushell, School of Environment and Agriculture, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797, Australia. [email protected] T. Byrnes, School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia. t.byrnes@griffith.edu.au L. Carlisle, Conservation Corporation Africa, PO Box 966, White River, 1240 South Africa. [email protected] N. Chilcott, Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, GPO Box 44A, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia. G. Enders, New South Wales National Parks Service, Snowy Mountains Region, PO Box 2228, Jindabyne, NSW 2627, Australia. K. Green, New South Wales National Parks Service, Snowy Mountains Region, PO Box 2228, Jindabyne, NSW 2627, Australia. M. Guest, School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia. m.guest@griffith.edu.au K. Higginbottom, School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia. k.higginbottom@griffith.edu.au W. Hill, School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia. J. Johnson, Department of Political Science, Montana State University, Wilson Hall 2-438, Bozeman, MT 69717, USA. [email protected] S. Johnston, School of Resources, Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. N. King, International Centre for Ecotourism Research, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia. R. Ling, Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, GPO Box 44A, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia. J. McDonald, School of Law, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia. jan.mcdonald@griffith.edu.au

vii viii Contributors

B. Maxwell, Land Resources and Environmental Science, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA. C. Pickering, School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia. c.pickering@griffith.edu.au A. Tribe, School of Animal Studies, University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4343, Australia. J. Ward, Australian School of Environmental Studies, Griffith University, Kessels Road, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia. john.ward@griffith.edu.au J. Warnken, School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia. j.warnken@griffith.edu.au A.E. Watson, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Departments of The Interior and Agriculture, Box 8089, Missoula, Montana, USA. [email protected] D.B. Weaver, Tourism and Events Management, Department of Health, Fitness and Recreation Resources, George Mason University, 10900 University Blvd, M5-4E5 Manassas, VA 20110- 2203, USA. [email protected] J. Whinam, Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, GPO Box 44A, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia. [email protected] N. Witting, School of Environmental Studies, Griffith University, Kessels Road, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia. n.witting@griffith.edu.au P. Wyatt, Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, GPO Box 44A, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia. E. Yunis, Sustainable Development of Tourism, World Tourism Organization, Capitan Haya 42, 28020 Madrid, Spain. [email protected] Preface

The nature-tourism industry needs access to land with scenery, native plants and wildlife. Land managers need money to maintain their land, its natural resources and built infrastructure. For private lands and public lands managed for economic production, landholders also expect an economic return over and above operating costs. In national parks and other public lands allo- cated for conservation, management agencies face increasing costs from growing visitor numbers, demands and sometimes litigation, and severe shortfalls in government funding. Links, partnerships and conflicts between commercial tourism interests and land-manage- ment agencies are hence assuming increasing importance worldwide; and similar issues are faced repeatedly in different places, jurisdictions and nations. It is therefore in the interests of land managers and tour operators alike to exchange information on approaches attempted and lessons learned, whether within the same country or between different continents. Neighbouring states can learn from each others’ experiences, and developed countries have as much to learn from developing nations as vice versa. With these considerations in mind, the International Centre for Ecotourism Research con- vened the 2001 Fenner Conference on Nature Tourism and the Environment, with major support from the Australian Academy of Science and Griffith University, and additional sponsorship from parks agencies and tourism interests throughout Australia and elsewhere (Buckley, 2001). That conference provided the catalyst for this volume. From 72 presentations, this book has distilled 15 technical chapters, plus introductory chapters by the editors and Mr Eugenio Yunis of the World Tourism Organization. Contributions to the conference were screened for inter- national relevance, refereed for academic content and significance, revised repeatedly by the authors and modified more or less extensively by the editors of this volume. We trust these chapters will be of broad contemporary interest worldwide. In particular, we take pleasure in presenting a number of Australian case studies which can provide valu- able counterparts to the more extensive literature from Europe and North America.

Reference

Buckley, R.C. (ed.) (2001) Abstracts 2001 Fenner Conference on Nature Tourism and the Environment. Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, and Griffith University, Gold Coast.

ix

1

The Practice and Politics of Tourism and Land Management

Ralf Buckley International Centre for Ecotourism Research, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Tourism based on natural environments is a US$250 billion a year into the North American huge international industry with major eco- economy, through various mechanisms nomic, social and environmental con- including nature tourism (Eagles, 2002). sequences at both local and global scales. Just As tourism in natural areas continues to how big it is depends on what we include. For grow, it has an increasing influence on land example, how far do we attempt to disaggre- managers in those areas. Many private, pub- gate or unbundle the motivations and lic and community landholders are turning to expenditure of tourists, and the packaging of nature tourism as a profitable adjunct or tour products, so as to distinguish built, cul- replacement for farming, forestry or fisheries; tural and natural attractions? How much of the and management agencies for public conser- indirect economic activity associated with vation, heritage, wilderness and recreation tourism do we include, such as recreational areas are facing more and more clamorous and equipment manufacturing, or recreational use conflicting demands from increasing numbers of private vehicles and personal time? In very of visitors and users, commercial tour opera- broad terms, it seems that the attractions of tors as well as individual recreational users natural areas and their closely associated local and non-profit groups. cultures, and the various associated tourist, The precise patterns and trends differ recreational and leisure activities, contribute among continents, countries and regions, but around half the total economic activity attrib- many of the issues are very similar. For exam- utable to the travel and tourism sector (Stueve ple, private wildlife reserves have a rather et al., 2002). Global nature tourism, in other different history in North America and sub- words, is worth at least US$250 billion a year. Saharan Africa, but in either case they have to Indeed, one past estimate (J. Mallett, 1998, fund their entire land and wildlife manage- unpublished) suggests that the US adventure- ment costs through various commercial tourism sector alone is almost this large, if ventures, which may include sport hunting as recreational equipment is included; and a well as photo safaris and game lodges. The more recent estimate suggests that US and politics of tourism in public forests differs enor- Canadian national parks inject around mously between Australia and the USA, but

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 1 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 2 R. Buckley

the techniques used to compare the economic is driven by fashion rather than large-scale value of tourism with that of logging are the social change, and is therefore likely to be a same. Entrance, camping fees and commercial more temporary phenomenon. tour-operator permit fees are different from In any event, there is an increasing country to country and indeed park to park, demand for commercial outdoor adventure but the issues are very similar worldwide. The activities worldwide. Forest lodges that for- list is long. merly offered nature walks as their sole visitor Historically, landholders and land-man- activity have now installed canopy cables, and agement agencies around the world have national parks are under pressure to host multi- tended to address such issues rather indepen- sport endurance races. Private landholders can dently. Information exchanges have been make more money by charging four-wheel- largely informal, through personal contacts, drive owners to use their paddocks as an exchanges of agency reports and occasional obstacle course than by running cattle. And, conferences. While this provides opportunities as visitor numbers increase, occasional for innovation and creativity, it can also be encounters between hikers and horseback rid- inefficient – and, given the chronic under- ers can escalate into major conflicts between funding of many of the world’s protected area different user groups. At the same time, ques- management agencies, inefficiency is not tions of legal liability (McDonald, Chapter 6, something they can easily afford. Fortunately, this volume) and of recreational capacity the World Wide Web has provided much eas- (Haas, 2002) have assumed increasing impor- ier international access to major agency tance. reports than in the past. Commonly, however, The other major global trend is so-called material available is at either a policy or an amenity migration, where rich people from operational level, with little indication of the large cities build big houses in scenic rural data, analysis and rationale used to devise areas, often adjacent to national parks, and either. continue to conduct business through high- As a small contribution to land manage- speed cable communications. The financial ment for nature tourism, therefore, we have scale of associated land and property sales compiled the 19 contributions presented here, commonly dwarfs that of tourism, to the point addressing a wide range of relevant issues. where Johnson et al. (Chapter 9, this volume) Australian voices are prevalent but by no have referred to tourism as a transitional econ- means dominant, and many of the approach- omy. Links between tourism and residential es to nature tourism and land management in developments are long-standing, but the pat- Australia are as relevant for other continents tern has changed. Historically, it was beach as vice versa. towns and similar destinations that attracted In the world’s developed nations, in all amenity migrants, and this is still the case in continents and languages, there seem to be cities such as Australia’s Gold Coast, where two very large-scale social trends that are hotels, tourist apartments and permanent res- affecting the interactions between nature idents are inextricably intertwined and there is tourism and land managers. The first of these a continuing influx of permanent migrants is the growth of the adventure-tourism sector from larger cities, such as Sydney and and its increasing connections with the fash- Melbourne. This, however, is very much an ion, clothing and entertainment industries. I urban migration, unrelated to nature tourism. have argued elsewhere (Buckley, 1998) that A more recent trend is that greenfield tourist the growth of packaged commercial outdoor resorts, whether featuring ocean-front marinas, recreation, in the form of adventure tourism, rural golf courses or mountain ski fields, have is a consequence of the increased urbaniza- relied on residential subdivisions as their tion of most developed nations. Likewise, I major financial engine, with the retail tourism have argued (WTO, 2000) that, in terms of its operations acting principally as a base for financial and corporate structure, adventure property investment. Such developments, tourism is increasingly becoming a subsidiary though sometimes in areas of considerable of the clothing industry. The latter, however, conservation significance, are commonly large Tourism and Land Management: Practice and Politics 3

enough to trigger legal requirements for formal for example, areas nominally allocated as environmental-impact assessment (EIA) as a buffer zones around core conservation areas component of development approval process- are in fact occupied by subsistence landhold- es. Where such developments are likely to ers right up to the last metre, and sometimes have impacts on national parks or heritage beyond. Incursions into protected areas, areas, in principle the EIA process should take whether for wildlife poaching or subsistence such impacts into account, though this does hunting, are commonplace. In many parts of not always happen in practice. Africa and South America, there is constant Construction of holiday homes in scenic pressure for protected areas to be made avail- rural areas, often with a view to continuous able for subsistence settlement. In parts of occupation during retirement, is also a long- Zimbabwe, this has in fact already happened. standing phenomenon in many of the world’s Private game reserves, in consequence, must holiday-destination areas. What seems to be continually demonstrate their economic sup- new is the migration of active, wealthy, port for neighbouring communities (Carlisle, mid-career professional and business people Chapter 4, this volume). Similarly, the eco- to upmarket-acreage residential communities nomic success of nature tourism in the in areas famous for outdoor recreation oppor- Galapagos Islands has attracted a large num- tunities, often adjacent to national parks. This ber of migrants from mainland Ecuador, who is occurring particularly in the Rocky are now lobbying to be given land inside the Mountains states and provinces of north-west national park (Weaver, 2000). USA and south-west Canada, where tiny rural National Parks in North America and towns have recently attracted a rush of land Australia may not be under quite such imme- speculation. A similar effect is occurring on a diate threat as those in Africa, but there are much smaller scale in the Australian snow none the less considerable similarities. In the country, and in South Africa it is now possi- USA, for example, the Bush government ble to buy residential land inside private game recently opened Alaska’s Arctic National reserves, with appropriate covenants on build- Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration, despite ing design and management. major concerns from conservation interests. In This growth of residential development Yellowstone National Park, lobbying by recre- around the borders of protected areas intro- ational-equipment manufacturers led the Bush duces new challenges for protected-area government to overturn plans to curb off-track managers. Residential land divisions are com- winter use by snowmobiles, despite the major monly much smaller than farms, and more noise and disturbance impacts on wildlife as often fenced, so residential estates provide well as other users. more of a barrier to wildlife movement than Increasingly, parks agencies can no farms or forests. Straying livestock may longer rely on the legal mandate of their own become less common, but feral cats and dogs establishing legislation to carry out their pri- much more so, as well as other exotic species mary conservation function. Facing politically kept as pets. A new suite of garden weeds may powerful and experienced lobby groups who be added to introduced pasture grasses and want to use parks for their own purposes, con- other farm weeds. Ranchers’ concerns over servation-management agencies are being livestock losses to native predators may be forced to mobilize their own political support. replaced by residents’ lobbies for greater recre- Historically, this has come directly from vot- ational access. Residential areas not only ers with conservation interests, such as increase fire sources enormously, but also members of voluntary conservation groups. In restrict fire-management options and increase countries with right-wing national govern- the financial and human risks from wildfires ments, such as the USA and Australia in 2002, that escape from the borders of protected however, these groups have little political areas. power, since their members are in any event Pressure around the borders of protected unlikely to vote for the incumbent govern- areas is certainly not restricted to developed ment. Instead, therefore, land-management nations. In much of east and South-East Asia, agencies have to turn to their low-impact 4 R. Buckley

users, those whose primary interest is in the years that its primary business is in providing peaceful contemplation of nature, to provide recreation opportunities rather than timber. In a political force for the future. the very few instances in Australia where pub- In the USA, this has led the National Parks lic forest-management agencies have turned Service to turn to the concepts of relationship their hands to tourism, notably the Tree Top marketing (Watson and Borrie, Chapter 5, this Walk in Western Australia and the Tahune volume). In Australia, however, these pres- Airwalk in Tasmania, the economic returns sures seem to be leading instead to a kind of have far exceeded expectations (Buckley, political fire-sale of public protected areas to 2003). Similarly, examples from around the commercial tourism interests. While the vari- world indicate that, in many circumstances, ous parks agencies certainly recognize the nature tourism can be more profitable than importance of maintaining political support for farming, and private landholders are modify- future public funding, this is a long-term exer- ing their land-use mix accordingly. If cise. In the meantime, they are faced with commercial tour operators can get free or rapidly increasing visitor numbers and cheap access to public national parks with all demands. They do not have the political cap- their associated facilities, however, clearly ital to obtain a corresponding increase in their costs are far less than if they have to public funding in the short term, or even to install their own infrastructure elsewhere. In impose limits on visitor numbers except in the addition, existing visitors to national parks most obvious cases of major environmental effectively provide a ready-made and semi- degradation. Nor do they have the political captive market for commercial enterprises capital to charge entrance and activity fees that with concession rights. are large enough to cover a significant pro- As the area of wilderness worldwide con- portion of their operating costs. tinues to decrease, particularly in regions with Under these circumstances, protected- easy access from major urban centres, nation- area management agencies may be forced into al parks and other protected areas become bargains with commercial interests that are increasingly valuable. It seems that tourism prepared to provide cash in return for prefer- interests, government as well as commercial, ential rights, typically the exclusive privilege recognize this value and its future growth, and to build and operate tourist infrastructure of are trying to capture them. One approach is various types. Such ventures are commonly to buy adjacent land that is similar but unpro- carried out under the rhetoric of partnership. tected; as in the case of amenity migration, In principle, the primary purpose of a part- many private lodges and a number of major nership is to provide benefits for all partners. tourist resorts. In countries such as Australia, The critical issue for protected-area manage- however, tourism interests are currently pur- ment agencies is that, if they are forced into suing political approaches that would allow arrangements where they have weak negotiat- them to reap most of the potential profits avail- ing leverage, the costs and benefits of these able from public demand to visit protected partnerships are likely to be highly asymmet- areas, while paying only a small fraction of ric. Tourism interests can obtain commercial management costs and none of the capital access to publicly owned natural attractions costs. far more cheaply than if they had to buy pri- Tourism interests, principally government vate land; and in addition they obtain the rather than private, sometimes argue that other benefits of publicly funded roads, tracks, visi- industry sectors such as forestry have free or tor facilities, land management, rangers and even subsidized access to public natural even marketing. resources, so why not tourism? This argument, Economic analyses such as those by Ward however, misses the fundamental point that (Chapter 8, this volume) indicate conclusively some public lands are allocated for produc- that nature tourism can provide major eco- tion and others for protection. If tourism can nomic benefits from public lands, such as generate greater economic benefits from pub- national or state forests; and, indeed, the US licly owned forest or farmland than logging or Forestry Service has now recognized for some livestock respectively, or greater benefit from Tourism and Land Management: Practice and Politics 5

publicly owned rivers and oceans from boat- itor services as quickly as possible to com- ing, diving and angling than from commercial mercial tourism interests. There does not seem fisheries, that does indeed provide a strong to be a general perception that these revenue argument to change land- or water-use allo- streams may be essential in future to fund pri- cation in those areas from primary industries mary conservation activities. As noted by to tourism. It does not, however, provide an Coggins and Glicksman (1997), however, argument to provide access to protected areas there is no obligation for parks agencies to ful- as a public subsidy for the tourism sector, at fil only the unprofitable components of their the same time continuing to subsidize forestry, mandates. farming and fisheries in other areas. How these various political debates pan The political behaviour of landholders out in different countries remains to be seen. and land-management agencies has been Meanwhile, however, at a global scale the mixed. Private landholders, not surprisingly, interactions between the nature-tourism indus- have taken advantage of commercial opportu- try and conservation land management, both nities in nature tourism where these have positive and negative, are becoming more and arisen. In most cases, these landholders are more significant for both, and a shared and farmers and ranchers, and they have added solid information base in both the natural and tourism to their land-use mix in the same way social sciences is equally important for both. that they would add any other new crop or We trust that this compilation will provide a livestock species: cautiously at first, and with- small addition to previous contributions, such out abandoning other crops or stock. Tourists as those of Lime (1990), Cole et al. (1999), are seen as an exotic, slightly speculative but Manning (1999), Eagles and McCool (2002), potentially profitable venture, akin to planting Hendee and Dawson (2002) and Newsome et vines or starting an alpaca stud or an ostrich al. (2002), and that it may provide a catalyst farm. And why not? for more detailed information exchange in Management agencies for public land future. such as state and national forests have effec- tively taken a similar approach, but much more slowly, because their principal currency References is political support rather than market returns. If a forestry agency relies on logging contrac- Buckley, R.C. (1998) Ecotourism megatrends. tors, sawmills and timber towns for political Australian International Business Review 1998, support, simply knowing that nature tourism is 52–54. a far more productive use of public forest Buckley, R.C. (2003) Case Studies in Ecotourism. assets than timber production (Ward, Chapter CAB International, Wallingford. 8, this volume) does not in itself lead to a Coggins, G.C. and Glicksman, R.L. (1997) Concessions law and policy in the national change in land use. Unless the change is parks system. Denver University Law Review forced upon it from above by larger-scale 74, 729–778. political events, a forestry agency can only add Cole, D.N., McCool, S.F., Borrie, W.T. and tourism to its land-use mix gradually and in O’Loughlin, J. (eds) (1999) Wilderness Science such a way as to maintain its political capital in Time of Change, Vols 4 and 5. USDA Forest and currency from timber interests. Only once Service, Ogden, Utah. residents in local communities begin to feel Eagles, P.F.J. (2002) Trends in park tourism: eco- the economic benefit of nature tourism can nomics, finance and management. Journal of forestry agencies increase the scope of their Sustainable Tourism 10, 132–153. tourist activities. Eagles, P.F.J. and McCool, S. (2002) Tourism in National Parks and Protected Areas. CAB In national-parks and protected-area International, Wallingford. management agencies, there seems to be a Haas, G. (2002) Visitor Capacity on Public Land and perception that agencies should retain Waters. NRPA, Ashburn, Virginia. responsibility for resource- and conservation- Hendee, J. and Dawson, C. (eds) (2002) Wilderness management activities, which is what their Management, 3rd edn. WILD Foundation and staff are commonly trained in, and hive off vis- Fulcrum Publishing, Golden, Colorado. 6 R. Buckley

Lime, D.W. (ed.) (1990) Managing America’s Summary. www.tia.org/pubs/geotourismphase- Enduring Wilderness Resource. University of final.pdf Last viewed 12 June 2002. Minnesota, St Paul. Weaver, D. (2000) Tourism and national parks in Manning, R. (1999) Studies in Outdoor Recreation, ecologically vulnerable areas. In: Butler, R.V. 2nd edn. Oregon University Press, Corvallis. and Boyd, S.W. (eds) Tourism and National Newsome, D., Moore, S.A. and Dowling, R.K. Parks: Issues and Implications. John Wiley & (2002) Natural Area Tourism: Ecology Impacts Sons, Chichester, pp. 107–124. and Management. Channel View, Clevedon. World Tourism Organization (WTO) (2000) Island Stueve, A.M., Cock, S.D. and Drew, D. (2002) The Tourism in Asia and the Pacific. World Tourism Geotourism Study: Phase 1 Executive Organization, Madrid. 2

Nature-based Tourism and Sustainability: Issues and Approaches

Catherine Pickering1 and David Bruce Weaver2 1School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia; 2Tourism and Events Management, Department of Health, Fitness and Recreation Resources, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia, USA

What can we say with authority about nature- of potential economic, sociocultural and envi- based tourism? First, it accounts for a large ronmental costs and benefits associated with proportion of the global tourism industry nature-based tourism, as illustrated by most of (Eagles et al., 2002; Newsome et al., 2002; the chapters in this volume. Buckley, Chapter 1, this volume). Secondly, As with all forms of tourism, the planning this proportion is increasing as nature-based and management of nature-based tourism is tourism continues to grow faster than the increasingly mediated by the paradigm of sus- tourism sector overall (Newsome et al., 2002; tainability. In the third chapter of this book, Watson and Borrie, Chapter 5, this volume). Yunis outlines the current state of play in the Thirdly, nature-based tourism occurs in both formulation of policies and practices that public and private spaces and hence is man- ensure environmentally, economically and aged by public agencies as well as private socioculturally sustainable outcomes for the industry and non-governmental organizations tourism sector, especially as they have evolved (Buckley, Chapter 1, Carlisle, Chapter 4, since the seminal Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Watson and Borrie, Chapter 5, and Yunis Given the size, growth rate, ubiquity, diversi- Chapter 3, this volume). Fourthly, nature-based ty and variable impacts cited above, it can be tourism is an extremely diverse sector that argued that the goal of sustainability is espe- encompasses such potentially incompatible cially imperative in the nature-based tourism activities as wildlife viewing (i.e. ecotourism) sector. Indeed, the attempt to operate in a sus- (Carlisle, Chapter 4, and Higginbottom et al., tainable manner is universally acknowledged Chapter 17, this volume), boating (Byrnes and as one of the core criteria of ecotourism Warnken, Chapter 12, and Warnken and (Blamey, 2001). Byrnes, Chapter 11, this volume) and skiing The chapters in this volume all provide and walking in alpine areas (Pickering and Hill, insights into the complex relationships that are Chapter 14, and Pickering et al., Chapter 13, evolving between nature-based tourism and this volume). Fifthly, there is a complex array the paradigm of sustainability. For example,

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 7 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 8 C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver

Carlisle’s discussion of the Conservation financial bottom line in their quest to remain Corporation Africa (CCA) in Chapter 4 illus- effective and viable. Tourists clearly pose a trates how the private sector can employ potential liability threat, but they also offer nature-based tourism to protect indigenous lucrative opportunities for revenue generation wildlife populations while simultaneously pro- through the levying of visitor user fees and ducing economic and sociocultural benefits activity permits. Buckley, Witting and Guest for local communities that would otherwise review the use of fees and permits in continue to degrade their surroundings while Australian protected areas in Chapter 7. They failing to move beyond a marginal subsis- find considerable variation among the states tence-based economy. Profit-motivated efforts and territories in terms of types of fees and such as these are often looked upon with sus- licences and the amounts charged. The poten- picion by social scientists, and yet they seem tial for linking fees to sustainability is to be both increasingly viable and vital in des- considerable, not just in the revenues that are tinations where a financially constrained generated to facilitate sustainable manage- public sector cannot by itself maintain a ment in protected areas, but also through such protected-area system that effectively pre- developments as the expanding practice of serves the integrity of native ecosystems. giving preferential access to tour operators and Constrained public sectors are not con- tour guides accredited under the Nature and fined to the less developed world. As Ecotourism Accreditation Program (NEAP). described by Watson and Borrie in Chapter 5, This Australian trend will, hopefully, encour- protected-area authorities in the USA are strug- age other countries to pursue a NEAP-type gling to fulfil the dual mandates of accreditation scheme. environmental preservation and the provision The previous four chapters all demonstrate of services to an ever-growing nature-based the link between environmental, economic and tourism clientele. In response, the US Forestry sociocultural sustainability on the one hand Service is experimenting with a ‘businesslike’ and financial sustainability on the other. If pro- marketing approach that packages tourism tected areas cannot generate sufficient ‘products’ for ‘customers’ whose needs must revenues from tourism and other activities, they be satisfied. The authors point out that such are unlikely to be effective in preserving an approach must combine commercial ecosystems while providing high-quality visitor impulses with a focus on relationships, trust, experiences. It is therefore reassuring to read commitment and social responsibility in order Ward’s comparison in Chapter 8 between the to be successful within a broader sustainabil- revenue-generating potential of tourism and ity model. logging in the Australian state of New South An additional consideration that can pro- Wales. His modelling finds that the promotion foundly influence the viability of public of nature tourism in the native forests of nation- protected areas, especially in the more devel- al parks can maximize economic benefits more oped world, is the issue of liability. In Chapter than timber production for the same forest 6, McDonald examines the competing policy types and locations. This benefit occurred with- considerations posed for park managers of out including additional potential economic conserving natural environments and provid- benefits from non-consumptive use of the for- ing an array of nature-based experiences while est such as ecosystems services and options protecting visitors to the park from injury. She values. examines the common-law principles of neg- Ward’s study reminds us that the envi- ligence, nuisance and breach of statutory duty, ronmental, economic and sociocultural and how these relate to providing warning sustainability of tourism is also crucially influ- signs, the obviousness of a danger and visitor enced, both directly and indirectly, by the carelessness. Alternative approaches, such as sustainability of other resource stakeholders. A statutory immunities and statutory compensa- model ecotourism operation in an Australian tion schemes, are also described. native forest, for example, is of little conse- Whether liability is a pressing issue or not, quence if a local timber company is park agencies must always pay heed to the unsustainably logging those same or adjacent Nature-based Tourism and Sustainability 9

forests or if extensive strip mining is occurring becoming increasingly popular. They examine in the vicinity. External influences of a differ- the impact of anti-fouling agents and sewage ent sort are evident in the case study of discharge, particularly on mooring sites, and amenity migration provided by Johnson, find that, while there is evidence of impacts, Maxwell and Aspinall in Chapter 9. Their there is a clear need for better sampling tech- examination of the Greater Yellowstone nology and design to identify the extent of Region in the western USA shows that private marine pollution from small boats. The follow- lands adjacent to public protected areas are up chapter by the same authors examines the an increasingly popular migration destination effectiveness of legislation and regulation of choice for urban exiles and others desiring aimed at reducing the environmental impacts proximity to a relatively undisturbed natural of the tour-boat industry. Using Australia as a environment. Yet the scope of this so-called case study, they find that a major impediment amenity migration (triggered in most instances to self-regulation in this sector is a lack of by one’s own experience as a visitor to the recognition by stakeholders that they are part area) is such that it threatens to undermine the of an industry sector and that they do have very qualities that induced the flow in the first negative impacts. This chapter indicates that place. The authors describe land-use change the identification of negative impacts within models that can assist local communities in the nature-based tourism sector does not auto- managing population growth so that the basic matically result in their timely alleviation, due integrity of the region and its public protected to the intervention of various political, cultur- areas is not undermined. al, psychological and other ‘human’ factors. Because external influences are often The high conservation environment of the more difficult to identify and control, it is not Australian snow country is the subject of surprising that more attention has been paid Pickering and her colleagues in the following to the impacts of tourism itself. However, as two chapters. In Chapter 13, Pickering, Buckley and King emphasize in Chapter 10, Johnston, Green and Enders describe the our knowledge of nature-based tourism known impacts of tourism in the high moun- impacts is itself still rudimentary in some tain ecosystems surrounding Australia’s respects. The authors find that the direct and highest peak. Adventurous activities such as obvious impacts of tourism and recreation are cross-country skiing and ice climbing occur in widely recognized (for example, the effects of the winter while wildflower appreciation and off-road vehicles), but that for more complex other forms of ecotourism tend to occur in the and less obvious direct and indirect impacts, summer. As with Chapter 10, this research such as weed and pathogen diffusion, there is emphasizes the potentially harmful environ- limited knowledge. Their review of knowledge mental effects that ‘passive’ activities such as regarding the relationship between nature- walking can have on fragile habitats. More based tourism and the dieback pathogen obvious are the deleterious effects of snow Phytophthora cinnamomi, moreover, illus- manipulation (snow making, grooming, etc.) at trates that even the most ostensibly benign ski resorts, as described by Pickering and Hill tourism activity, such as wildlife viewing, can in Chapter 14. This study highlights the fact lead to inadvertent negative environmental that changed snow conditions can cause a cas- impacts. They highlight the need for more cade of effects on the ecology of this fragile local and high-quality ecological research for ecosystem. Again, however, the impacts of the management of tourism and recreation in such manipulations may be dwarfed by the areas of high conservation value. influence of macro-external forces such as cli- Subsequent chapters in this book pursue mate change, which could eliminate the theme of environmental impacts related to Australia’s alpine ecosystems entirely within nature-based tourism. In Chapter 11, Warnken the next few decades (Green, 1998). and Byrnes follow on from Buckley and King The issue of walking-related environmen- by examining the impacts associated with tal impacts is pursued further in Chapter 15 small recreational and tourist boats using within the context of the Tasmanian inshore coastal areas, an activity that is Wilderness World Heritage Area. Whinam, 10 C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver

Chilcott, Ling and Wyatt examine how walk- Cash-strapped protected-area agencies have ing carrying capacities have been calculated an ambivalent relationship with tourism in that for this area. The methods that have been used the latter is probably the best vehicle for alle- for the walking track-management strategy viating the financial situation, but the emphasizes the ways in which impacts can be increased visitation levels required to generate modelled and therefore more effectively man- sufficient cash also pose a direct and indirect aged using a combination of experimentation threat to the environmental integrity of those and geographical information systems map- same protected areas. Bushell emphasizes that ping. The implications of these findings clearly increased visitation therefore requires better extend well beyond the isolated confines of but more costly management to limit negative the Tasmanian wilderness. environmental impacts from tourism. How Also internationally relevant is Arrow- cash-strapped park agencies obtain funds to smith’s demonstration as to how models of operate sustainably is a paramount issue. environmental resilience can be combined with Associated issues include the equitable levy- tourism-attractiveness models to produce a ing of fees and the equitable distribution of ‘tourism-potential model’. Using a case study economic benefits associated with nature- from a high-use protected area in south-eastern based tourism. Also, park managers must Australia (Grampians National Park), Arrow- balance their competencies in conservation smith in Chapter 16 shows how this and nature-resource management with the tourism-potential model can assist in planning ability to manage visitor flows in a way that for nature-based tourism by identifying areas both preserves the integrity of the natural envi- that have clusters of sites which are attractive ronment and allows for high-quality and to tourists as well as environmentally resilient. satisfying visitor experiences. It is fair to say They can also identify, for management atten- that nature-based tourism is now a permanent tion, existing hot spots where high attractiveness fixture in most of the world’s high-order pro- and use are resulting in negative impacts. tected areas, and the ability to balance and, In Chapter 17, Higginbottom, Tribe and hopefully, synergize the twin mandates of Booth move from a landscape level of man- tourism and environmental preservation is per- agement to an examination of the con- haps the greatest challenge faced by tributions of non-consumptive wildlife tourism protected-area managers. to conservation. They compare the viewing of animals in captive settings such as zoos with wildlife viewing in free-range settings, and find that both ends of the non-consumptive nature- References based tourism spectrum (i.e. captive to free- ranging) can produce significant positive envi- Blamey, R. (2001) Principles of ecotourism. In: Weaver, D. (ed.) The Encyclopedia of ronmental benefits. While more attention has Ecotourism. CAB International, Wallingford, been paid in the literature to the ethical prob- UK, pp. 5–22. lems of captive wildlife settings (Croke, 1997), Croke, V. (1997) The Modern Ark: the Story of Zoos these in fact are associated with important cap- Past, Present and Future. Scribner, New York. tive breeding programmes and serve to Eagles, P.F.J., McCool, S.F. and Haynes, C.D. (2002) educate large numbers of people who may go Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas: on to develop a stronger environmental ethic. Guidelines for Planning and Management. Best It is still unclear, however, whether the provi- Practice Protected Area Guideline Series No. sion of mass-market wildlife viewing oppor- 8. World Commission on Protected Areas, tunities within captive settings serves to relieve Cambridge. Green, K. (1998) Snow, a Natural History: an or create tourism-related pressure on protect- Uncertain Future. Australian Alps Liaison ed areas and other free-range environments. Committee, Canberra. Bushell, in Chapter 18, amalgamates Newsome, D., Moore, S.A. and Dowling, R.K. many of the issues addressed in the earlier (2002) Natural Area Tourism: Ecology Impacts chapters in highlighting the global extent of and Management. Channel View, Clevedon, nature-based tourism and its robust growth. UK. 3

Sustainable Tourism: World Trends and Challenges Ahead

Eugenio Yunis Sustainable Development of Tourism, World Tourism Organization, Madrid, Spain

Abstract

Sustainability has undoubtedly become the central issue in tourism development policies throughout the world. The chapter summarizes the role played and type of actions taken, since the Rio Earth Summit, by different stakeholders in tourism, including central and local governments, the tourism industry, the acad- emic community, international agencies with special reference to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), and non-governmental organizations with a view to raising the level of sustainability of tourism. A critical assessment of the actual progress made since Rio reveals that the road ahead now seems longer than it was in 1992, due to two main factors: the rapid growth in tourist movements, actual and forecast; and the absence of public regulation and public control of tourism activities, associated with the liberal economic-development policies currently in vogue. Though the level of sustainability awareness and the techniques and technologies have made substantial progress, the level of actual application in tourism is still limited to a few market segments, a few destinations and, a few operators. The tourism community cannot feel satisfied with the progress towards sustainable development until existing sustainable practices in tourism are capable of expanding beyond a few niche markets while the rest of the tourism industry keeps its priority clearly on profit rather than sustainability. The WTO is a catalyst for efforts by a large number of international and national actors. The main ele- ments of WTO’s current work are: in the development and use of sustainable-tourism indicators; in providing local authorities with planning and management tools for the sustainable development of tourism; in pro- viding new and exchanging successful management tools for handling congestion at mature tourism destinations; in giving higher credibility to certification schemes and ecolabels in tourism; and in the fol- low-up from the International Year of Ecotourism in 2002.

Introduction moting environmentally friendly and cultural- ly sensitive tourism policies since the Since the Rio Earth Summit, sustainability has mid-1980s. This has included the adoption of undoubtedly become the central issue in a number of global declarations and associat- tourism development policies throughout the ed methodological approaches for imple- world, almost without exception. The World menting the principles they contain, as well as Tourism Organization (WTO) has been pro- the formulation of a number of national

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 11 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 12 E. Yunis

tourism master plans and similar tools through an abundant and widely available body of its technical cooperation activities. Similarly, knowledge in the field of sustainability in since the 1970s a small but significant num- tourism. ber of tourism companies, especially those NGOs have played an important role in offering nature-related services, have been furthering awareness about sustainability issues promoting and adopting a more sustainable in tourism among governments, the tourism approach in their overall conception and trade and tourists. Many NGOs have taken sig- operations, with what can be considered a pio- nificant steps not only in warning the neering attitude. However, the Rio Earth authorities about the dangers of excessive and Summit was clearly a turning-point in the level unplanned tourism growth or in campaigning of awareness about the need to ensure a more against some of the negative impacts of tourism sustainable development of tourism among in developing countries, such as sexual central and local governments, the tourism exploitation of children, but also in educating industry at large, academic institutions and consumers and tourism companies on how to other groups assembled around non-govern- better contribute to a sustainable development mental organizations (NGOs). of the destinations they visit, including the wel- fare of local host communities. Among other progress made over the last Progress in Sustainable Tourism 10 years, we should also mention the increased adoption of voluntary initiatives In general terms, the need for a systematic related to sustainability in tourism, such as planning approach in tourism has now ecolabels, certification schemes, environmen- become widely accepted. Tourism policies tal awards and similar programmes. These and strategies stressing the sustainability have been created mainly by the tourism imperative have been recommended by a industry and occasionally by local or even wide range of international organizations: central government agencies, and they reflect WTO, the United Nations Environment the growing concern of tourists and tourism Programme (UNEP), the Convention on companies vis-à-vis the environmental and Biological Diversity, the UN Educational, social sustainability of tourism. Scientific and Cultural Organisation Can we then say that tourism is now oper- (UNESCO), the regional UN commissions, the ating in a sustainable manner throughout the European Union, the international banks and, world? Can we state that tourism destinations most recently, the UN Commission on are generating economic, environmental and Sustainable Development (UN-CSD). This sus- social benefits out of tourism, and that such tainability imperative has generally been benefits are evenly distributed among all those embraced by national, regional and local gov- involved or affected by tourism activities? Is it ernment authorities and, to some extent, by realistic to say that massive tourism flows are the tourism and travel trade: all such no longer having a negative impact upon the stakeholders have increasingly addressed natural environment, especially in small environmental, economic and social sustain- islands and coastal areas, or that such flows ability issues in tourism. are not impinging on the cultural and social The tourism academic community has values of traditional societies? Can we be also embraced sustainability as a research assured that a large majority of hotels and topic. It generated an impressive amount of lit- other tourism companies have adopted envi- erature on the subject during the 1990s, some ronmental management systems in their based on empirical experience and some of a operations, minimizing the use of non-renew- more theoretical nature. Multidisciplinary able resources and their untreated effluents? approaches to sustainability have added rich- Finally, can we give assurances that the sev- ness to the study of tourism. The academic eral hundred million tourists travelling around research outcome, added to publications by the world are aware of the likely impacts of international organizations and NGOs, con- their consumption patterns or their behaviour sultants and other professionals, has created upon the places and countries they visit? Sustainable Tourism: World Trends and Challenges Ahead 13

It would certainly be naive to pretend to higher level of sustainability in tourism, since give a purely positive answer to all these ques- tourism is, by definition, an international activ- tions. Though the level of awareness and the ity and an international business. Neither can techniques and technologies have made sub- the public sector alone, given its increasingly stantial progress, the level of actual application reduced involvement in economic activities, is still limited to a few market segments, a few be made fully responsible for ensuring a sus- destinations and a few operators. Progress tainable tourism industry. The private sector towards sustainable development of tourism is has to adopt a more decisive attitude vis-à-vis hardly satisfactory while sustainable practices sustainability, while the non-governmental are restricted to a few niche markets, with the sector and community organizations need to rest of the tourism industry keeping its priori- continue their vigilant role and contribute ties clearly on profit rather than sustainability. more positively to finding realistic solutions.

Challenges Ahead The Role of WTO

In spite of the progress made since Rio, I per- What is the WTO doing towards achieving sus- sonally have the impression that the road tainability in tourism? I have already mentioned ahead of us is much longer than it was in our pioneering role in generating awareness on 1992, given the continued and unstoppable some issues related to sustainability, as well as growth of tourism around the world and the the generation of a substantial body of knowl- more liberal attitude that most governments edge and its dissemination worldwide. and peoples have adopted towards its devel- Furthermore, the sustainability issues have opment and management. been aggregated together with other ethical According to data collected by WTO, the concerns into the Global Code of Ethics for number of international tourist arrivals Tourism, approved by consensus at our last reached nearly 700 million in 2000, well over General Assembly and subsequently endorsed 10% of the world population. This represents by the UN General Assembly. a growth of 7.4% since 1999, much higher These efforts and their results would not than expected and over twice the 1998/99 rate have been possible without the cooperation of of 3.8%. These international movements gen- WTO’s member states, among which Australia erated receipts for a value of US$476 billion, was one of our leading and most active mem- plus an estimated US$100 billion in interna- bers in the 1979–1990 period, but regrettably tional transport fare receipts. The industry is absent today. expanding at a tremendous speed. Inter- At a more particular level, one major national arrivals have grown steeply, from 25 focus of our activity in this field over the last million in 1950 to 166 million in 1970 and few years has been the local-authority sector. 700 million in 2000. Measured over the period In most countries, it is at the local level that 1975–2000, international tourist arrivals grew the main decisions concerning the extent, type at an average rate of 4.8% a year. and quality of tourism development are taken. Our forecasting studies, rigorously pre- Local authorities are normally in an institu- pared and regularly updated to take into tional position to make key decisions in a account changing factors, indicate that inter- number of public policy areas – related to national tourist arrivals are expected to reach physical, economic, cultural and social 1 billion by the year 2010 and almost 1.6 bil- aspects – and it is these decisions that will lion by the year 2020. determine whether tourism is harmoniously The challenge we have in front of us is, developed or whether it just grows, eating therefore, enormous. And it is a challenge that public and private spaces, allowing local tra- must be faced by all types of stakeholder, by ditions and value systems to disappear in a all types of institution, public and private, in false attempt to replace most, if not all, tradi- all countries, and with a cooperative spirit. No tional economic activities, instead of single country on its own can advance to a becoming integrated with them. 14 E. Yunis

Local authorities can serve as the focal organizations that have been involved with point for community participation in tourism such indicators, and particularly with coun- policy decisions, in tourism management and tries that have effectively applied sustainability in tourism monitoring. They are also well indicators in tourism, such as Canada, France, placed to generate the necessary links between Germany and Spain. A new handbook on sus- key institutions, public and private, that must tainable tourism indicators is due for be involved in the tourism process to ensure publication at the end of 2003. its sustainability and its contribution to sus- A third area of WTO activity in the field tainable development in general. of sustainable tourism relates to certification We have produced methodological and processes. Increased concern about the envi- planning guidelines for ensuring a sustainable ronmental and sociocultural impacts of tourism development and public management of has led to the appearance of a number of tourism specifically addressed to local author- labels, awards and certification schemes, usu- ities. These guidelines, in the form of practical ally of a voluntary nature. Such schemes have manuals, have been disseminated via publi- proliferated over the last 3–4 years to such an cations, with special volumes to cater for the extent that it is difficult for the various tourism regional differences in Africa, the Americas stakeholders, let alone for the tourist, to under- and Asia-Pacific, but also via training seminars stand the real meaning of each of them and to in which over 1000 mayors and councillors use them as guidelines in their choice of have participated in the last couple of years. tourism destinations and suppliers. Our work on indicators of sustainability It was at WTO’s instigation that the UN- in tourism has been equally critical, providing CSD at its seventh session in April 1999 tourism stakeholders with practical instru- recommended ‘an evaluation of the effective- ments to evaluate performance and measure ness of voluntary initiatives in tourism’. In progress towards sustainability. The concept of 2000 we started our work in this field with a sustainability is relatively new, although its compilation of all such schemes, identifying three dimensions – social, environmental and nearly 500 of them around the world. In 2001 economic – have a long history. The difficul- we completed a second stage with a selection ty that many destinations and companies face of around 100 schemes to identify their oper- is how to assess the degree to which their ational features and the factors that make some tourism operations are sustainable and of them more effective and credible than whether they are making progress or not. The others. In the third stage, in 2002, we exam- identification of a battery of environmental, ined the need for and the feasibility of an economic and social indicators is fundamen- accreditation body to guarantee that sustain- tal to this process, as is the establishment of ability certificates, ecolabels and other such composite indicators that combine these three voluntary schemes are really fulfilling their dimensions. Following recommendations declared purpose. In this phase we worked ensuing from Agenda 21, WTO set up a task jointly with a number of other institutions and force in the early 1990s to study this matter, a large number of key stakeholders. and a first publication was issued in 1996 In the meantime, the public sector has a proposing a methodology for the identification special and urgent role in ensuring that pri- and development of sustainability indicators in vately run certification schemes, ecolabels and tourism. Over the last 3 years we have been similar voluntary initiatives currently being conducting practical-application workshops in applied in tourism are not merely paying lip- various parts of the world and for different service to sustainability, and that they do in types of destinations to promote the use of fact respond to stringent and verifiable sus- indicators and teach stakeholders how to tainability requirements and achieve a higher adapt them to their local conditions. level of credibility among consumers. We are now reaching the stage where fur- WTO is also initiating a study on the ther methodological progress is needed in this management of congestion at mature tourism area. A new international task force has been destinations, especially beach destinations that set up to exchange experiences with other tend to attract mass tourist movements. It is Sustainable Tourism: World Trends and Challenges Ahead 15

sometimes mistakenly considered that sustain- considers that activities at the national and ability concerns apply only to nature-based local levels are likely to be more significant tourism or to other special forms of tourism. and have longer-lasting effects than those at This mistake sometimes extends to the belief the international level. This is because eco- that mass tourism will always be unsustainable tourism activities are generally small-scale, as and should therefore be replaced by other are the related services and infrastructure pro- forms of tourism. We believe that this is the vided by small and medium-sized enterprises wrong approach. Whether we like it or not, (SMEs). Similarly, monitoring, regulation and beach tourism will continue to be the largest supervision of such services is carried out prin- segment of the tourism market, and it is our cipally by local authorities or local institutions. obligation to ensure that it is developed and It is therefore crucial to reach this type of audi- managed in the most sustainable fashion. ence if the long-term objectives of the IYE are Many coastal destinations have already to be achieved in any substantive manner. In succeeded in making substantive improve- fact, many nations in all continents have set ments in some areas related to sustainability. up national multi-stakeholder committees for Our project is structured around a network of IYE, many of which have continued beyond destinations with different degrees of success 2002 and can serve as coordinating or moni- and failure, so that a rich exchange of experi- toring bodies to promote the long-term ences can benefit all those participating in the sustainability of ecotourism operations. work, while WTO will extract the lessons that At the international level, WTO joined can also assist other destinations, especially in with UNEP to convene the World Ecotourism the developing world (WTO, 2003). Summit in Quebec, Canada, from 19 to 22 Finally, let me refer to the International May 2002, with the support of the Canadian Year of Ecotourism (IYE), 2002, as designated Tourism Commission and Quebec Tourism. by the UN. Following this designation and the The Summit was the largest ever gathering of specific request that the UN-CSD made to the all stakeholders involved in or affected by eco- WTO, we decided to undertake a number of tourism, including national and local activities at the international level with a view governments, private-sector organizations, to achieving the following objectives: NGOs, academic institutions, etc. It consid- ered four main subjects: 1. Generate greater awareness among public authorities, the private sector, civil society and 1. Ecotourism planning and product develop- consumers regarding ecotourism’s capacity to ment: the sustainability challenge. contribute to conservation of the natural and 2. Monitoring and regulation of ecotourism: cultural heritage in natural and rural areas and evaluating progress towards sustainability. the improvement of standards of living in those 3. Marketing and promotion of ecotourism: areas. reaching sustainable consumers. 2. Disseminate methods and techniques for 4. Costs and benefits of ecotourism: a sus- the planning, management, regulation and tainable distribution among all stakeholders. monitoring of ecotourism to guarantee its long- term sustainability. Throughout the four themes, two main issues 3. Promote exchanges of successful experi- were addressed, namely: ences in the field of ecotourism. 4. Increase opportunities for the efficient mar- • The sustainability of ecotourism from the keting and promotion of ecotourism environmental, economic and sociocul- destinations and products on international tural points of view. markets. • The involvement of local communities in the ecotourism development process, in The WTO has also encouraged all its management and monitoring of eco- member states and affiliate members to under- tourism activities and in the sharing of take activities at the national and local levels, profits resulting from it. as a means of disseminating the above objec- tives as widely as possible. Indeed, WTO The Summit was the culmination of a 16 E. Yunis

process of regional conferences through which • to the private sector, on how to better a more detailed and in-depth analysis of the serve the sustainability objectives while above issues was made, focusing on the speci- ensuring profitable and long-lasting eco- ficities of each region and each type of tourism operations; ecotourism destination. At these conferences • to international organizations, on how to a high level of participation was encouraged improve the support they provide for indi- from all parties, including tourism public offi- vidual countries to develop a sustainable cials, local authorities, representatives of the ecotourism industry. local communities, the local private-tourism The road towards a more sustainable sector, academic institutions, etc. tourism industry is a lengthy one, but a possi- The results, conclusions and recommen- ble one. The WTO is not alone on this road, dations of all these meetings were reported to but it is certainly playing a leading, catalyst the World Ecotourism Summit in May 2002. role. We wish more and more people to join The Summit provided a wide forum for a rich us on this road, particularly those who have exchange of experiences, and concluded with already understood that this is the only way recommendations addressed to all types of to achieve a more human, environmentally stakeholders: and socially sustainable development of our • to governments, on how to improve their societies. ecotourism policy-making, planning and monitoring processes with ample stake- holder participation; Reference • to local communities, on how to enhance their involvement in such processes and World Tourism Organizations (WTO) (2003) maximize the benefits they derive from http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/ ecotourism; coastalnetwork 4

Private Reserves: the Conservation Corporation Africa Model

Les Carlisle Conservation Corporation Africa, White River, South Africa

Abstract

The Conservation Corporation Africa (CCA) model attempts to address threats to Africa’s land and wildlife resources from burgeoning populations and reduced budgets. CCA recognizes that much of Africa’s wildlife heritage and real estate is influenced or owned by local communities. Maintenance of biodiversity is cru- cial to our local economies, and local economic development is crucial to the maintenance of our biodiversity. The CCA model is to link international tourists to these communities, taking a commercial approach to conservation. This is an African problem and we use an African solution, modelled on the three-legged African cooking pot. If the pot had four legs it would need a level surface to stand on. If it had only two legs, the food would be in the fire. Our approach relies on partnerships between: (i) the private sector; (ii) the local community; and (iii) the state conservation agency. We aim to adopt best-value use for any given area, which is not always the current use. We have large tracts of fallow land all over Africa, far from infrastructure and water. We also have communal land neigh- bouring some of the world’s great parks, currently used for subsistence agriculture. We have shown that, in marginal-rainfall areas of Africa, the best form of land use is conservation. Cattle farming produces R150 (US$16) per ha annually, gross. Conservation on the same land is currently producing R1500 (US$160) per ha per annum. Where cattle farming employed 60 people, wildlife conservation and tourism employs 300 on the same area of land. In some areas Africa’s current poverty cycle need not continue if commer- cial conservation land use is practised.

Introduction parks and wildlife, but they are not always applied, for a variety of reasons. The interna- Africa’s lands and wildlife resources are under tional community may be partly responsible threat. The two greatest threats are lack of for these problems, despite good intentions. money to manage the parks and the pressure This is illustrated, for example, by current ele- of population growth outside the parks, phant management in Botswana. encroaching on park boundaries and creating To address these problems, therefore, an areas of conflict. The tools exist to manage the approach is needed which can both: (i) gen-

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 17 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 18 L. Carlisle

erate the funds for land and wildlife manage- remain our competitors in commercial ment; and (ii) contribute to local communities tourism. We have therefore taken steps to for- in a way that leads them to protect wildlife malize what we were doing already in the and reserve areas. This is the mission for shape of a six-point conservation strategy, as Conservation Corporation Africa (CCA): care set out below. In addition, the practical tech- of the land, care of the wildlife, care of the niques we have developed for the successful people. CCA’s approach is to buy or lease capture, relocation and reintroduction of dif- land, restore and restock if required, establish ferent wildlife species, notably the big cats, tourism operations to provide ongoing fund- have been adopted by government agencies ing, and reinvest in communities and as well as private landholders and are now the conservation as well as providing a return to industry standard. shareholders. CCA was established in 1990, The six-point strategy is as follows: but many of its individual lodges and reserves • Continually improve environmental man- had been operating for many decades previ- agement at individual operations. ously. Aspects of CCA’s approach have also • Develop cooperative ventures with neigh- been used as models by many other bouring communities. companies and government agencies through- • Continually improve technical and inter- out sub-Saharan Africa. It is therefore well pretative skills of guides and trackers. tried and tested and has proved eminently • Encourage individual efforts to care for successful. land, wildlife and people. CCA’s overall approach is based on the • Support reputable voluntary conservation conviction that maintaining biodiversity and groups and government agencies. developing the local economy are both essen- • Use profits from savannah areas to sup- tial, and that they are totally interdependent: port conservation in other ecosystems. neither is possible without the other. If we can successfully link international tourist markets To improve environmental management to local rural communities, we have a poten- and reduce the impacts of individual camps, tial mechanism to conserve wildlife and lodges and safari operations, we have com- habitat. From a marketing perspective, the menced a company-wide environmental audit principal selling-point for CCA’s tourism prod- programme under a corporate conservation ucts is Africa’s wild and dangerous animals. team. Stringent but practical environmental- Our local people own some of the best wildlife management guidelines are being developed real estate in the world, but we have to inte- for each lodge. The conservation team provides grate land use for wildlife into broader regional lodge managers with expertise, incentives and economic and infrastructure planning. In sub- workable and cost-effective solutions. ‘Green Saharan Africa, the social, financial and teams’ composed of volunteer staff members ecological aspects of sustainability are very are also being established at each lodge or closely connected at a very short and imme- camp, to investigate on-site problems and diate time-scale, and CCA has to address each implement solutions. Key issues include: wise aspect together and equally. use of energy and water; disposal of waste, including litter; control of alien plants; and habitat management aspects, such as the siting Six-point Conservation Strategy of roads and dams, bush clearing, burning and animal relocation. Sensitivity towards wildlife During the past few years CCA has expanded and landscapes is paramount in all that we do, considerably, taking on new land and lodges and game drives and walks should never com- and merging with other enterprises, such as promise animals or their habitats. the tour company Afro Ventures. We have also Historically, CCA lodges have provided a come to appreciate that our experience is valu- significant return to local communities through able beyond the company itself, as a model direct employment and training, provision of for other corporations – which may be our entrepreneurial opportunities and establish- partners in sustainability even while they ment of community facilities, such as schools Private Reserves 19

and clinics. To enhance our role in commu- CCA encourages all its staff and guests to nity development further, we are now make individual and collective contributions investigating opportunities to establish new to environmental conservation by adopting lodges and activities as cooperative ventures, eco-friendly lifestyles and promoting the ethics to expand local economies and improve peo- of the company. ‘Care of the wildlife, care of ple’s lives. This involves the development of the land, care of the people’ is not just a trusting relationships with our neighbours. catch-phrase but a creed that we should all Such lodges need to meet criteria both for adopt and live by. To provide ideas and incen- CCA’s portfolio and for community aspira- tives to reduce impacts, we are producing a tions. They will generally be funded by loan booklet, Guidelines for EcoLiving, covering capital. They will make use of the rural devel- aspects such as recycling waste in your own opment expertise established by the Africa home, planting indigenous trees or taking Foundation, formerly CCA’s Rural Investment underprivileged children on nature outings. Fund. Monitoring and evaluation are a critical CCA intends to offer awards to individuals component of such initiatives. CCA staff who demonstrate outstanding commitment involved in such joint ventures will need a par- towards environmental conservation. ticular understanding of the initiatives and In addition to our own conservation activ- processes involved in local development and ities, CCA will make annual contributions to the ability to convey these to guests. It is essen- respected conservation organizations such as tial that we relate to and work with our the Endangered Wildlife Trust, East African neighbours in a manner that is in no way Wildlife Society and BirdLife South Africa, patronizing, paternalistic or expedient. with which we also undertake cooperative CCA provides guests with exciting commercial ventures. We shall foster and encounters and accurate information on maintain positive relations with government wildlife, local culture and ecosystems. CCA’s agencies, such as KwaZulu-Natal Parks, publications distribute this knowledge more Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) and South broadly. As part of our corporate conservation Africa National Parks. strategy, therefore, it is critical that we con- Most of CCA’s lodges are situated within tinue to improve and develop skills among all Africa’s savannah biome, since this is where guides and trackers through advanced train- the large mammals are most common and eas- ing, continual knowledge acquisition, grading ily viewed. Except for species such as African and specialization. In addition to providing wild dog, black rhino and saddle-billed stork, enthralling encounters with wildlife, our however, most savannah species are reason- guides strive to ensure that guests absorb an ably well conserved in large public reserves appreciation of the ecological processes on and are not currently threatened. There are which different animals and plants are inter- other biomes with many threatened species, dependent. CCA also publishes an annual which are less attractive for tourism and have high-quality and informative record of wildlife received less attention. CCA is therefore and ecosystem observations, the Ecological exploring ways to use profits generated in the Journal. Data are also posted on savannah-based operations to help protect Wildwatch.com. All CCA staff and others can threatened ecosystems elsewhere. These contribute to these publications, which include the grasslands of the South African demonstrate our long-term commitment to high veld, the Kakamega forest in Kenya and Africa’s wild places. In addition, our quarter- the Usambara forest in Tanzania. Expertise and ly newsletter The Bateleur promotes CCA’s training will eventually be provided for com- philosophy and endeavours to staff, guests, the munities in or adjacent to areas rich in industry and the outside world. We also plan biodiversity so as to facilitate the development to diversify our wildlife experience by intro- of small-scale ecotourism enterprises. ducing specialist ‘EcoStudy Encounters’ linked to field lodges, together with secluded obser- vation hides, interpretative centres and libraries at the lodges. 20 L. Carlisle

Phinda Case Study opportunities presented themselves across Africa, new rights issues were used to fund fur- The reserve and lodges ther acquisitions. CCA’s recent merger with Afro Ventures has reduced the overall offshore When CCA was established in 1990 to devel- holdings to 50%. The company is an unlisted op destinations for discerning ecotourists public company, or private placement funded around southern Africa, our aim was to con- company. solidate degraded and undervalued land under wildlife, and generate long-term financial returns through ecotourism. The CCA mission Wildlife and environment is to apply a balanced approach to tourism, conservation and local community involve- Phinda supports an enormous range of animal, ment which promotes ecological sustainability bird and plant life within a relatively compact while providing guests with a quality wildlife area. It lies at the boundary between tropical experience and investors with attractive and subtropical climate zones and includes returns. The Phinda Resource Reserve in the seven distinct habitat types: ilala palm savan- centre of the vast, ecologically rich area of nah, montane woodlands, riverine forest, Maputaland fitted these objectives perfectly acacia thorn veld, sand forest, open grassland and has become the prime test case and and natural pan systems. One of the major demonstration model for the CCA approach. attributes of the reserve is 800 ha of dry sand At Phinda, CCA has been able to: consolidate forest, representing 90% of the total remain- degraded and undervalued land assets; re- ing area of this rare vegetation type on private habilitate and restock the land; create rural conservation land in South Africa. The wealth; and generate financial returns through Mzinene River on Phinda’s southern boundary ecotourism. is a major source of fresh water for Lake St The project initially involved the consol- Lucia and a haven for water-birds. Phinda idation of 7500 ha of farmland between Mkuzi Reserve has contributed to conserving this vital Game Reserve and Sodwana State Forest water source for Lake St Lucia and protecting Reserve, just north of Lake St Lucia. This land its river-banks from further degradation. had long been recognized by conservation Guests at Phinda can also combine big-game bodies as a key addition to the Greater St Lucia viewing and bird-watching with scuba-diving Wetland Park World Heritage Area, the first in on the coral reefs of the Maputaland coastline, South Africa. In 1991 CCA bought and added a short flight away. a further 6000 ha, including frontage along the Much of the land consolidated within Mzinene River, which flows into Lake St Lucia. Phinda has been scarred by decades of inap- In October 1991 the 44-bed Phinda propriate farming of cattle, banana, cotton and Mountain Lodge was opened, accompanied sisal. Decaying farm infrastructure, internal by one of the largest game-restocking exercis- fences and power lines had to be removed and es on private land in South Africa. In an extensive rehabilitation programme imple- November 1993, Phinda Resource Reserve mented. Clearing of invasive species and opened a second lodge, the 32-bed Forest exotics is conducted continually, so as to rein- Lodge, built within an area of dry sand forest, state the water balances disturbed by bush one of the world’s rarest forest types. In 1997 encroachment. Erosion gullies are filled with two smaller 12-bed lodges were added, Rock the brush tops of trees that have been cleared, and Vlei Lodges. These two lodges have indi- and a proper road network along contour lines vidual plunge pools in each room, and each is currently being established. room is individually custom-designed to blend Historically, wildlife in this region had into its surroundings. Phinda now boasts 96 been wiped out ruthlessly during the infamous world-class beds, and these form the eco- nagana campaign of the 1920s. In recent nomic engine for the CCA model. The Phinda years, predators such as leopard, hyena and project was funded with venture capital, 60% jackal, as well as baboons, were shot off the offshore in the initial stages. As subsequent land by farmers. Gradually these predators are Private Reserves 21

returning, many from the adjoining Mkuzi Community involvement Game Reserve, and predator interactions are now a common feature of the reserve. Since Surrounding Phinda are four KwaZulu tribal March 1991, an extensive game-restocking areas, with a population of 22,500 people liv- programme has been undertaken on Phinda: ing within 15 km of the Reserve’s boundaries. the biggest game restocking on private land in Over the next 20 years, this population is South Africa at the time. The initial restocking expected to increase, resulting in ever-increas- included over 1000 head of game, including ing land pressure on limited natural resources. 25 white rhinos, 50 elephants, 13 cheetahs A major danger facing Phinda, as with many and 12 lions, as well as giraffe, zebra, wilde- other African wildlife reserves, is the prospect beest and numerous antelope species. of becoming an island of conserved habitat in Phinda has also established itself as a a sea of rural poverty. In 1991, therefore, CCA research base for predator introduction pro- established a Framework for Community grammes. Dr Luke Hunter of Pretoria Participation, based on the premise that local University’s Mammal Research Institute used people are a cornerstone of the region’s nat- Phinda Reserve to investigate predator adap- ural environment and are entitled to sustained tation in confined areas surrounded by dense benefits from its natural resources. ‘Island’ populations of people. Bophutatswana Parks reserves that do not take cognizance of the Board officials and neighbouring chiefs visit- socio-economic aspirations of surrounding ed Phinda to study its predator reintroduction communities foster resentment and antago- techniques before giving the go-ahead for a nism, which eventually lead to interference in lion reintroduction programme at Pilanesberg the wildlife areas. To survive, the private- National Park. Such cooperation with neigh- enterprise initiative at Phinda must therefore bours has become part of the national standard play a significant role in regional rural devel- for all predator reintroductions. The lion rein- opment beyond its boundaries. And, indeed, troduction programme included techniques for Phinda has become a vehicle for socio- mixing individuals from different prides, using economic advancement and enhanced sedation in confined areas to create the sustainable resource utilization, rather than a required familiarity. This technique is now source of tension in the region. widely use in reintroduction programmes to In 1992, Phinda established community establish prides in new reserves. development committees (CDCs) at Mnqo- In February 1993, an association of bokazi, Mduku and Nibela. These CDCs landowners, including Phinda, combined included representatives from the traditional forces to create a greater conservation area, the tribal authorities, the school authorities and Mun-ya-wana Game Reserve, all operating the CCA staff at Phinda. Through weekly meet- under one constitution, which commits them ings and project-site meetings, the CDCs are to wildlife conservation. It is expected that the responsible for defining community develop- Mun-ya-wana Game Reserve will continue to ment needs and town-planning aspects, grow, with Phinda as its core, to a potential overseeing the construction of the facilities size of 30,000 ha. The proclamation of the and identifying areas of cooperation and con- Greater St Lucia World Heritage Area cern. The CDCs have formal constitutions that (GSLWHA) and the establishment of the man- allow them to act as official recipients of funds agement authority have opened the door to and project managers. The CDCs are demo- include private land in the World Heritage cratic, representative, regionally integrated Area; and Mun-ya-wana Game Reserve is and development oriented. Informal consulta- ideally positioned to participate. The GSLWHA tions have thus been replaced by established management authority has approached the organizations, and the CDCs are now serving Mun-ya-wana Game Reserve to negotiate the as major channels for other developments and dropping of the fences. Consolidation of the the upliftment in the region. Mun-ya-wana Reserve under common man- Of the 22,500 people who live within 15 agement has established a structure to conserve km of the Reserve, 250 are employed at the area under wildlife in perpetuity. Phinda. In this region, one employed person 22 L. Carlisle

supports eight to ten dependants, so the with proceeds used for the purchase of recre- Phinda Reserve provides direct benefits to ational equipment for community members. 10% of its neighbouring population. Of the In September 1992, CCA’s Rural R$5.5 million (currently US$600,000) spent Investment Fund, now the Africa Foundation, on building Phinda Mountain Lodge, R$2.5 received R$650,000 (US$70,000) from an million (US$270,000) was channelled direct- overseas donor for a substantial community ly into surrounding communities in the form development project surrounding Phinda. of local wages. When Forest Lodge was built Through this support, Phinda has funded addi- in 1993, CCA broke away from first-world tional school classrooms for the Mnqobokazi, building techniques and established a com- Nibela and Mduku community areas adjacent munity construction team so as to upgrade to Phinda’s boundaries, plus a skills training local skills, provide job opportunities and centre, which provides training in carpentry, complete construction with far less environ- adult literacy, building techniques, communi- mental impact than by first-world techniques. ty health and permaculture. In conjunction Of the R$7 million (US$750,000) spent on the with the Independent Development Trust, the construction of Forest Lodge, some R$3.2 mil- Rural Investment Fund also assisted in the con- lion (US$345,000) reached the local economy struction of a R$650,000 (US$70,000) through wages and materials purchases. residential clinic at Mduku village. Throughout In total, 110 local unskilled people were the region, 40 classrooms have been con- employed, effectively providing economic structed at 20 different schools, providing support for more than 1000 people. Local arti- space for 1200 pre-primary children with sans were trained in simplified building trained teachers. This has generated 60 per- techniques, which were thereby transferred to manent jobs, supporting about 600 neighbouring communities. A prime example dependants. In total, 3200 children have edu- is that of Zibane Mazibuko, who was caught cational facilities because of the Phinda with a nyala he had poached from Phinda in project. The Africa Foundation has also estab- mid-1992. In line with CCA’s philosophy, Mr lished a bursary system, which has educated Mazibuko’s own community imposed a penal- between 15 and 20 people each year for the ty of 3 months’ work manufacturing bricks at last 3 years. In the last 10 years, almost R$10 Phinda. At the end of this term, Mr Mazibuko million (over US$1 million) in development was given the opportunity of going into busi- assistance has been provided for these local ness as a brick-maker in partnership with the communities. Reserve. Funded by a company loan, Zibane Environmental education and leadership today operates two brick-making machines, are essential if communities are to make which together manufacture 2000 bricks a informed decisions about conservation and day. Zibane is now able to bring in more than land use, to forge successful partnerships with four times the average regional per capita conservation bodies or to contribute to con- income for his family and he employs five to servation policies. CCA Phinda has therefore ten locals to assist with production. taken several steps to promote community A charcoal-manufacturing operation was environmental awareness. In 1995 CCA estab- also set up on Phinda, in partnership with 40 lished a Community Leaders Education (CLE) local-community people, using wood derived Fund, which offers bursaries for academic from the bush-clearing programme. Using the study on the condition that recipients later traditional earth-kiln method, the business pro- return to their community to share their newly duces about 1000 bags of charcoal a week, acquired skills. The CLE Fund committee has which are sold to markets in the local and received an overwhelming number of appli- urban areas. Resource utilization, such as ilala cations, particularly for teaching diplomas. palm-wine harvesting and, wood, thatch and Most schools in the surrounding areas are short medicinal-plant collection, is practised on a of qualified teachers, and some schools have sustainable-yield basis at Phinda. Revenue over 100 pupils per class. Dozens of univer- generated from the sale of these natural sity and college education bursaries have been resources is ploughed into a community fund, awarded to rural youngsters, destined to Private Reserves 23

become leaders in their local communities Conclusions and/or provide services for a marginalized local economy. Since starting operations, The CCA approach has demonstrated that, in Phinda has also hosted visits by 20 teachers the marginal subsistence-agriculture areas of and 320 students. The impact of these visits is Africa, wildlife is the best form of land use on immense, as many of these local African peo- economic, social and environmental grounds ple have never seen their own wildlife heritage alike. Our approach is being copied exten- or view it only as a source of protein. sively elsewhere and we are glad that it should Through the programme Footprints Across be so. As CCA and the Africa Foundation con- Africa, CCA brings children from other coun- tinue to grow with revenues and donations tries to learn about human values, adventure, from our guests, we should be able to keep wilderness, the environment, cultures, history increasing the size of our natural areas and and themselves in a bush setting. If children supporting more local economic develop- are the future of conservation, then they need ment. Bigger systems need less management opportunities to explore the natural world. and are more resilient to outside influences. Footprints also plans to embark on safaris As recognition of the CCA model becomes across Africa, allowing rural children to inter- more widespread, it becomes increasingly act with children from other countries and attractive to communities and areas that are cultures. Interest in the environment among contemplating a change from subsistence agri- secondary-school students is also promoted culture to wildlife conservation. This in turn through CCA’s environmental debate bur- gradually secures Africa’s ability to stand on saries. These involve cash prizes for students its own feet. There are no quick fixes in sus- who present the best research debate on cur- tainable development, but, after 12 years of rent environmental topics and equipment replicating and testing the CCA approach, we awards for their schools. are confident that it works.

5

Applying Public-purpose Marketing in the USA to Protect Relationships with Public Lands

Alan E. Watson1 and William T. Borrie2 1Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Departments of the Interior and Agriculture, Missoula, Montana, USA; 2University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA

Abstract

As domestic and international recreation demands on federal lands in the USA continue to increase, there is a growing need for commitment of revenue to provide services and meet stewardship mandates. With increasing demand and testing of methods to provide needed resources, the relationships between the pub- lic and public lands are changing. One force of that change has been a tendency towards more business-like approaches to managing public lands in the USA, including the use of marketing and customer fees. A recent test for applying marketing principles to the establishment of fee policies for Forest Service lands entailed active engagement by scientists, managers and planners, marketing consultants and key members of the public. A proposal has emerged to blend marketing activities with protection of public land resources through a focus on relationships, trust, commitment and social responsibility.

Outdoor recreation Trends on Public stage for examining the importance of public- Land in the USA lands marketing in the USA.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) sponsors efforts to assess trends in outdoor Current participation levels recreation demand and supply in the USA. The most recent report (Cordell, 1999) provides a Cordell (1999) found that 95% of the US pop- summary of recent knowledge about current ulation reported active involvement in some participation levels and anticipated trends. type of outdoor recreation activity over the These national trend data are produced from past year. The most common activities report- surveys of households in all regions of the USA ed for that part of the US population over the and have been ongoing since 1960. A brief age of 16 were viewing and learning activities summary of the findings is useful in setting the (e.g. walking – 67%, viewing a beach or

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 25 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 26 A.E. Watson and W.T. Borrie

waterside – 62%); trail, street and road activ- International visitation trends ities (e.g., sightseeing – 57%, biking – 29%); and social activities (e.g. family gatherings out- O’Leary (1999) describes tourism as the third side – 62%). These activities do not occur largest industry in the USA and in a constant solely on federal or even public lands, but state of growth, despite fluctuations in rela- public lands are popular for these activities, tionship to exchange rates and other economic though availability is widely variable across factors in various countries of tourist origin. the country, with much greater access to pub- Over the last decade the growth in numbers lic lands in most parts of the West and in of international visitors to the USA has been Alaska. about 66%, to nearly 46 million visitors in Some activity levels that are of particular 1997. These visitors are contributing nearly interest to public-lands managers and of US$100 billion dollars to the economy of the greater potential impact on public lands USA currently. Visitors have come predomi- include 29% of the population aged 16 or over nantly from Canada, Mexico, Japan, the UK who fished over the past year, 26% who and Germany (listed in order of decreasing camped overnight (9% in recreation vehicles, dominance). Visitation is expected to contin- 15% in tents on developed sites and 14% in ue to grow at a rate of 3–4% annually over primitive conditions), 48 million people (23% the short term, though this increase will come of the population) hiked and 9% hunted. Only increasingly from Asia and South America. 8% backpacked, 8% downhill skied and 4% O’Leary (1999) describes US public land-man- rode snowmobiles. agement agencies as uncertain how to approach international visitation. These agen- cies have seemed to oscillate between Projected trends to 2050 marketing of opportunities to the internation- al visitors and keeping them at a distance to The activities that are projected to grow at the protect the resource. fastest rate (number of participants) between now and the year 2050 are cross-country ski- ing (95% increase), downhill skiing (93% Major challenges in meeting demands increase), visiting historic places (66% increase), sightseeing (71% increase) and bik- Pandolfi (1999), Chief Operations Officer of ing (70% increase). Those that are projected the USDA Forest Service at the time, suggest- to grow at the slowest rates are rafting (26% ed that finding financial resources to meet this increase), backpacking (26% increase), off- growth in demand for domestic outdoor recre- road driving (16% increase), primitive ation activities and international tourism will camping (10% increase) and hunting (project- become a critical issue in the future. To meet ed to decrease by 11%). These lower rates of these needs, Pandolfi (1999) suggests that the increase are near the projected population- Forest Service apply the principles of sound, increase rates, though some regional private-sector marketing to provide satisfying differences are anticipated. Among the factors outdoor recreation products and services for believed to be contributing to these shifting the public and charging fees to recover the trends is a general ageing of the population of costs of these services. Packaging recreation the USA, a continuing shift to a metropolitan activities on public lands as ‘products’ for ‘cus- population base and changes in ethnic and tomers’ has been proposed as the way of the racial background (Johnson, 1999). Eighty per future to obtain acceptance of charging fees cent of the population growth over the next and, therefore, meeting the demand for increas- 25 years is expected to be from within current ing recreation services. Pandolfi suggests minority groups. The US population is cur- acceleration of research aimed at understand- rently 75% white, 12% African American, ing what recreation visitors want and how 10% Hispanic, 3% Asian and less than 1% satisfied they are with what they experience. American Indian (Johnson, 1999). These comments typify current public-agency tendencies in the USA to try to address recre- Protecting Relationships with Public Land 27

ation demands through the application of the 2. Taking a businesslike approach may sub- fundamental concept in the commercial world stantially alter the perception of stewardship of building brand loyalty as a reflection of sat- responsibilities that many agencies have isfied customers (Pandolfi, 1999). worked hard to create within the public. One of the most significant changes in Intentionally changing roles to buyer and sell- land-management policy in the USA, aimed at er, versus those of stakeholder and stewards, trying to meet this anticipated increase in out- raises concern that there may be severe door recreation demand, has been the impacts on benefits intended from public introduction of recreation fees on a broad lands. Agencies have worked for decades to scale on federal lands. In 1996, the Omnibus foster the development of a land ethic among Consolidated Rescissions Act established the the public. Stewardship implies personal Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. The acceptance of responsibility, a commitment to USDA Forest Service, the US Department of the resource, a commitment to other users and the Interior (USDI) National Park Service, Fish a commitment to future generations who will and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land benefit from our actions. Management were authorized to test recre- 3. It seems that the public is most supportive ation user-fee programmes on a temporary of charging fees to accomplish the stated pur- basis, with at least 80% of proceeds staying at pose of public lands. Sometimes fees are the individual projects where the money is col- supported to recover the costs associated with lected. Past fee-collection authorization has the development of facilities, if facilities are an generally only allowed fees to be charged for integral part of that place (e.g. boat ramps in developed recreation areas and the revenues order to enjoy the benefits of boating on a have generally been transferred to the gener- lake), and sometimes they are not (e.g. bath- al treasury of the US Government, not used rooms in association with wilderness access). specifically for providing services at the place Vogt and Williams (1999) found that visitors where the fee was charged. Fees have not pre- often supported maintenance of current con- viously been charged for dispersed recreation ditions in compliance with the purpose of the participation. Extending this programme to public place over development and improve- include wilderness, picnicking and many of ments that increased capacity for uses or use the more casual, non-consumptive recreation levels not compatible with the intended pur- uses of public lands has also introduced a pose. major change in delivery of services to the 4. A tendency to ask visitors who have paid majority of visitors. the fee if they find the experience worth the In a review of recent recreation-fee price they paid for it provides a false sense of research, Watson and Herath (1999) high- public response to the fees. Findings of dis- lighted seven major barriers to agencies taking placed visitors (Schneider and Budruk, 1999) more businesslike approaches to providing the due to fees when studying visitors to non-fee financial resources needed to meet increasing sites, indications of lack of trust and support demands: by non-participants in community studies (Winter et al., 1999) and national surveys that 1. There is concern that taking a purely con- show more support for using taxes to meet sumer-economics, business point of view in increasing demands for some recreation activ- pricing and administering fee programmes is ities than for charging fees (Bowker et al., counter to the collective movement that has 1999) are often in stark contrast to manager established an extensive system of outdoor reports from interaction with satisfied cus- recreation opportunities on public lands in the tomers who have paid the fee and receive the USA. If revenue generation and efficiency benefits of a specific visit. dominate our public land-management deci- 5. It remains unclear who is most affected by sions, we are not acknowledging people as fees on public lands. The fear of exclusion of stakeholders in the intended purpose of these low-income people is partly resolved by exam- lands and the societal values associated with ination of the sociodemographics of access to these places. public-lands visitors. There are many obstacles 28 A.E. Watson and W.T. Borrie

to accessing much of the public-domain land ners to test the principles of marketing to besides the fee. Therefore, More (1999) con- enhance management of current programmes centrates more on those on the income of the agency and prepare for future demands margins within our current societal structure. on natural-resource programmes. This team Those most affected by fees may be within the agreed that a marketing approach would also dominant user group, not the minority group meet public-purpose mandates if it: (i) helped with low incomes. With the very low income identify and address the public’s needs and currently under-represented on public lands, expectations; (ii) yielded additional financial however, policies that further reduce their and other resources to accomplish the access seem irresponsible. agency’s work; (iii) facilitated achievement of 6. There has been a lack of systematic evalu- quality standards for work accomplished; (iv) ation to adequately judge the effects of fee enhanced the efficiency of the Forest Service policies on visitors (Absher et al., 1999). An in accomplishing work and making decisions; alarming lack of rigorous scientific investiga- (v) supported efforts of the agency to accom- tion has created a situation with conflicting plish its mandated public purpose with respect sources being commonly referenced in to the lands they manage; and (vi) maintained debates over recreation fees. The amount of or increased public support for the agency and revenue generation can hardly be discounted, its programmes. These criteria for success flow but the cost of producing those revenues is sel- largely out of an examination of the market- dom considered. In one exception, Richer and ing literature and an effort to integrate Christensen (1999) demonstrate that the dom- private-sector marketing applications with the inant pricing and fee policy implementation mandated public purposes attached to public procedures do have costs involved, but forgo- lands. A case study application of ‘public-pur- ing some of the potential for revenue pose recreation marketing’, described more generation can provide societal benefits. fully in Borrie et al. (2002), illustrates appli- 7. A more exact role needs to be defined for cation of a market-segmentation method that research in establishing and testing policies is compatible with public-land stewardship. A aimed at meeting the anticipated shifts in description of the underlying proposed frame- recreation demand. If fees are necessary to work for public-purpose marketing follows. meet these demands, adequate review of exist- ing research should be an integral part of Marketing in the Public Sector making the decision about how fee policies will be implemented. In addition, since knowl- Crompton and Lamb (1986) suggested that edge is not perfect, science must be involved marketing is an appropriate approach for gov- in establishing monitoring and evaluation ernment and social-service agencies to analyse processes to determine if policies achieve the public needs and gain support for their pro- stated objectives. Scientists must be involved grammes. They acknowledged that many in setting objectives, obtaining public input public agencies were beginning to experiment and consideration of alternative management with marketing and they stated their intent to solutions. Without close relationships between increase acceptance of marketing tools and science and management, science will remain concepts through the ‘marketing of marketing reactive to policy shifts, with a resultant neg- itself’ (p. 33). Recent literature offers a foun- ative public opinion and pleas for help in dation for a marketing approach to meet the solving problems after they have been creat- criteria listed above, focusing on relationships ed (Watson, 2001). (not transactions), trust, commitment and social responsibility. Blending Marketing with Protecting Public Lands Relational marketing

In 1998, the USDA Forest Service convened a In the past, marketing has largely focused on national team of scientists, managers and plan- methods to generate revenue-producing trans- Protecting Relationships with Public Land 29

actions between customers and providers of taining successful relational exchanges’ (p. products or services. For most of the history of 22). Morgan and Hunt (1994) emphasize the- marketing, creating or increasing customer sat- oretical and empirical research on isfaction with this transaction has been the commitment and trust as the primary influ- primary emphasis (Morgan and Hunt, 1994; ences on successful relational marketing. Garbarino and Johnson, 1999), with repeat Support for public-agency actions also purchases being the primary measure of suc- depends on confidence in efforts that recog- cess. But Webster (1992), Kotler (1995) and nize responsibility to current and future others have described a fundamental shift generations and efforts to meet the public pur- towards relationship marketing, which pose (legislation or policy mandates), versus acknowledges the importance of relationships vested-interest demands. to long-term business success. Morgan and Hunt (1994) discussed the importance of pay- ing attention to all relationships that a business Trust and commitment has, including those with suppliers, buyers and both lateral and internal partnerships. For the Anderson and Narus (1991) acknowledge that purposes of marketing in the public sector, and not all customers desire the same relationship particularly for providing guidance for market with a producer of goods or services. They segmentation, a focus on relationships suggest that an organization may need to pur- between the managing agency and the public sue both transactional and relational as primary stakeholders (both customers and marketing simultaneously, and that customers partners) is a feasible and appropriate con- may exist on a continuum of transactional to ceptual framework to guide data collection collaborative exchanges. In the public sector, about the public and guide other aspects of however, members of the public are, by defi- marketing and policy development. nition, involved in a collaborative relationship, A discrete transaction with a customer is with the stewardship agency taking responsi- said to have a distinct beginning, short dura- bility for implementation of public policy. tion and sharp ending by performance (Dwyer While we are suggesting that a collaborative et al., 1987). A relational exchange, on the relationship exists for all people, we do other hand, builds from previous agreements, acknowledge that the level of commitment or is longer in duration and reflects an ongoing involvement with the services provided by an process. When providing services for the pub- agency and the level of trust instilled among lic through the development of programmes members of the public may vary substantial- on public lands, the more appropriate view of ly. Relational marketing suggests that a focus ‘customer service’ would probably be as the on understanding variation in commitment development or fostering of a relationship and trust will be paramount in developing and between the members of the public and the implementing public policy to meet the man- places that have been established on their dates or purpose of public lands (Moorman et behalf as public lands. The role of the public- al., 1993; Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Garbarino land management agency is as stewards of that and Johnson, 1999). relationship, and that relationship should be Trust is widely viewed as an essential the focus of any marketing effort undertaken ingredient for successful marketing relation- by the public agency. ships (Dwyer et al., 1987; Berry, 1995). Trust Several definitions of relational marketing is indicated by a willingness to rely on an exist (see Berry, 1983; Jackson, 1985; Paul, exchange partner. While much of the research 1988; Berry and Parasuraman, 1991; Doyle reported has investigated factors that influence and Roth, 1992), orientated towards desirable trust in a single salesperson, some recent mar- relations with different types of groups (i.e. keting research has specifically examined a suppliers, buyers, partners, etc.). Most recent- customer’s trust in the organization providing ly, Morgan and Hunt (1994) defined relational the product or service for the consumer marketing as ‘all marketing activities directed (Garbarino and Johnson, 1999). As of 1993, toward establishing, developing, and main- Moorman et al. (1993) reported that very little 30 A.E. Watson and W.T. Borrie

research had attempted to understand the fac- sometimes sought by establishing perceived tors that affect trust in marketing relationships. commonality in values between the purchas- Emphasis has been primarily on measuring er and the providing organization (Morgan and associated factors, such as perceptions of sin- Hunt, 1994). cerity, effort in establishing a relationship, goal congruence and expectations for cooperation. Until very recently, studies of trust in Social responsibility organizations or institutions were virtually unknown (Earle and Cvetkovich, 1995). Even in corporate-America marketing, the con- Historically, trust and studies of trust were lim- cept of social responsibility has taken on a ited to the interpersonal dimension. Only in new emphasis in the development of products the modern era has social trust become a topic and in research on customer attitudes of interest, accompanying our movement (Drumwright, 1994). The adoption of non- towards a more complex society. Two domi- economic criteria in customer decision nant views of trust held by an individual for a making (criteria other than price or relation- social institution have emerged. The more tra- ship between price and quality) has led to ditional view is that trust is based on greater understanding of how some purchase confidence in competence, objectivity, fair- decisions pose social dilemmas and prompt ness, consistency or predictability and caring, moral reasoning (Drumwright, 1994). Samli or the perception of goodwill (Earle and (1992) focuses entirely on the private sector Cvetkovich, 1995). Based upon the belief that and those who want to make a positive prof- the level of knowledge necessary to make that it picture but who also care. In the public traditional view of trust judgements accurate sector, it is mandated that the public agency is generally not attainable due to the increas- care. It must care about the stakeholders and ing complexity of social systems, Earle and it must care about the public purpose of the Cvetkovich (1995) suggest an alternative view. places and resources it manages. Gaski’s In their view, people judge the similarity of (1985) position, that marketing with social values they hold to those expressed by an responsibility was undemocratic, certainly did agency. Trust is then quantified in terms of per- not adequately consider the growing energy ceptions of shared values, direction, goals, aimed at marketing in the public sector at the views, actions and thoughts (Winter et al., time. In recent years, Smith and Alcorn (1991) 1999). and Smith (1994) have heralded a tendency Commitment, also a strong influence on towards acknowledgement of social responsi- relationships between providers and cus- bility in marketing as marketing’s greatest tomers, has been defined by Gundlach et al. contribution to society. While Drumwright (1995) as having three components: (i) an (1994) indicates that there are some questions instrumental component or investment; (ii) an about the motives for businesses to adopt an attitudinal component or psychological attach- element of social responsibility in their mar- ment; and (iii) a temporal dimension, keting strategies, in the public sector social indicating that the relationship exists over responsibility is required in the delivery of ser- time. A relationship commitment requires that vices and mandated by the legislation and an exchange partner believes that an ongoing policy that guide a public agency. relationship with another is so important as to warrant maximum efforts at maintaining it (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Cook and Emerson Public-purpose marketing (1978) characterized commitment as a central factor in distinguishing social from economic The use of marketing principles by public- exchange. Even the concept of brand loyalty, recreation land-management agencies poses which was initially thought to be indicated both a threat and a promise to the people who only by repeat purchases (Morgan and Hunt, depend on them for pleasurable outdoor expe- 1994), is now more likely to be defined as riences and protection of the public-land base. commitment to a particular brand, and is The most serious threat comes in the form of Protecting Relationships with Public Land 31

a focus on these experiences as a transaction stewards of the relationships they have with and the temptation to focus too much on mea- the public. sures of on-site satisfaction and repeat It is worth highlighting how public-pur- visitation as indicators of success. Although it pose marketing for recreation emphasizes an has been previously suggested that ‘the goal appropriate relationship with the public. First, of government ... service agencies is to pro- it should be noted that all publics should be vide satisfaction to their client groups, which included in these procedures, not just the cur- is exactly the same goal pursued by private rently recreating public. The management of sector organizations’ (Crompton and Lamb, recreation lands serves many off-site and sym- 1986, p. 37), we suggest that marketing bolic values in addition to the benefits gained focused on a simple transaction with the pub- by visitors. Managers also have obligations to lic as a customer is too limited. Instead, recognize and preserve both bequest and promise more probably lies in a positive focus option values: that is, not only should mar- on the purpose of these land-management keting efforts be tailored and communicated agencies that have been assigned the relative- to all constituencies, but they should also be ly weighty responsibility of representing the reflective of the opinions of both supportive values of society in making policy decisions. and non-supportive publics and of recreating Focus on the relationship between the public and non-recreating publics. Public-purpose and these public-recreation land-management marketing also resolves the dilemma that man- agencies, with emphasis on trust, commitment agers face regarding international tourists. and social responsibility, should be a guiding Rather than a focus on satisfying visits, a focus principle when employing marketing princi- on building relationships between foreign vis- ples in the public sector. itors and the natural resources of the USA can have a positive international influence to the benefit of all people. A lofty goal of using our Discussion interpretative, educational and experiential programmes to create and improve the rela- The use of trust, commitment, social respon- tionship between people and natural resources sibility and support for public purpose as in all countries is compatible with other US segmenting variables in marketing studies suc- international programmes. cessfully yields distinct and valid market Furthermore, public-purpose marketing is segments (Borrie et al., 2002). Using trust, aimed at accomplishing objectives by treating commitment, social responsibility and support all members of the public more like owners for public purpose to develop market segments and stakeholders than as clients and cus- means that managers can ensure appropriate tomers. In emphasizing the long-term communications with the general public and relationship between the public and the recre- a focus on long-term relationships: that is, pub- ation manager, rather than the provision of lic-purpose marketing, as described in this individual satisfying recreation experiences, chapter, can help in the development of mes- managers avoid the dangers of building sages that foster, not undermine, the inappropriate expectations. Public-land relationship between the public and the management agencies probably cannot, and public-recreation manager. The tailoring of should not, compete with private entrepre- messages to different public audiences is an neurs, and the use of marketing terminology important expression of the responsiveness of certainly runs the risk of triggering that asso- the agency. Public-land management agencies ciation. Instead, public-purpose marketing have been entrusted not only with the stew- intrinsically endorses notions of duty, service ardship of the land but also the public purpose and a continuing presence. The maintenance and mandate for that land. Marketing methods of a public constituency for public-recreation should reflect not only the values of the pub- management will require an approach to mar- lic but also the trust that has been placed with keting that does not send messages (both literal the agency. Public-purpose marketing is well and implied) that confuse the relationship suited to help recreation managers be good between the public and the agency. The more 32 A.E. Watson and W.T. Borrie

the agency looks and sounds like a private decisions and this chapter lays the groundwork operator, the more the agency will be expect- for an approach that reflects both public ed to focus on extremely high standards and demands for services and public-policy man- approaches to providing short-term satisfac- dates. tion, such as those used by companies such as Disney, possibly at the risk of failing in long- References term resource-management mandates. Public- recreation managers should carefully compare Absher, J.D., McCollum, D.W. and Bowker, J.M. the appropriateness of Disney’s approach to (1999) The value of research in recreation fee designing and prescribing the visitor experi- project implementation. Journal of Park and ence (Borrie, 1999) with the mandate of Recreation Administration 17(3), 116–120. public-land management. Anderson, J.C. and Narus, J.A. (1991) Partnering as Public-purpose marketing endorses an a focused market strategy. California approach to judging and monitoring the qual- Management Review 33(spring), 95–113. ity of the recreation experience that focuses Berry, L.L. (1983) Relationship marketing. In: Berry, less on immediate satisfaction and more on L., Shostack, G.L. and Upah, G.D. (eds) Emerging Perspectives on Services Marketing. long-term relationships to the place and the American Marketing Association, Chicago, pp. managing agency. Success is more defined by 25–28. the development or fostering of the relation- Berry, L.L. (1995) Relationship marketing of services ship and less by the matching of short-term – growing interest, emerging perspectives. outcomes with preferences. This reflects a Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science trend in recreation research away from a multi- 23(autumn), 236–245. attribute, commodity view and towards a more Berry, L.L. and Parasuraman, A. (1991) Marketing meanings-based view (Williams et al., 1992). Services. The Free Press, New York. Measuring the success of public-recreation Borrie, W.T. (1999) Disneyland and Disney World: management entails more than counting the designing and prescribing the recreational experience. Loisir et Société/Society and number of satisfying experiences, if not only Leisure 22(1), 71–82. because there are many factors beyond the Borrie, W.T., Christensen, N., Watson, A.E., Miller, control of managers that influence the T.A. and McCollum, D.W. (2002) Public pur- achievement of those experiences. Research pose marketing: a focus on the relationships and management performance goals may soon between the public and public lands. Journal become more focused on measuring these of Parks and Recreation Administration 20(2), relationships and understanding communica- 49–68. tions, land-management practices and Bowker, J.M., Cordell, H.K. and Johnson, C.Y. collaborative planning procedures that influ- (1999) User fees for recreation services on pub- ence these relationships. lic lands: a national assessment. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 17(3), 1–14. Cook, K.S. and Emerson, R.M. (1978) Power, equi- ty and commitment in exchange networks. Conclusions American Sociological Review 43(October), 721–739. The purpose of this chapter was to present a Cordell, H.K. (1999) Outdoor Recreation in feasible and appropriate framework for the American Life: a National Assessment of application of marketing principles and Demand and Supply Trends. Sagamore approaches to public-recreation management Publishing, Champaign, Illinois, 449 pp. in response to the need to balance increasing Crompton, J.L. and Lamb, C.W., Jr (1986) Marketing demands with mandates to protect the Government and Social Services. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 485 pp. resource. In doing so, it has presented a logi- Doyle, S.X. and Roth, G.T. (1992) Selling and sales cal and valid approach to marketing and management in action: the use of insight fostering relationships that can be adopted and coaching to improve relationship selling. applied in further situations. The collection Journal of Personal Selling and Sales and analysis of marketing data can have a pro- Management 12(Winter), 59–64. found influence on planning and management Drumwright, M.E. (1994) Socially responsible orga- Protecting Relationships with Public Land 33

nizational buying: environmental concern as a Assessment of Demand and Supply Trends. non-economic buying criterion. Journal of Sagamore Publishing, Champaign, Illinois, pp. Marketing 58(July), 1–19. ix–xii. Dwyer, R.F., Schurr, P.H. and Oh, S. (1987) Paul, T. (1988) Relationship marketing for health- Developing buyer–seller relationships. Journal care providers. Journal of Health Care of Marketing 51(April), 11–27. Marketing 8(September), 20–25. Earle, T.C. and Cvetkovich, G.T. (1995) Social Trust: Richer, J.R. and Christensen, N.A. (1999) Toward a Cosmopolitan Society. Praeger Appropriate fees for wilderness day use: pric- Publishers, Westport, Connecticut. ing decisions for recreation on public land. Garbarino, E. and Johnson, M.S. (1999) The differ- Journal of Leisure Research 31(3), 269–280. ent roles of satisfaction, trust and commitment Samli, A.C. (1992) Social Responsibility in in customer relationships. Journal of Marketing Marketing: a Proactive and Profitable 63(April), 70–87. Marketing Management Strategy. Quorum Gaski, J.F. (1985) Dangerous territory: the societal Books, Westport, Connecticut, 198 pp. marketing concept revisited. Business Horizons Schneider, I.E. and Budruk, M. (1999) Displacement July–August, 42–47. as a response to the federal recreation fee pro- Gundlach, G.T., Achrol, R.S. and Mentzer, J.T. gram. Journal of Park and Recreation (1995) The structure of commitment in Administration 17(3), 76–84. exchange. Journal of Marketing 59(January), Smith, C. (1994) The new corporate philanthropy. 78–92. Harvard Business Review 72, 105–116. Jackson, B.A. (1985) Winning and Keeping Industrial Smith, S.M. and Alcorn, D.S. (1991) Cause market- Customers: the Dynamics of Customer ing: a new direction in the marketing of Relationships. D.C. Heath and Company, corporate responsibility. Journal of Consumer Lexington, Massachusetts. Marketing 8, 19–35. Johnson, C. (1999) Participation differences among Vogt, C.A. and Williams, D.R. (1999) Support for social groups. In: Cordell, H.K. (Principal wilderness recreation fees: the influence of fee Investigator) (ed.) Outdoor Recreation in purpose and day versus overnight use. Journal American Life: a National Assessment of of Park and Recreation Administration 17(3), Demand and Supply Trends. Sagamore 85–99. Publishing, Champaign, Illinois, pp. 248–268. Watson, A.E. (2001) Recreation fee issues: an Kotler, P. (1995) Strategic Marketing for Non-profit emphasis on science involvement. In: Organizations. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle Järviluoma, J. and Saarinen, J. (eds) Luonnon River, New Jersey. Matkailu-ja Virkistyskäyttö Tutkimuskohteena. Moorman, C., Deshpande, R. and Zaltman, G. Metsäntutkimuslaitoksen Tiedonantoja 796, (1993) Factors affecting trust in market research 7–18. relationships. Journal of Marketing 57(January), Watson, A.E. and Herath, G. (1999) Research impli- 81–101. cations of the theme issues ‘recreation fees and More, T.A. (1999) A functionalist approach to user pricing issues in the public sector’ and ‘soci- fees. Journal of Leisure Research 31(3), etal response to recreation fees on public 227–244. lands.’ Journal of Leisure Research 31(3), Morgan, R.M. and Hunt, S.D. (1994) The commit- 325–334. ment–trust theory of relationship marketing. Webster, F.E., Jr (1992) The changing role of mar- Journal of Marketing 58(July), 20–38. keting in the corporation. Journal of Marketing O’Leary, J. (1999) International tourism in the United 56(October), 1–17. States. In: Cordell, H.K. (Principal Investigator) Williams, D.R., Patterson, M.E., Roggenbuck, J.W. (ed.) Outdoor Recreation in American Life: a and Watson, A.E. (1992) Beyond the com- National Assessment of Demand and Supply modity metaphor: examining the emotional Trends. Sagamore Publishing, Champaign, and symbolic attachment to place. Leisure Illinois, pp. 294–298. Sciences 14(1), 29–46. Pandolfi, F. (1999) Perpetual motion, unicorns, and Winter, P.L., Palucki, L.J. and Burkhardt, R.L. (1999) marketing in outdoor recreation. In: Cordell, Anticipated response to a fee program: the key H.K. (Principal Investigator) (ed.) Outdoor is trust. Journal of Leisure Research 31(3), Recreation in American Life: a National 207–226.

6

The Financial Liability of Park Managers for Visitor Injuries

Jan McDonald School of Law, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Abstract

Protected-area management agencies are sometimes sued by visitors injured during recreational activities. The legal context for such actions and hence the likely outcomes differ considerably between countries and jurisdictions. A review of litigation in Australia suggests that it is currently impossible to predict pre- cisely how a claim will be resolved. Recent case-law seems to recognize the dilemma facing park managers in fulfilling their broad-ranging statutory functions. There may be a modest shift away from the ‘land man- ager as quasi-insurer’ approach of the early 1990s, with several decisions recognizing the need for greater personal responsibility on the part of visitors. These trends cannot be relied upon, however, in an uncer- tain legal environment, where no-win/no-fee arrangements drive speculative litigation. Alternative approaches include the enactment of statutory immunities or the establishment of statutory compensation schemes that replace common-law avenues.

Introduction mon-law principles of negligence. It considers how Australian courts have grappled with the Park managers face financial constraints. competing policy considerations of protecting Limited resources must be divided between the natural and scenic values of a place while conservation activities and the provision and protecting visitors. The importance of warning maintenance of visitor facilities. In the provi- signs, the visitor’s own carelessness and the sion of such facilities, a tension exists between obviousness of the danger are all considered. maintaining the natural experience for which Where possible, emphasis is placed upon an area has attracted conservation status and cases arising from incidents in nature reserves, protecting visitors from danger. This chapter national parks and state-forest recreation examines the legal framework within which areas. Cases arising in urban environments are this tension is resolved when a park also considered in so far as they provide use- visitor is killed or injured. It briefly surveys the ful points of reference for understanding the relevant basis of liability, focusing on the com- modern law.

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 35 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 36 J. McDonald

The Basis of Liability – Overview ational facilities owe a duty to take reasonable care to avoid foreseeable risks of injury to law- There are several avenues by which a park ful visitors.2 The source of the duty in such a manager may be fixed with liability for injury case is the statutory powers conferred on the to a visitor. The statute under which the agency and the statutory duty of ‘care, control agency operates may impose upon it a duty to and management’.3 The duty extends to avert- protect park visitors. The statute might provide ing foreseeable risks present at the area to some means by which private individuals may which visitors have been encouraged, or warn- recover for breach of such duty, although this ing visitors thereof.4 is generally unlikely. For the most part, autho- In Nagle v. Rottnest Island Authority, the rizing statutes impose upon park managers High Court held that the provision of toilets, only a general duty to manage conservation picnic and changing facilities at ‘The Basin’ on areas, by reference to a set of management Rottnest Island gave rise to a duty to warn principles. They also confer the powers nec- swimmers of the dangers of diving on to sub- essary to discharge that broad statutory merged rocks. In Prast v.Town of Cottesloe,5 obligation. The most common basis of liabili- the plaintiff sued the Town of Cottesloe alleg- ty in such circumstances is a common-law ing that a failure to warn of the dangers of claim in negligence. body-surfing caused him to be dumped by a A negligence action rests upon the plain- wave and to suffer severe injury. Justice Ipp tiff visitor establishing that the land manager was satisfied, applying the principles set out owed the plaintiff a duty of care and that the in Nagle, that the Council promoted Cottesloe manager breached that duty by failing to act Beach as a venue for swimming and encour- in the manner of a reasonable agency in its aged the public to use it by installing, position. These issues are considered in detail maintaining and servicing various facilities.6 It below. therefore owed beach goers a duty of care. The A claim in public nuisance might also be question in that case then became whether it available. Any substantial and unreasonable had discharged or breached that duty to visi- interference with the use and enjoyment of tors, an issue considered in detail in the next public land, such as pollution of a navigable section. watercourse or the emission of wide-ranging Typically, a land manager’s duty of care air pollutants, might be actionable as a public only arises in relation to the normal uses to nuisance.1 In practice, however, visitor injury which the area or place should be put. If it cases are never argued as nuisance actions. can be argued that a visitor’s behaviour took This is probably because the basis of a nui- him/her outside the range of persons to whom sance claim rests on the creation of an or circumstances in which a duty of care is interference, whereas most visitor injuries owed, claims will fail automatically. Since the occur because of something that the agency High Court’s decision in Nagle, this approach has failed or omitted to do. Far from creating has been far harder to satisfy. A duty may be a situation constituting a nuisance, therefore, extended where the authority knows of addi- claims are argued on the basis that the agency tional higher-risk activities taking place. For failed to act to protect visitors from the dan- example, in Scarf v. State of Queensland & gers of the natural area. The emphasis of the Gold Coast City Council, Justice White held following examination, therefore, is on the that the Queensland Commissioner for Main principles of negligence law and their appli- Roads owed a duty of care to people using cation to accidents occurring in parks, reserves Tallebudgera Bridge to dive into the waters of and other public recreation areas. Tallebudgera Creek. In ordinary circum- stances, her Honour would have limited the duty to keeping the footpath free of hazards Park Managers Owe Visitors a Duty and the guard-rail in good repair. In her view, of Care the plaintiff, ‘literally, stepped outside this rela- tionship when he climbed the fence and dived Park managers who provide access and recre- from it’.7 Since the Commissioner had not Financial Liability of Park Managers for Visitor Injuries 37

encouraged this activity, no duty of care would are reasonable in light of the risk presented.15 have arisen if this had been a single occur- In Romeo v. Northern Territory Conservation rence. A duty was found to arise on the facts, Commission, the High Court had to determine however, because the Commissioner had been what measures the NTCC should have taken well aware that it was common practice for to prevent the risk of people falling off young people to jump from the bridge into the Dripstone Cliffs, a popular scenic area in creek below.8 Darwin. In concluding that a reasonable The capacity to control the relevant park authority would neither fence nor erect signs or reserve is central to a duty of care arising. warning of what was an obvious danger, Where the park manager has no control over Justice Kirby commented: the relevant site or risk, no duty arises. Local authorities in Queensland and Western Insufficient attention has been paid in some of Australia, for example, have been held to owe the cases, and by some of the critics, to the no duty to warn of the risks of jumping from practical considerations which must be bridges or jetties that are located beyond their ‘balanced out’ before a breach of the duty of jurisdiction.9 Where land is owned by one care may be found. It is here, in my view, that agency, but managed by another, responsibil- courts have both the authority and ity for that area may be shared between the responsibility to introduce practical and two. For example, the management of sensible notions of reasonableness that will put Katherine Hotsprings was considered in NT v. a break on the more extreme and unrealistic Shoesmith.10 The Hotsprings were owned by claims sometimes referred to by judicial and the Northern Territory (NT) government and academic critics of this area of the law. Thus, under the supervision of the NT Conservation under the consideration of the magnitude of Commission (NTCC), as part of its functions to the risk, an occupier would be entitled, in a ‘promote the conservation and protection of proper case, to accept that the risk of a mishap the natural environment of the Territory’.11 The such as occurred was so remote that ‘a area was routinely maintained by the reasonable man, careful of the safety of his Katherine Council, however, and the Council neighbour, would think it right to neglect it’. It received Territory funding for works around is quite wrong to read past authority as the springs to improve their recreational value. requiring that any reasonably foreseeable risk, The Council owed a duty of care because it however remote, must in every case be had assumed control of the area.12 Even guarded against.16 though the day-to-day management and main- tenance of the area was the responsibility of In all cases, the powers and responsibili- Katherine Council, the NT Supreme Court also ties conferred on the park manager will be the held that the Conservation Commission owed starting-point for determining what it was rea- a duty of care because it supervised the site sonable to expect the authority to do.17 If the and knew, or should have known, of the works statute under which a reserve is managed does that had been undertaken.13 not confer the powers necessary to avoid, mit- igate or warn of a risk, it will be difficult to argue that a duty to take such action arises. What Must Park Managers do to Attention must therefore be paid to the rele- Discharge Their Duty? vant statutory instruments under which the agency is operating. These include those spe- The duty to visitors is to take reasonable mea- cific to park managers, but may also cover sures to guard against a foreseeable risk of more general statutes dealing with civil liabil- injury. This requires measures against all risks ity. For example, in Secretary to the – even those that are quite unlikely to occur, Department of Natural Resource and Energy provided that they are not far-fetched or fan- v. Harper,18 the plaintiff’s action was consid- ciful.14 It does not require elimination of risk, ered pursuant to the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic). however. Managers are not public insurers and The Wrongs Act specifically provides that, their duty is only to take those measures that where the Crown is an occupier, it shall owe 38 J. McDonald

the same duty to persons on the premises as ability to insure against liability will also be it would owe if it were a private individual.19 relevant.21 Section 14B provides: Courts may also take into account more subtle considerations, such as the managers’ (3) An occupier of premises owes a duty to take inability to bar access to public reserves, their such care as in all the circumstances of the conservation obligations and the ‘wildness’ or case is reasonable to see that any person on the otherwise of the reserve: premises will not be injured or damaged by reason of the state of the premises or of things In the case of a public authority which done or omitted to be done in relation to the manages public lands, it may or may not be state of the premises. able to control entry on the land in the same way that a private owner may; it may have What measures are reasonable is a case- responsibility for an area of wilderness far specific inquiry, considering all of the removed from the nearest town or village or an circumstances. In Harper, the Wrongs Act area of carefully manicured park in the middle 1958 (Vic) provided guidance on what factors of a capital city; it may positively encourage, or would be relevant in determining whether the at least know of, use of the land only by the fit duty of care had been breached. These large- and the adventurous, or by those of all ages ly reflect the position at common law. Section and conditions. All of these matters may bear 14B(4) provides that: upon what the reasonable response of the (4) in determining whether the duty of care authority may be to the fact that injury is under subsection (3) has been discharged reasonably foreseeable. Similarly, it may be consideration shall be given to – necessary, in a particular case, to consider (a) the gravity and likelihood of the probable whether the danger was hidden or obvious, or injury; to consider whether it could be avoided by the (b) the circumstances of the entry on to the exercise of the degree of care ordinarily premises; exercised by a member of the public or to (c) the nature of the premises; consider whether the danger is one created by (d) the knowledge which the occupier has or the action of the authority or is naturally ought to have of the likelihood of persons occurring. But all of these matters (and I am not or property being on the premises; to be taken as giving some exhaustive list) are (e) the age of the person entering the premises; no more than particular factors which may go (f) the ability of the person entering the towards judging what reasonable care on the premises to appreciate the danger; part of a particular defendant required.22 (g) the burden on the occupier of eliminating The types of precautions to be taken fall the danger or protecting the person entering into two general categories: those designed to the premises from the danger as compared avert or eliminate the risk, including fencing, to the risk of the danger to the person. restricting access or modifying a structure or At common law, the obviousness of the area; and those aimed at warning of the risk. risk, the seriousness of any injury that might The approach that Australian courts have be suffered and the difficulty and cost of avert- taken to these precautions in recent cases is ing the danger are obvious factors. These are explored below. to be assessed in light of the possibility that visitors might not take reasonable care for their own safety, although no breach will be estab- Fence off or prohibit access to lished if an agency fails to warn of a risk that dangerous areas ‘existed only in the case of someone ignoring the obvious’.20 Although a court must consid- It might be simple in individual cases for a er the land manager’s conduct in the context plaintiff to argue that fencing a dangerous area of the case before it, it must also bear in mind was a cheap and efficacious precaution. Yet the resource implications of finding that the courts have generally been reluctant to expect agency acted unreasonably. The authority’s national park and other land managers to Financial Liability of Park Managers for Visitor Injuries 39

adopt such precautions, because of the cost to a trespasser, to whom a duty of care may implications for other areas under the man- not be as rigorous or demanding.26 agement of the agency. In Romeo, Justice What do these comments mean for recent Kirby emphasized that: cliff accidents? There were three incidents in late 2001 in which visitors to national parks in considering whether the scope of the duty in south-east Queensland fell from cliffs, so the extends . . . to the provision of fencing or a issues surrounding such hazards merit closer wire barrier, it is not sufficient to evaluate that scrutiny. In the third of these, a young man claim by reference only to the area of the slipped while taking a photograph at a water- Dripstone Cliffs. An accident of the kind which fall, falling approximately 10–15 metres. He occurred to the appellant might have occurred survived with only soft-tissue damage and is at any other elevated promontory in every therefore unlikely to pursue any claim. The similar reserve under the control of the other two cases resulted in death. The first Commission to which members of the public incident occurred in a remote part of the Main had access. The projected scope of the duty Range in south-east Queensland. The circum- must therefore be tested, not solely with the stances of the fall are unclear since the walker hindsight gained from the happening of the was alone and was able only to alert emer- accident to the particular plaintiff but by gency services of his situation by mobile reference to what it was reasonable to have phone. The massive search that ensued only expected the Commission to have done to located the man’s body some time after he had respond to foreseeable risks of injury to died. No evidence suggested any ‘fault’ on the members of the public generally coming upon part of park managers, although some ques- any part of the lands under its control which tions have arisen about the handling of the presented similar risks arising out of equivalent emergency call. conduct.23 In the second case, an elderly woman In recent decisions, several justices have stepped off the main walking track at referred to the preservation of natural values Springbrook National Park to be photographed and environmental amenity as relevant to the with her grandchildren beside a stream as it duty to fence. In Romeo, for example, Justice flowed over the edge of the cliff. She died Kirby recognized the need to make choices when she slipped and plunged over 30 metres about the allocation of resources and the to the rocks below. Plaintiffs’ law firms were impact of fencing on the visual amenity: quoted in the local press immediately follow- ing the fall, urging the woman’s family to sue regard may be had to considerations such as National Parks for their failure to either fence the preservation of the aesthetics of a natural off an obviously dangerous area or to warn environment and the avoidance of measures people of the dangers of approaching the edge. which would significantly alter the character of The comments in Romeo, quoted above, are a natural setting at substantial cost and for an relevant to the appropriateness of fencing the improvement in safety of negligible utility.24 Springbrook escarpment. A court would have Justices Toohey and Gummow also con- to consider the fact that this person chose to cluded that the taking of steps to prevent leave a well-marked track in order to get a bet- persons entering the reserve from suffering ter photographic opportunity. In such cases, injury ‘do not extend to fencing off an area of where a track already runs a safe distance from natural beauty where the presence of a cliff a clearly dangerous cliff, one might reasonably was obvious’.25 A corollary of the cases deal- question the reasonableness of a requirement ing with obviousness is that there might not that the site be fenced. This is especially so be an obligation to warn of dangers if they when one considers further the flow-on impli- only arise once a visitor has stepped outside cations of such a conclusion, namely that the ordinary visitor experience, for example by access to the whole escarpment and every leaving a walking track or engaging in haz- other cliff or promontory in a Queensland park ardous activities like abseiling. In such cases, would have to be similarly restricted. The issue the visitor’s status is perhaps more analogous of whether warning signs should have been 40 J. McDonald

erected for visitors will be considered in more protect such visitors from dangers that could detail below. not be detected in the dark. The plaintiff, hav- ing fallen into a disused, empty and open septic tank, was therefore entitled to recover. Render hazardous objects or areas safe The Shire should have covered the tank or fenced it off. Similar considerations to those outlined above Risks that have been created or exacer- apply in weighing up whether other positive bated by the park manager might also have to steps should have been taken to avert a dan- be removed altogether. Katherine Shire ger. To demonstrate a breach of duty in failing Council and the NTCC were held liable in to render an area safe, a plaintiff must do more 1996 for failing to remove a fallen tree that than show that she was injured. She must pro- projected over Katherine Hotsprings swim- duce evidence of poor original design of a ming hole and which provided an attractive structure, a history of accidents or complaints diving point for visitors.33 The plaintiff, a junior that have been ignored or manifestly danger- army officer, slipped from the log while elud- ous deterioration.27 ing friends who were attempting to drag him Only where the risk is especially great or into the pool during horseplay. He struck his peculiar to an area of visitor access, such as head on a shallow rock ledge that had been a walking track, will a Court entertain an constructed by the Katherine Council at the obligation to render a natural area ‘safe’. In edge of the swimming hole. Katherine Council Schiller v. Mulgrave Shire Council,28 a case had removed one fallen tree altogether, but predating its decision in Romeo by more than merely pruned the branches from another that two decades, the High Court found the had fallen across the pool. The removal of the Mulgrave Council liable for failing to remove entire tree would have been simple and inex- a dead tree that stood within falling distance pensive, but removal only of excess branches of a walking track. Justice Walsh noted that made it ‘an obvious and enticing means of the case was concerned ‘only with a strip of entering the water by diving and jumping from forest adjacent to the track and not with the it’.34 Katherine Council and the NTCC were whole area of the reserve and not, of course, both found to have breached their duty in fail- with the forest outside the reserve’.29 ing to remove the log, since the risk of a slip, The less natural and the more manicured fall or dangerous dive was obvious and the dif- the state in which an area is maintained, the ficulty and expense of removing the log were more likely it is that managers will be expect- low.35 Liability was apportioned 20% to the ed to neutralize danger.30 In finding that the Conservation Commission and 80% to Victorian Department of Natural Resources Katherine Council. and Energy (DNRE) owed no duty to warn of This case also predates Romeo. It is pos- the dangers of falling branches in a forest sible but unlikely that it might be decided reserve, the Victorian Supreme Court in differently today. The fact that the Shire had Harper noted that, as part of the Australian modified the fallen tree would probably be said bush, much of the reserve was virgin forest, to have triggered an obligation to avert any and that dangers it posed to visitors. Justice Tadgell in Harper noted that the area in which the acci- Forests are a hazard by the very nature of them dent occurred was not a designated cleared . . . An area such as that in question is not to be campsite, but it is unclear whether this might compared, for example, with a metropolitan have made a difference to his conclusion. He park, a municipal playground or an ordered said that the fact that the tree fell in an area picnic spot, much less with some sculptured frequented by visitors was merely ‘coinciden- woodland glade.31 tal or adventitious’; the Department was not In Shire of Manjimup v. Bill,32 the neat more liable in those circumstances than if the and manicured nature of a council park made accident had occurred a considerable distance it foreseeable that people would walk through downstream or along a walking track. it at night and gave rise to an obligation to The cost implications for all of the Financial Liability of Park Managers for Visitor Injuries 41

agency’s activities will also be important. In cluding that this increased the likelihood of Scarf v. State of Queensland & City of Gold intoxicated people leaning over the bridge to Coast,36 the plaintiff was seriously injured vomit. The estimated cost of altering the bridge when he struck his head on the shallow bot- was only Aus$10,000–20,000, which the tom of Tallebudgera Creek, having dived from Court considered not to be excessive.42 The the top of the guard-rail on the four-lane Council therefore breached its duty to main- bridge crossing the creek. Scarf argued that the tain the pedestrian bridge crossing in a safe defendant Council and Commissioner for way by failing to erect a proper handrail at an Main Roads had failed to warn against or pro- appropriate height and to erect warning hibit diving from the top of the guard-rail. He notices.43 The State as constructor of the bridge also argued that the guard-rail was too low to was held one-sixth liable for the poor design deter or prevent persons from climbing on to and construction.44 In comparable cases, its horizontal top; and that the top rail was so authorities have been found liable for failing designed that it provided a natural platform to erect a guard-rail around public jetties.45 from which to dive. On the facts, Justice White Scarf and Lettice might, at first glance, rejected the claim that the top of the guard- appear to be irreconcilable. The significant dif- rail constituted a natural platform.37 On the ference between the two lies in the fact that question of whether Main Roads should have the Muswellbrook bridge lacked any useful modified the design of the guard-rail to handrail at all, thus making it potentially increase its height, the Court took into account unsafe for any pedestrian. The guard-rail of the that the agency was responsible for 2559 Tallebudgera Bridge, in contrast, was an bridges with a total length exceeding 140 kilo- appropriate height and of suitable design. It metres. An expectation that the Tallebudgera only became dangerous once pedestrians Bridge be modified necessarily gave rise to an chose to use it as a diving platform. expectation that other similar bridges would also be modified, a costly proposition.38 Moreover, since the only real deterrent would Erect Signs or Otherwise Warn of be a cage-like, climb-proof fence, such a con- Hazards struction would adversely affect the amenity of the bridge to other pedestrians and Once land managers become aware of the motorists.39 existence of some risk or danger that cannot The Scarf decision must be contrasted easily be averted, it may be necessary for them with the conclusion of the New South Wales to warn of the risk. The requirement that park (NSW) Court of Appeal in Lettice v. Council agencies must warn visitors of the gamut of of the Shire of Muswellbrook & Others.40 The potential risks associated with visiting natural plaintiff in Lettice fell over a bridge while vom- areas is controversial, especially because the iting, landing head-first in the empty creek bed duty to warn is imposed with the benefit of below. He sued the NSW Department of hindsight, only once an accident has occurred. Public Works, alleging faulty design of the In City of Rockingham v. Curley & Fremantle bridge railing, since it lacked any useful hand- Port Authority, the Port Authority was held hold for persons leaning over the bridge. He liable to the injured Curley for failing to warn also sued the Shire of Muswellbrook for poor of the hazards of diving from its jetty, even bridge design and failure to warn of the dan- though no diving accident had occurred pre- gerous design. It is worth noting that, in viously. It was enough that it was aware that deciding what a reasonable authority would diving was commonplace and that a dive do, the Court held that compliance with engi- could not be executed safely in shallow neering standards for the bridge was irrelevant, water.46 because the standard of care must necessarily The case-law on the duty to warn high- depend upon the particular circumstances of lights a range of relevant considerations. An each case.41 Accordingly, the Court had regard obligation to erect warning signs will be influ- to the location of the bridge adjacent to clubs enced by the obviousness of the danger, the and other licensed recreational facilities, con- cost of requiring signage, the likely efficacy of 42 J. McDonald

warnings and the impact of such a require- walking and indeed living outdoors in the ment on the amenity of the area. It will be Australian bush and in particular in forest recalled, for example, that the High Court held reserves. in Nagle v. Rottnest Island Authority that the Similarly, in Prast v. Town of Cottesloe,50 authority should have warned swimmers at the Court held that the danger of being The Basin of the dangers of diving because the dumped by a wave was obvious and inherent sunlight obscured the shallowness of sub- in body-surfing. It distinguished the ‘diving merged rocks, making them a hidden danger. cases’ of Nagle v. Rottnest Island Authority, The obviousness or otherwise of a hazard Inverell Municipal Council v. Pennington51 has been highlighted in numerous subsequent and City of Rockingham v. Curley,52 all of cases as a basis for determining the duty to which involved the materialization of ‘hidden warn.47 In Romeo, Justice Kirby held that: dangers’.53 According to Justice Ipp, While account must be taken of the possibility the risk facing all body-surfers . . . of being of inadvertence or negligent conduct on the hurled on to the seabed, out of control, by a part of entrants, the occupier is generally wave that turns out to be dumper . . . is entitled to assume that most entrants will take inherent in body-surfing itself, cannot be reasonable care for their own safety … Where avoided and is well-known.54 a risk is obvious to a person exercising reasonable care for his or her own safety, the An interesting aspect of Justice Ipp’s notion that the occupier must warn the entrant judgement and a key element of his conclu- about that risk is neither reasonable nor just.48 sion that the risks were obvious is his reference to body-surfing as part of the unique Australian In Franklins Selfserve Pty Ltd v. experience. He comments that: Bozinovska49 (a case arising from an injury in a supermarket), Mason P echoed Justice There must be few who have never thrown Kirby’s views on the relevance of the obvi- themselves upon a wave in the hope of being ousness of danger: carried by the rush of water to the shore, and there must be few who do not know (from It is foreseeable that if a person jumps off a cliff hearsay at least, if not personal experience) he or she will be injured or killed. It does not what a ‘dumper’ is, and how it can throw a follow that every cliff face must be smattered helpless surfer about. This knowledge is with warning signs. In some circumstances the generally learned relatively early in childhood danger is so obvious that, when coupled with and, in any event, is commonsense.55 the likelihood that persons will exercise reasonable care for their own safety, their duty Justice Ipp accepted that special warnings is satisfied by letting the blindingly obvious may be required for dangerous currents or rips speak for itself. or surges or rocks, or the possibility of occa- sional ‘king’ waves, but rejected as ‘absurd’ The Victorian Supreme Court in Harper the suggestion that every beach in the coun- held that the Victorian Department of Natural try should have to warn of the dangers of Resources and Energy did not breach its duty body-surfing.56 While the evidence in Prast to visitors to Toorongo Falls Reserve – a for- supported this view in relation to the particu- est reserve within the Yarra Ranges National lar plaintiff in question, it seems hard to Park – in not warning them of the dangers of conclude that the same could be said of for- falling trees and branches. Justice Batt empha- eign visitors to Australian coastal resorts. The sized the obviousness and endemic nature of high representation of Asian tourists in the the danger to be guarded against, especially Gold Coast’s drowning statistics certainly sug- in high winds: gests that surf-sense is by no means common To enter a forest or its immediate surrounds, to those who have had minimal exposure to like entering the surf, is to take a risk of injury, the ocean. The idea that a beach or other land albeit a remote risk. The risk is ‘endemic’ or manager owes a duty to some tourists, because part and parcel of the recreation of camping, of their ignorance of conditions, but not others, Financial Liability of Park Managers for Visitor Injuries 43

will not assist the simplification of this area of was out of proportion to the remote, albeit the law.57 eventuating, risk of danger to visitors. Justice What of the incident described above, in Tadgell held that the duty to warn was ‘unre- which a woman fell to her death at alistic’. He accepted that there was a real risk Springbrook National Park in early 2001? that during a high wind in the reserve a tall Applying Romeo, this should be a case where tree might topple on to an innocent visitor, but the cliff was an obvious risk that did not he ventured that the same might be said of any require a warning sign. Imaginative lawyers comparable tract of Crown land. might argue that the relevant risk was not the The likely efficacy of a warning sign also obvious cliff but the slick and slippery rocks affects the question of whether it is reasonable that the woman stepped on to. These rocks to expect signs to be posted. In Harper, the appeared safe, it might be argued, but were wide range of possible hazards to be warned actually a ‘hidden danger’, akin to the cases against made it difficult to conclude what the of Nagle and Curley. In the face of such an text of an appropriate sign should be, or argument, one might invoke the reasoning of whether the text should vary according to Justice Ipp in Prast, noted above, to suggest where the sign might be placed in order to that it is common sense and part of the afford an adequate warning of a particular ‘Australian experience’ that rocks beside a hazard: rainforest stream are likely to be slippery and If the appellant’s duty of care to a member of that the uneven ground of a national park must the public who roams in a forest in a National always be trodden with care. This more robust Park requires a written warning of the hazard view is supported by a decision of the High of injury by any undifferentiated tree, it would Court of May 2001, dealing with a pedestrian seem to require also a written warning of any fall from a city footpath.58 There, Justices other undifferentiated natural or endemic Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow noted that, hazard – animal, vegetable or mineral. In the pedestrians’ ability to examine carefully the absence of evidence to warrant it, I could not surfaces upon which they stepped was far accept that as a proposition.61 greater than that of a motorist examining the road. Pedestrians should therefore be assumed The expectation that every natural area capable of taking that level of care for their will be littered with unsightly warning signs own safety.59 Justice Callinan noted that there has also figured in judicial reasoning. Justice was no concealment of the difference in height Batt in Harper acknowledged that the ameni- that was said to constitute the hazard, adding: ty of nature reserves would be adversely affected by signs. Justice Tadgell took this issue The world is not a level playing field. It is not further by suggesting that signage would unreasonable to expect that people will see in undermine the statutory objectives of national- broad daylight what lies ahead of them in the park designation. He said that it was ordinary course as they walk along.60 reasonable to infer from the preamble and s.17 The cost of requiring warnings is also a of the National Parks Act 1975 (Vic) that bush- major consideration. If a single catch-all warn- walking and other enjoyment of the natural ing at the vehicular entrance to a park would environment was officially authorized, if not be effective in alerting visitors to relevant risks, positively encouraged, in parks and reserves. its cost will not be unduly burdensome. But, From this, he inferred that: in Harper, the Victorian Supreme Court rec- one of the justifications of a National Park ognized the large number of sites within the under the Act is that it enables those of the forest reserve at which signs would have to be public who wish to do so to get away from posted, as well as the large number of other suburban orderliness and to commune with reserves under the care, control and manage- nature in her elemental simplicity, roaming ment of the DNRE. A requirement that (within reason) where they will.62 warnings be posted therefore imposed an unreasonable burden, in terms of cost, time It will be recalled that Justice Wallwork and trouble. Justice Batt said that this burden suggested in Prast that signs warning of the 44 J. McDonald

dangers of body-surfing might be beneficial exception conferred on authorities with even if not actually required. But, in a refer- responsibility for the maintenance of roads an ence to either cost or visual amenity, he added immunity for accidents that arose from their that this did not require that ‘the whole beach failure to repair or maintain a roadway, known front needs to be littered with signs’.63 Instead, as nonfeasance. Liability only arose in cases a sign in an obvious place, such as a walkway where repairs had been undertaken but had down to the beach, would suffice. been performed carelessly, known as cases of If warning signs are erected, care must me misfeasance. This ‘highway immunity’ was taken to ensure their adequacy. A failure to abolished in a recent decision of the High provide a proper warning of risks is as likely Court, thereby bringing this area of the law to result in liability as a failure to warn at all. into line with broader negligence principles.66 Expert evidence in Scarf identified the follow- The High Court decision considered two ing factors as key to the effectiveness of a cases together. In Brodie v. Singleton Shire warning sign: Council, the plaintiff/appellant sustained back injuries when a bridge maintained by the • Signal word (e.g. DANGER). defendant/respondent, Singleton Council, col- • Hazard statement (e.g. High Voltage lapsed as he drove his truck over it. The bridge Wires). was adapted to take loads of up to 15 tonnes. • Consequences (e.g. Can Kill). The plaintiff’s truck was 22 tonnes. The NSW • Instruction (e.g. Stay away).64 Court of Appeal had applied the highway The evidence in that case also suggested that immunity, found this to be a case of non-repair people are more likely to comply with a warn- and dismissed the claims against Council. ing if compliance requires minimal effort. The Ghantous v. Hawkesbury City Council salience or flamboyance of a sign adds to its involved a claim by an elderly woman against effectiveness and the more serious the hazard the Hawkesbury Council for injuries sustained or risk identified, the more likely people are when she fell on a public footpath. The rele- to comply. vant statutory definition of ‘road’ included footpath, and the Court again found this to be a case of nonfeasance that attracted the Accidents on park roads immunity. A 4 : 3 majority of the High Court held Brief mention should be made of the princi- that the traditional immunity for nonfeasance ples governing liability for road accidents that either never constituted the common law or occur on roads under the control and mainte- was no longer good law in Australia.67 It held nance of park managers. This issue is of far that the general principles of negligence pro- greater importance to local councils than to vide the criterion of liability. The question of park managers: in NSW, at least, claims made breach will therefore be determined by what by pedestrians who have sustained injuries in would be expected of a reasonable authority, a fall on a council footpath comprise the taking into account the expectation that foot- majority of claims against local councils and path and road users will exercise care for their are the single most expensive basis of public own safety68 and considering the competing liability.65 While local authorities are most or conflicting responsibilities of the authori- exposed to liability for unsafe roads, this is ty.69 According to Gaudron, McHugh and none the less potentially relevant to park man- Gummow JJ: agers as well. It is easy to envisage cases of branches falling across roads, subsidence or the discharge of the duty involves the taking by poor grading creating hazards for park visitors. the authority of reasonable steps to prevent Until 2001, Australian courts applied a there remaining a source of risk which gives historical exception to the general rules gov- rise to a foreseeable risk of harm. Such a risk of erning an authority’s duty to exercise its harm may arise from a failure to repair a road statutory powers that have already been or its surface, from the creation of conditions explained in this section. In essence, the during or as a result of repairs or works, from a Financial Liability of Park Managers for Visitor Injuries 45

failure to remove unsafe items in or near a heeded a warning is a difficult issue because road, or from the placing of items upon a road it is necessarily hypothetical. It requires the which create a danger, or the removal of items Court to evaluate whether events would have which protect against danger.70 been different if something that was not done had been done. In Ghantous, the Court could find noth- A plaintiff will sometimes testify that ing in the Council’s conduct that suggested a he/she would have read and followed what- want of reasonable care. The uneven surface ever warning had been given. In other cases, of the footpath was plainly visible and the the Court is left to draw inferences from the plaintiff’s fall could have been prevented by surrounding facts.73 In Harper, for example, no simply watching where she was placing her evidence was adduced at trial bearing direct- feet. The Brodie case was referred back to the ly upon what the injured woman would have NSW Court of Appeal to determine whether done had a notice been erected. Justice Batt Singleton Council had been negligent in the therefore concluded that it was not open on circumstances. Evidence suggested that there the evidence to infer that, if she had been had been substantial deterioration of the gird- warned, she would have taken notice. ers supporting the bridge and that this damage Evidence of intoxication at the time of the had already been repaired by Council, albeit accident or a history of disregarding authority ineffectually. It seems highly likely that a and engaging in risk-taking behaviour could breach of duty will be established on the facts all be raised to undermine a causal connec- in Brodie.71 The Council will undoubtedly tion. In Scarf, the plaintiff testified that he argue that the fact that the plaintiff disregard- would not have jumped had he seen warning ed a recommended load-limit warning broke signs, but Justice White concluded that this the chain of causation, but Council’s knowl- evidence must be assessed against the kind of edge that the bridge was routinely used by individual the plaintiff was at the time of the heavier vehicles will probably operate against accident.74 Justice White adopted an approach them on this point. advocated by Justice McHugh and Justice Kirby in Chappel v. Hart.75 In that case, Justice McHugh said: Can it be Said that the Accident would have Occurred in Any Event? Human nature being what it is, most plaintiffs will genuinely believe that, if he or she had been given an option that would or might have The plaintiff bears the burden of proving on avoided the injury, the option would have the balance of probabilities that the failure to been taken . . . [G]iven that most plaintiffs will avert or warn of a hazard caused the accident genuinely believe that they would have taken or injury. The causation issue is especially crit- another option, if presented to them, the ical to a case based upon alleged failure to reliability of their evidence can only be warn of dangers. The plaintiff must be able to determined by reference to objective factors, prove that it was more probable than not that particularly the attitude and conduct of the he would have heeded a warning and, thus plaintiff at or about the time when the breach warned, could have avoided injury. of duty occurred.76 Two things may prevent plaintiffs from establishing this element. The first is where the The plaintiff in Scarf had routinely evidence suggests that the plaintiff would not engaged in risk-taking behaviour and defied or could not have heeded the warning. Even authority prior to the accident. He also con- if a warning is salient, informative and con- ceded in testimony that he would not have cise, it will not necessarily be effective. The jumped had his mother been there to see him. expert evidence adduced in Scarf concluded Justice White therefore concluded that, on bal- that no sign used in the experiments on warn- ance, it was more probable than not that the ing design had been 100% effective, because plaintiff would have disregarded warning signs there will always be those who read but ignore had they been posted.77 In contrast, the erec- them.72 Whether the plaintiff would have tion of a higher guard-rail would have 46 J. McDonald

prevented the accident, had the Court found damages may none the less be reduced where that the defendants’ duty of care extended to the Court concludes that some account should such measures.78 be taken of the plaintiff’s own carelessness. The second thing that might prevent a A claim of contributory negligence will plaintiff from proving the causal connection is require more than proof of mere inadvertence where the sudden nature of the event meant or carelessness on the plaintiff’s part. The park that no amount of warning could have been manager must establish a negligent want of effective. In such cases, the plaintiff must care for one’s own safety.84 In City of instead argue that the park manager should Rockingham v. Curley and Fremantle Port have neutralized the risk altogether. In Authority, the plaintiff successfully claimed Schiller,79 for example, Justice Gibbs con- against the Fremantle Port Authority (FPA) for cluded that it would have served no good failing to warn of the dangers of diving off an purpose merely to warn persons using the FPA-managed jetty, but had his award of dam- walking track on to which the dead tree fell. ages reduced. Curley had dived from the jetty The accident showed that a tree might come on other occasions without incident, but on down so suddenly that a person on the track the day of the accident struck his head on the could not escape it.80 shallow bottom. At trial, damages were A park manager will not be able to point reduced by 20% for Curley’s own careless- to the plaintiff’s own careless conduct as ness, but this proportion was increased to ‘breaking the chain of causation’ if that type 33.3% on appeal.85 The Court distinguished of foolhardiness or inadvertence is the very earlier cases where there had been no finding kind of thing that was likely to happen in the of contribution. In those cases, evidence sug- ordinary course of things.81 In such cases, once gested that the diver had attempted to check it is established that managers owe a duty to the bottom before diving. In Lettice, the Court protect against a visitor’s inadvertence, that took account of the plaintiff’s above-average carelessness will not be considered to be the height in concluding that he should have exer- cause of the incident unless it was gross, cised greater care for his own safety when extreme or outside the ordinary course of deciding to become intoxicated and vomit events. over the side of a dangerously low bridge.86 His higher centre of gravity meant that he should have been more vigilant than a short- Should Liability be Reduced er pedestrian leaning over the bridge. The Because of the Plaintiff’s Own Court apportioned 25% of liability to the plain- Carelessness? tiff’s contributory negligence.87 It was unnecessary for the Court in Scarf In some cases, the carelessness of the plaintiff to decide the issue of contributory negligence, is taken into account in ruling that the park because it was satisfied that the plaintiff would manager did not breach its duty of care to vis- have disregarded any warning that might have itors. If visitors are only likely to be injured if been given. Justice White none the less indi- they fail to exercise care for their own well- cated that, had her conclusions been different, being or safety, it may be reasonable for park she would have reduced liability for the plain- managers to take no precautions to protect tiff’s own careless by 35%. Scarf had testified them.82 In these cases, the park manager will that he deliberately angled his dive towards not be liable at all, because it will have dis- the shallow creek bank (in order to make a charged its duty to visitors. hasty escape from the water to avoid sharks) On the other hand, the very nature of and because he was probably still affected by some reserves and parks will bring with it a alcohol and drugs when he undertook the risk that some visitors will act carelessly.83 In dive.88 cases where the plaintiff has managed to show NT v. Shoesmith provides a somewhat that a reasonable park manager would have surprising contrast. The NT Supreme Court acted differently – by fencing, redesigning or upheld a finding that the plaintiff was not con- warning against dangers – the quantum of tributorily negligent when he slipped and fell Financial Liability of Park Managers for Visitor Injuries 47

from a log as he rushed to escape from his Does a Separate Action Lie for friends during horseplay at Katherine Breach of Statutory Duty? Hotsprings. The Court concluded that the fact that he slipped and hit his head, rather than The foregoing analysis has considered the intentionally diving into the shallow water, common-law principles of negligence as they militated against a finding of contributory neg- apply to visitor injuries. These principles con- ligence. The Court held that the horseplay cern breach of a common-law duty of care. itself was not careless, because that was the There may be circumstances in which the very type of activity the defendants should statute creating or empowering the park man- have anticipated at the recreation area.89 ager also imposes separate statutory duties. It Justice Angel, dissenting on this issue, would is thus sometimes possible for plaintiffs to have found Shoesmith 15% liable. In Justice bring a separate action for the tort of breach Angel’s view, the alleged contributory negli- of statutory duty, instead of, or in addition to, gence was not the fact that Shoesmith slipped, the common-law claim. but that he jumped too hastily to escape his In order to bring a discrete claim for friends, knowing of the wetness of the log and breach of statutory duty, the plaintiff must the submerged rock ledge.90 He held that the show that the statute intended to confer upon fact that the Shire and NTCC should have con- persons like him a private right to sue for dam- sidered the risks of horseplay did not relieve ages if the duty is breached.92 It seems unlikely those engaging in such behaviour from all per- that a class of persons as potentially broad as sonal responsibility. Justice Angel’s approach ‘all park visitors’ would satisfy this require- is supported by the High Court in Nagle v. ment. The wider the class of persons in the Rottnest Island Authority. In Nagle, the High community who may derive benefit from the Court held that the Authority should have performance of a statutory duty, the less like- anticipated that some visitors would act care- ly is it that the statute can be construed as lessly and that its duty was to protect even conferring an individual right of action for inadvertent visitors against foreseeable risks. It damages for its breach. It will be difficult to none the less remitted the case back to the say that a national-parks statute that imposes Western Australian (WA) Supreme Court for on the agency a duty to maintain parks for determination of whether liability should be recreational and other uses confers on visitors reduced for contributory negligence. Had the a private right to sue. Shoesmith decision been taken further, a dif- ferent conclusion might well have been reached on this issue. Statutory Immunity an Appropriate Liability will not be apportioned where Solution? there were not precautions a plaintiff could reasonably be expected to have taken. In Shire This chapter has attempted to highlight the of Manjimup v. Bill, for example, the WA considerable uncertainty surrounding the lia- Supreme Court overturned the trial judge’s bility of park managers. Agencies are already finding of contributory negligence. Bill had struggling to balance scarce resources fallen into an open disused septic tank while between the provision of visitor access and walking off the path in a public park late at recreational facilities and the maintenance of night. At trial, the court had found that she had conservation and environmental values. While failed to take care for her own safety when she liability principles remain creatures of the strayed from the path to relieve herself in near- common law, there will always be the poten- by bushes. On appeal, this conclusion was tial for an injured visitor to argue an agency’s overturned, the Court being satisfied that the want of reasonable care. The claim should fail buried tank constituted a hidden trap against if the factors set out above are properly con- which risk the plaintiff could not have been sidered and weighed. Rather than engaging in expected to take precautions.91 costly litigation, however, it might be prefer- able to remove such cases from the courts altogether. For example, it is open to parlia- 48 J. McDonald

ment to enact statutory immunities for certain diverting resources into identifying myriad acts or omissions of park managers. Such potential dangers and rendering them safe. It immunity would have to be carefully worded, also risks sanitizing the visitor experience, thus however, since Courts will construe them very undermining a park’s attraction and conserva- narrowly.93 Protection from failing to exercise tion values. powers would restore some protection; agen- In recent cases, the courts have tried to cies could only be held liable if they undertake ‘introduce practical and sensible notions of works but perform them in a negligent fash- reasonableness that would put a brake on the ion. Where a policy decision has been taken, more extreme and unrealistic claims’.94 They for example, to allocate a majority of resources have done so in a variety of ways. In particu- to weed or pest eradication, to enhance the lar, they will not expect land managers to warn conservation values of an area, the failure to visitors of obvious dangers. They will also con- repair a walking track or remove a fallen sider the implications for a land manager’s branch should not be actionable. entire jurisdiction of requiring preventive mea- An alternative might be the establishment sures in one place. The negative impacts of of a statutory compensation scheme, adminis- fencing and signage on areas of natural beau- tered through non-judicial channels. There are ty will also militate against their being various precedents for statutory schemes, required. No court has yet ruled that a pre- including no-fault workers’ compensation and ventive measure is unreasonable because it dust-diseases tribunals, and the compulsory would interfere with the conservation values, insurance schemes. The scope and operation as distinct from the scenic or amenity values, of any statutory compensation scheme would but nor has it been necessary to do so. require a great deal of careful consideration. While uncertainty over the scope of lia- Thought would have to be given to whether it bility remains, park agencies may direct should encompass all statutory entities, not resources away from valuable conservation just land managers, or whether it should relate activities. Some alternative scheme may be to ‘occupiers’ liability’ in its most general required. Options include a statutory immuni- sense. The basis for recovery and the source ty, a no-fault compensation scheme and a of funds for the scheme would also require res- visitor insurance scheme, funded from a olution. One option here is the imposition of hypothecated visitor fee. None of these a specific visitor fee that would go into an options is likely to attract wide support unless insurance fund, similar to third-party car insur- it is part of broad reform of negligence law, ance. Those who object to a user-pays aimed at curbing the trend towards specula- philosophy for national-park funding because tive litigation. In the absence of legislative of its anthropocentric view of the value of con- solutions, it may be hoped that the courts will servation areas could not hold this against a themselves establish a more predictable legal specific-purpose insurance levy. Visitors are environment, in which the natural and wilder- the only people who would claim against a ness values of protected areas are respected scheme established to deal with visitor and visitors are expected to take personal injuries, so, on any analysis, they are the responsibility for their own safety: ‘users’ of compensation. The main concern As a matter of law, there is a point at which then is whether it is equitable to require care- those who indulge in pleasurable but risky ful visitors to subsidize the careless or pastimes must take personal responsibility for foolhardy, but this concern is hardly unique to what they do. That point is reached when the accidents in natural areas. risks are so well-known and obvious that it can reasonably be assumed that the individuals Conclusions concerned will take reasonable care for their own safety.95 Expansion of liability carries considerable risks. It risks distracting park managers’ atten- tion from their conservation priorities and Financial Liability of Park Managers for Visitor Injuries 49

Notes 24 Romeo, Ibid., at 481, ¶130. 25 Ibid., at 456. 1 A-G v. PYA Quarries Ltd [1957] 2 QB 169. 26 Critchley v. Cross [2000] NSWSC 6, 8 February 2 Nagle v. Rottnest Island Authority (1993) 177 CLR 2000, Studdert J, at ¶¶57–59. 423 at 429–430; Romeo v. Conservation Com- 27 Brodie/Ghantous, above n. 5, at 212, ¶246, per mission (NT) (1998) 192 CLR 431 at 460, 477. Kirby J. 3 Schiller v. Mulgrave Shire Council (1972) 129 28 Above n. 3. CLR. 116 at 120; Romeo, above n. 2, at 439–440, 29 Ibid., at 132. 451, 472 and 487–488. 30 Romeo, above n. 2, at 477 per Kirby J; Australian 4 Nagle, above n. 2, at 430, per Mason CJ, Deane, Capital Territory v. Badcock [2000] FCA 142, 18 Dawson & Gaudron JJ. This approach has since February 2000, at ¶24 per Einfeld J (with whom been applied in numerous cases. See, for exam- Hill, Drummond, Tamberlin, & Hely JJ agreed). ple, City of Rockingham v. Curley & Fremantle 31 Above n18, at 135 per Tadgell JA. Port Authority Unreported [2000] WASCA 202, 32 Unreported [2000] WASCA 256, 14 August 2000, Ipp & Wallwork JJ, Anderson J dissenting, avail- Ipp, Parker & Miller JJ. able at: www.austlii.edu.au; and Brodie v. 33 Shoesmith, above n. 10. Singleton Shire Council; Ghantous v. Hawkesbury 34 Ibid., at 161. City Council (2001) 180 ALR 145, at 174, ¶102 35 Ibid., at 165–166. per Gaudron, McHugh & Gummow JJ. 36 Above n. 7. 5 (1999–2000) 22 WAR 474, Ipp, Wallwork & 37 Ibid., at ¶54. Parker JJ. 38 Ibid., at ¶52. 6 Ibid., at 478, ¶12. 39 Ibid., at ¶77. 7 Unreported, Supreme Court of Queensland, 30 40 Unreported [2000] NSWSC 81, 24 February October 1998, White J, at ¶68. 2000, Dowd J. 8 Ibid. 41 Ibid., at ¶¶73–75. 9 Ibid., at ¶65. The Supreme Court of Queensland 42 Ibid., at ¶80. held that the Gold Coast City Council owed no 43 Ibid., at 76–81. duty to visitors of Tallebudgera Creek reserve to 44 Ibid., at ¶99. warn of the dangers associated with diving into 45 Ansett Transport Industries (Operations) P/L v. the creek from a road bridge adjacent to the Lennard, Unreported, Queensland C of A, 16 June reserve controlled by Queensland Transport. 1998, Pincus JA, McPherson JA, Fryberg J; Kemp 10 NT & Katherine Town Council v. Shoesmith & Kemp v. District Council of Yankalilla, (1996) 5 NTLR 155, Kearney, Angel & Mildren JJ. Unreported [2000] SADC 45, David J. 11 Conservation Commission Act 1980 NT, s19(a). 46 Curley, above n. 4, at ¶158. 12 Shoesmith, above n. 10, at 165. 47 Mountain Cattlemen’s Association of Victoria Inc. 13 Ibid., at 163–164. v. Barron[1998] 3 V.R. 302; [1997] A Torts Rep. 14 Wyong Shire Council v. Shirt (1980) 146 CLR 40, 81–426. Brooking JA (with whom Phillips JA at 48; Nagle, above n. 2, at 431. agreed) said (at 64,136): 15 Romeo, above n. 2, at 454–456 per Toohey & The danger to be guarded against here was the Gummow JJ; 478 per Kirby J; 488 per Hayne J. obvious one that a person leading a horse over small 16 Romeo, above n. 2, at 480–481, ¶¶128–130. and slippery rocks, in the partly dried up bed of a 17 Brodie/Ghantous, above n. 5, at 185, ¶139, per river, would be injured as a result of the horse’s Gaudron, Gummow & McHugh. slipping and falling. The danger that a horse would 18 [2000] 1 VR 133, Tadgell, Callaway & Batt JJA. slip when walking in such a place must have been 19 Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) s14C. apparent to anyone with any real experience as a horse rider to say the least. . . That there was a danger 20 Romeo, above n. 2, at 455 per Toohey & cannot be gainsaid, but it was of a kind and degree Gummow JJ. Hayne J (at 489) and Brennan CJ (at which in my view the organiser could reasonably 443–444, dissenting on other grounds) also have expected participants to take, as it were, in their referred to obviousness as a relevant factor. stride, using their own common sense, skill and 21 Brodie/Ghantous, above n. 5, at 174–175, experience to guard against it. ¶¶104–105, per Gaudron, Gummow & McHugh 48 Romeo, above n. 2, at 478–479, ¶¶123–124; JJ; Schiller, above n. 3, at 136, per Gibbs J. and at 453–454, per Toohey & Gummow JJ. 22 Romeo, above n. 2, at 488, per Hayne J. 49 Unreported, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of 23 Romeo, above n. 2, at 478–479, ¶123–124, per NSW, 14 October 1998. Kirby J. Hayne J expressed a similar view at 490, 50 Above n. 5. ¶163. 51 [1993] A. Torts Rep. 62,397. 50 J. McDonald

52 Above n. 4. Other ‘diving’ cases have reached cases has been subsumed by the law of negli- similar conclusions. See, for example, Western gence. Australia v. Dale & Anor (1996) 15 WAR 464 at 68 Ibid., at 191, ¶160 per Gaudron, McHugh & 477, Kennedy J. Gummow JJ. 53 Curley, above n. 4, at ¶¶30–32, per Ipp J. But 69 Ibid., at 192, ¶162. note the strong dissent of Anderson J in Curley, 70 Ibid., at 191, ¶159, footnotes omitted. where, at ¶206, his Honour concluded, ‘I can- 71 Ibid., at 185–186, ¶139. not subscribe to the view that there is a common 72 Scarf, above n. 7, at ¶38. law duty upon every municipality or public 73 Chappel v. Hart (1998) 195 CLR 232 at 246, per authority who has a jetty or groyne under its man- McHugh J (dissenting) and at 272–273, per Kirby agement or control to put up signs prohibiting J. diving because someone may ignore the obvious 74 Scarf, above n. 7, at ¶39. risk of diving head first into shallow water.’ 75 Above n. 73, at 247. 54 Prast, above n. 5, at 482, ¶32. 76 Chappel, above n. 73, at 246, n. 64 per McHugh 55 Ibid., at ¶33 (emphasis added). J. 56 Ibid., at 485, ¶43. 77 Scarf, above n. 7, at ¶43. 57 Wallwork J generally agreed with Ipp J in Prast. 78 Ibid., at ¶¶52–53, 77. But he did conclude, at 488, ¶57, that although 79 Above n. 3, at 133. there is no legal duty to do so, in the light of the 80 Ibid., at 135. injuries suffered by Prast, it would be beneficial 81 March v. Stramare (1991) 171 CLR 506, at 518, to post signs at popular beaches warning of the 519–520, 536–537; Nagle, above n. 2, at 431. dangers of body-surfing. 82 Romeo, above n. 2, at 489 per Hayne J. 58 Brodie/Ghantous, above n. 5. 83 Shoesmith, above n. 10, at 158, per Angel J, cit- 59 Ibid., at 192, ¶163 ing Inverell Municipal Council v. Pennington 60 Ibid., at 240, ¶355. (1993) A Torts Rep 62,397. 61 Harper, above n18, 136, ¶6, per Tadgell J. 84 Podrebersek v. Australian Iron & Steel Pty Ltd 62 Ibid. (1985) 59 ALJR 492, at 493–494. 63 Prast, above n. 5, at 488, ¶57. 85 Curley, above n. 4, at ¶162. 64 Scarf, above n. 7, discussed at ¶38 of the judg- 86 Lettice, above n. 40, at ¶90. ment. 87 Ibid., at ¶92. 65 Brodie/Ghantous, above n. 5, at 157–158, ¶51, 88 Scarf, above n. 7, at ¶79. per Gaudron, McHugh & Gummow. 89 Shoesmith, above n. 10, at 167–168. 66 Ibid. 90 Ibid., per Angel J dissenting on this point, at 67 Ibid. See the joint judgment of Gaudron, McHugh 158–159. & Gummow JJ at 159, ¶55 and 185, 91 Bill, above n. 32, at ¶29. ¶¶137–138; and the judgment of Kirby J at 92 Sovar v. Henry Lane Pty Ltd (1967) 116 CLR 397. 208–211, ¶¶226–238, Gleeson CJ and Hayne & 93 Brodie/Ghantous, above n. 5, at 199, ¶¶197 and Callinan JJ dissenting on the issue of the highway 207, ¶223 per Kirby J. immunity. Gaudron, McHugh & Gummow JJ also 94 Romeo, above n. 2, at 480, ¶128, per Kirby J. held that the tort of public nuisance in highway 95 Prast, above n. 5, at 485, ¶44, per Ipp J. 7

Visitor Fees, Tour Permits and Asset and Risk Management by Parks Agencies: Australian Case Study

Ralf Buckley,1 Natasha Witting2 and Michaela Guest3 1International Centre for Ecotourism Research; 2School of Environmental Studies; 3School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Abstract

During 2000/01 we reviewed the current practices of each Australian terrestrial protected-area agency in regard to visitor and user fees, tour and activity permits, risk and asset manage- ment and visitor monitoring and education programmes. Current practices differ widely between, and in some cases also within, individual State, Territory and Commonwealth protected-area agencies. Most require commercial tour operators to be licensed, and most charge licence application and annual fees. Most parks also charge visitor entrance and camping fees, whether visitors arrive independently or with commercial tours. Tour operators may receive discounts. There are concessions for children, seniors, community groups and local residents, and season passes as well as daily entrance fees. Most States and Territories charge different camping fees, depending on infrastructure and facilities and sometimes also on season and demand. Different parks charge fees either per person, per vehicle, per site or various combinations of these. Proportions of fees retained at individual parks, in individual regions, within the overall parks agency, or within the state government treasury differ between states, as do the budget procedures, which may offset any fees collected. Fees are relatively low and unlikely to influence behaviour for most tourists. Overall, fees contribute a small but still significant proportion of total parks operating funds. All States and Territories have risk- and asset-management systems in place, but these differ considerably in sophistication, integra- tion and practical application. Recent changeovers by many State governments from cash-flow to accrual accounting systems have introduced a number of practical problems in park budgeting. The introduction of the Commonwealth Government’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) also forced parks agencies to review fees and revise fee-collection mechanisms.

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 51 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 52 R. Buckley et al.

Introduction and Methods Fees

Parks worldwide are used for public recreation Global issues and commercial tourism as well as conserva- tion. Protected-area agencies have to manage User charges for recreation in parks and other people, infrastructure and equipment as well public lands are well established and wide- as plants, animals and landscapes. For this spread, but still contentious (WCPA, 2000; they need money, tools and information. As Buckley, 2001). Fees are used both to raise rev- visitor numbers continue to outstrip govern- enue and as a visitor-management tool. Other ment funding in most countries, protected-area tools include site hardening, regulation (includ- management agencies have introduced visitor ing zoning) and education (Buckley, 1998, fees as a contribution to visitor management 2000; Newsome et al., 2002). Larger fees raise costs. To control commercial tourism and more money and have more influence on vis- some types of public recreation they use per- itor behaviour, but are more likely to be mit systems. As their infrastructure and inequitable. User fees may include charges for: equipment inventories continue to grow they entry to the park or particular areas; overnight have introduced asset databases for systemat- camping; specific recreational or educational ic maintenance and accounting. And, as the activities; and use of park transport, accom- number of injury claims against landholders modation, facilities or equipment. has risen, they have adopted risk-management The term ‘user fees’ is generally applied frameworks to assess and limit potential legal to public rather than private parks, and and financial liabilities. excludes prices for retail sales and rentals. It Australia provides a good test bed to includes licence and per capita fees paid to examine these systems. It has a combination the park by commercial tour operators but of federal and state jurisdictions, with most excludes prices paid to operators by clients. national parks under the latter. It has only eight These distinctions are somewhat arbitrary. In subsidiary States and Territories, which have particular, fees that are readily distinguishable faced the same issues in regard to visitors and in a legal sense may act identically in an eco- tourism in parks, but have responded inde- nomic sense, or vice versa. pendently. Some Australian parks agencies The significance and acceptance of user have charged fees for years or decades, where- fees depend on their social, political, legal and as others still do not. Permit systems for economic context and on the characteristics commercial tour operators and asset- and risk- of the fees themselves, including their size and management frameworks have evolved type, how they are set and collected and what independently, with limited information the money is spent on. The Recreation Fee exchange via a former ministerial council, the Demonstration Program in the USA has been Australian and New Zealand Environment studied in particular detail (Watson, 1999). Conservation Council (ANZECC). Information User fees have also been examined in on current practices in regard to fees, permits Canadian parks (van Sickle and Eagles, 1998) and asset and risk management by Australian and US forests (Harris et al., 1987). protected-area agencies is not available from Parks charge fees because visitor numbers any single source nationally or indeed even and management costs have increased, but within individual States and Territories. During government budget allocations have not kept 2000/01, therefore, we compiled and com- pace. The highest value of parks to human pared this information from each of the state economies is in conservation of biodiversity jurisdictions and also the federal agency. Data and land and water quality. These benefits, were derived from all available sources, however, accrue at larger scales in space and including agency reports and websites, publi- time than individual governments. Govern- cations and consultancies, and, most ments therefore under-invest in protecting importantly, directly from relevant staff in each conservation values. Recreation benefits are of the agencies concerned. localized and more easily captured, so gov- ernments expect parks to charge for them. Asset and Risk Management by Parks Agencies 53

Many people object on principle to pay- sponding or proportional reduction in budget ing to use parks. Some countries have strong allocations from a higher level. historical public rights of way (e.g. the UK) or Collecting user fees costs money, not only a strong traditional right of access, even to pri- for collection booths and counters and people vate land (e.g. in Scandinavia). Many people to staff them, but for repairs; cash transfers and also argue that taxpayers have already paid for audits; higher costs because of increased parks, or that user fees are an inefficient way expectations from visitors and tour operators; of funding a public good. Whether users and potentially also from increased liabilities. accept fees also depends on what the fees are Direct collection costs for the US Recreation used for (Vogt and Williams, 1999). Fee Demonstration Project are around 20% of In countries with ineffective, laissez-faire revenue (USDI and USDA, 2001). or decentralized governments, parks or resi- As a management tool, user fees are only dents may levy visitors at a very local scale, effective if they change visitor behaviour in a legally or otherwise. In countries with strong- way the agency wants: e.g. reducing visitor ly centralized control and enforcement, user numbers; relocating a particular activity; or fees are collected on behalf of central trea- reducing per capita impacts. Behavioural suries. In countries with elected governments, responses to user fees depend on: the size of especially federated systems, fees are subject the fee; visitors’ personal convictions; their to a wide range of political constraints. People investment to reach that destination; how the who did not pay in the past do not want to fee is packaged; the point at which visitors pay in the future. People who think themselves become aware of the fee; the availability and disadvantaged want discounts. People who cost of alternative sites; and the time of year think taxes should pay for parks object to fees and degree of crowding (Knapman and on principle. Stoeckl, 1995; Lindberg and Aylward, 1999; User fees may be subject to legal con- Lindberg, 2001). A small fee may have a large straints on the actions of the land-management effect on some users in some parks (Schneider agency. They may have legal consequences, and Budruk, 1999; Buckley et al., 2001a); e.g. in increasing the duties of care or the con- whereas elsewhere a large fee may have little tractual obligations of that agency. They may influence. also increase the expectations of visitors and Most public-land management agencies tour operators, particularly in regard to park have to ensure that recreational user fees are infrastructure. equitable. This is difficult. Equity in legal prin- Many parks charge differential fees for for- ciple does not guarantee equity of opportunity eign nationals, for multiple visits, for in practice between different socio-economic commercial tours as compared with indepen- groups. Additionally, should fees be the same dent visitors, for visitors travelling by different for foreigners as for citizens; for local residents means, for local residents or for educational as for those living far away; for multiple visits groups and senior citizens. Heavily used parks as for single; for visitors in groups as for those may charge different fees from less visited visiting alone; for visitors using different forms parks in the same region. Elected governments of transport; for commercial-tour clients as for may use parks and user fees as a political tool independent visitors; and for people with dif- for regional development, to gain regional ferent recreational preferences? votes. Which takes higher priority, a park’s The most critical economic characteristic needs for management funds or its public for any kind of user charge is how the money obligations? Should parks charge higher fees is used and who controls it. Fees may be used for visitors likely to create higher social and to manage the specific activity in the park environmental impacts or claim compensa- where they were collected, or be paid into a tion, like an insurance company? Should they central government treasury, or any interme- restrict access to increase demand, like dia- diate level of control, or shared between mond cartels? Should they offer services at several levels. In addition, fees retained by a market rates in competition with commercial park or region may be offset by a corre- tour operators? If they form partnerships with 54 R. Buckley et al.

the private sector, how can they assure a rea- general, site-specific and activity-specific sonable return while insulating themselves conditions. from potential private-business collapse? Depending on the park, fees may be paid: in advance to park offices and agencies; on entry, at road booths or visitor centres; to Entrance fees in Australian parks rangers or by self-registration at campsites. Fees are reviewed every few years. Australia has a federal system of government. In Western Australia, Queensland (Qld), Some of its protected areas are under federal New South Wales (NSW), ACT and federal control, but most, including nearly all nation- parks, fees are retained either in individual al parks, are under state jurisdiction. Limited parks or within a district or region. In South coordination was formerly provided by Australia and Tasmania, they are collected by ANZECC. The latter reviewed user fees in the parks-service headquarters. In the 1996 with an update in 2000 (ANZECC, Northern Territory (NT) and Victoria, they are 2000), but all agencies have since revised fees paid into the State government treasury. Parks in response to a federal goods and services tax, Australia (PA), South Australian Parks and introduced in July 2000. Wildlife Service and Queensland Parks and During 2000/01 we reviewed entrance Wildlife Service also make use of trusts to hold and camping fees for individual visitors and part of the fees collected for specific purpos- permits and fees for commercial tour opera- es, e.g. for use in particular land tenures tors and other commercial users. We also (Queensland), or for Aboriginal traditional reviewed agency practices in regard to risk owners (PA). management, asset management, visitor edu- Different States and Territories charge cation programmes and visitor monitoring entrance fees either per person, per vehicle (Buckley et al., 2001b). We obtained data from or both (Table 7.1). Broadly, NT and printed materials, websites, surveys and inter- Queensland do not charge individual mem- views, and circulated two draft reports to bers of the public for entry to national parks, check accuracy and completeness. except for federally managed or co-managed Most Australian parks charge entrance parks in the NT and parks under the and camping fees for all visitors, whether trav- Recreation Areas Management Act in elling individually or on commercial tours. Queensland. Fees are calculated per person, per vehicle, Agencies in other States and Territories per campsite, or some combination of these. commonly charge daily vehicle entrance fees, Various concessions are available. Except in mostly around US$5 per vehicle, at specific the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), com- parks. They also offer season passes for all or mercial tour operators have to be licensed, and most parks as an alternative, mostly in the licence fees include an application fee, an range of US$25–75. Fees are generally high- annual fee and per capita fees for clients. est in heavily used parks, such as those in Commercial permits may contain a range of alpine areas or near cities (Buckley, 2001). A

Table 7.1. Simplified summary of maximum vehicle entrance fees (Aus$) in Australian national parks in 2001/02. Figures are rounded to nearest dollar. Currently, US$1 is about Aus$2. Fees may apply to some parks only. Concessions may also be available. (Details in Buckley et al., 2001b.) Period of validity WA NT SA QLD NSW ACT VIC TAS PA Day 9 0 36 0 15 9 13 10 n/a Month 23 0 18 40 n/a n/a n/a 17 33 Year 51 0 170 150 80 11 63 46 65

WA, Western Australia; NT, Northern Territory; SA, South Australia; QLD, Queensland; NSW, New South Wales; ACT, Australian Capital Territory; VIC, Victoria; TAS, Tasmania; PA, Parks Australia, the federal agency. Asset and Risk Management by Parks Agencies 55

variety of 1-week, 2-week, 1-month and sites that have more facilities or heavier use. 2-month passes are offered for particular parks, Some charge higher fees during peak seasons. and some offer concessional rates for local res- Most offer concessional rates for children, idents. Most parks agencies also charge school groups, pensioners and/or families. Age entrance fees per person for individuals on and size limits for these categories are defined buses or bicycles. These are typically around differently in each State and Territory. A high- US$1.50–2.00 per person per day, but range ly simplified summary is shown in Table 7.2. up to US$7.50 in some parks, with the high- est fees in NSW. Season passes specifically for visitors without vehicles are not generally Permits available. For comparison, an annual all-parks pass Commercial tour operators need permits in all in the USA costs about US$50 (USDI and Australian parks. The ACT is currently an USDA, 2001). In Costa Rica’s Monteverde exception, but is in the process of introducing Cloud Forest Reserve, daily entrance fees a permit system. All parks agencies impose a applicable since 1995 are US$1.50 for resi- set of general conditions that apply to all per- dents, US$8.00 for foreign independent mitted tour operators. Most also impose travellers and US$16.00 for foreigners on activity-specific conditions and some set site- package tours (Fennell, 1999, p.166). National specific conditions. Some have two or more parks in Costa Rica have charged an entrance tiers or categories of tour-operator permits. fee of US$6.00 per person per day since 1996 Operators may be prosecuted, fined and/or (Honey, 1999, p.141). In Kenya, fees for for- lose their licences for breaches of permit con- eign visitors to enter national parks have been ditions, though this rarely happens in practice. charged at US$20 per person since 1993 Generic conditions typically fall into two (Honey, 1999, p.175). main categories, related to safety and envi- ronmental management, respectively. For example, permits may require operators to Camping fees in Australian parks ensure that vehicles are properly maintained, that guides are appropriately skilled and qual- All Australian parks agencies, including NT ified and that emergency response and and Queensland, charge fees for camping evacuation procedures are in place. They may overnight in national parks. Different States also require operators to keep to roads, tracks and Territories charge camping fees per per- and areas open to the public; to remove waste; son, per vehicle, per site or some combination. to bring and use specified minimal-impact Some agencies charge identical fees for all equipment and practices; and to instruct parks under their jurisdiction; others charge clients in minimal-impact behaviour. Generic different fees at different parks. Several have conditions may also include quotas on the tiered fee structures, with higher fees for camp- maximum number of clients an operator may

Table 7.2. Simplified summary of camping fee structures (Aus$) in Australian national parks, 2001/02. Fees rounded to nearest whole dollar. Fees may apply for some parks only. Group sites excluded. (Details in Buckley et al., 2001b.) Unit WA NT SA QLD NSW ACT VIC TAS PA Structure S+A P V P V+P P S+A P PorS Person 9(A) 7 – 4 5(P) – 4(A) 6 5 Car – – 18 – 6 – – – – Site 13 – – – – 11 18 – 16 WA, Western Australia; NT, Northern Territory; SA, South Australia; QLD, Queensland; NSW, New South Wales; ACT, Australian Capital Territory; VIC, Victoria; TAS, Tasmania; PA, Parks Australia. Structures: S, per site; V, per vehicle; P, per person; A, per person additional to a predefined site or vehicle quota. 56 R. Buckley et al.

carry. All Australian parks agencies also Charges for commercial-tour permits may require licensed tour operators to carry $10 include an application fee, an annual fee and million public liability insurance that indem- daily user fees calculated per client (Table nifies the parks agency as well as the operator. 7.3). These per capita fees are generally the Different parks agencies apply particular same as for individual public visitors, but in permit conditions to various specific activities some States and Territories there are signifi- – up to 28 different activities in Victoria. cant discounts for commercial-tour clients, Common examples include guided walks and and in some there are public land-use fees that camping, mountain biking, caving, vehicle- apply only to commercial operators. based and four-wheel-drive tours, abseiling In Tasmania, the parks service has the and rock-climbing, boating and boat cruises, right to levy additional fees for commercial rafting and kayaking, ski touring, hang-gliding operations that require exclusive use of a par- and parapenting, horse riding, wildlife watch- ticular site, have a high environmental impact ing and spotlighting. Activity-specific or a high risk that rehabilitation or restoration conditions may cover, for example, equip- works may be needed or require special infra- ment, guide qualifications, client-to-guide structure or monitoring. These additional fees ratios, group sizes and timing, etc. may be levied as an additional daily per capi- Site-specific conditions are less common. ta fee of Aus$1.50 for day tours or Aus$3.00 The most common are site quotas, setting max- (US$1.50) for overnight tours, and/or a flat fee, imum numbers of people at a given site at a a percentage of gross takings or a site rental. given time, either in total or engaged in a par- ticular activity. Some sites are also subject to seasonal closures or other restrictions. Assets Site-specific conditions are often applied to cultural-heritage sites. Australia’s parks agencies manage a very sig- Most Australian parks agencies issue nificant proportion of Australia’s natural and licences to commercial tour operators for 1 cultural assets. Parks Victoria, for example, year in the first instance. Short-term licences manages 16% of that State (Stone, 2001). may also be available for special events such Asset-management programmes by Australian as orienteering events. Commercial tour-oper- parks agencies, however, focus principally on ator licences may be issued for longer periods infrastructure, buildings and equipment. Park in some States and Territories: up to 3 years services in Western Australia, South Australia, in Queensland and Victoria, and 5 years in and Victoria all have established strategic Western Australia and NT. Accreditation with asset-management frameworks, and those in the Ecotourism Association of Australia (EAA), Queensland and Tasmania are currently under Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program development. In NT, NSW and ACT, parks ser- (NEAP II) and/or other national or State vices have specific policies, plans and accreditation programmes is a significant con- manuals that address different aspects of sideration in granting longer licence terms, in asset-management, rather than integrated asset addition to past environmental performance. management frameworks. Each national park

Table 7.3. Simplified summary of commercial tour permit fees (Aus$) in Australian parks, 2001/02. Standard camping fees generally also apply. (Details in Buckley et al., 2001b.) Component WA NT SA QLD NSW ACT VIC TAS PA Applications 50 300 300 .200 var. n/a .165 55 _ Annual 250 250–2000 125 .160 var. n/a .55 275 50–500 Per client sdd var. sdd 2.30 var. n/a 1.10+ sdd sdd sdd entrance WA, Western Australia; NT, Northern Territory; SA, South Australia; QLD, Queensland; NSW, New South Wales; ACT, Australian Capital Territory; VIC, Victoria; TAS, Tasmania; PA, Parks Australia; var., variable; n/a, not available; sdd, standard fees for individual public visitors. Asset and Risk Management by Parks Agencies 57

under the administration of PA includes guide- risk-management strategies, which generally lines for asset management in its individual include: park-management plans. • formal incident response and reporting All of the agencies use computerized asset procedures; registers or databases, but these differ in • formal or ad hoc risk identification and sophistication and integration. In Western inspection framework; Australia, South Australia, Queensland and • staff-training requirements or opportuni- Victoria, asset-management systems form one ties, in-house or external. module of integrated management databases, which also contain data on other aspects of Parks agencies in the NT, NSW and financial operations. Asset databases for most Victoria rely principally on private legal advice agencies classify assets into fixed and movable in regard to visitor risk, injury and public lia- items, with various subsidiary categories. The bility, whereas the other six agencies rely system in Parks Victoria, for example, recog- principally on the Crown Solicitor. Western nizes over 45 different types of fixed asset. Australia Conservation and Land Management Asset-management systems generally record uses both. All agencies require tour operators location, category, condition and value. The to carry Aus$10 million (approx. US$5 mil- last may be recorded as initial, replacement or lion) public liability insurance, which depreciated value. Parks agencies in Western specifically indemnifies the landholder and Australia, South Australia, Queensland, land manager as well as the tour operators. Victoria and the Commonwealth have recent- This requirement can also be applied to the ly changed from cash-flow to accrual organizers of events such as foot races across accounting systems, which routinely use parkland. depreciated values for assets. This is not nec- In several countries there are statutory essarily the most useful approach for managing limitations on the liability of landowners and maintenance or insurance. Most agencies occupiers for injury to visitors on the land con- therefore also record replacement values, as cerned. The best known of these are national well as the age and condition of some or all legislation in New Zealand and State laws, assets. such as the Colorado Skier Safety Act, in the USA. Several other American States have sim- ilar legislation, covering a range of potentially Risks hazardous recreational activities, such as horse-riding. This approach has not yet been Risk management is an increasingly significant adopted by parks agencies in Australia. There aspect of management for protected areas and have, however, been recent legislative moves other land-management agencies throughout to limit liability on Crown Land in some States. Australia (McDonald, 2001). All Australian In South Australia, a recent amendment to the parks agencies refer to written risk-manage- Crown Lands Act 1929 limits Crown liability ment policies, but these differ considerably on unoccupied Crown Land. In Western between States and Territories. Parks Victoria Australia, the Land Administration Act 1997 refers directly to the Australia/New Zealand aims to remove liability associated with Standard on Risk Management AS/NZS4360, public-access routes over Crown Land. in conjunction with its own policies. Parks ser- vices in Western Australia, NT, South Australia and NSW have their own internal risk-man- Conclusions agement strategies. In Queensland there is a strategy for the entire Queensland Environ- User fees for visitors in parks are not always ment Protection Agency, including the efficient, effective or equitable, but they are Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service; and in widespread and likely to continue and the ACT there is a strategy for the entire ACT increase as recreation in parks continues to government, including Environment ACT. grow far faster than government funding for All of the Australian parks agencies have park management. There are innumerable 58 R. Buckley et al.

different mechanisms and models, and opti- functions. Asset-management systems, which mal fee structures, rates, collection pool the depreciated value of infrastructure mechanisms and allocation depend on the and equipment with operating cash reserves, political, legal, economic and social context do not reflect the state of park resources accu- in which each park management agency oper- rately. ates. Currently, fees are generally used more Parks agencies throughout Australia have to raise revenue than to influence visitors. noted an increase in public-liability claims, Where parks want to restrict visitor numbers though to some degree this may be due to or activities for environmental or social rea- improved incident-reporting systems. Most sons, they generally use non-economic claims are settled out of court, so we cannot mechanisms rather than raise fees, for reasons judge how valid they may or may not have of social equity. While many parks are com- been or how a court might have assessed ing to rely on user fees, these fees generally them. The sums involved are relatively small make up only a small proportion of their total but certainly not negligible. Parks agencies budget, and the costs of collecting the fees are seem to be taking more cautious steps to relatively high. In some cases there may well ensure that they are not exposed to potential be a place for paying to play in parks, but, as liability, e.g. by closing tracks or lookouts a means of funding the primary conservation assessed as potentially risky, and by requiring function of protected areas, user fees are prob- engineering and geotechnical inspections of ably not the most efficient option. new or repaired structures. If these approach- Currently, permit fees for commercial tour es prove inadequate, Australian governments operators in Australian protected areas are may have to consider statutory limitations on low. Essentially, they reflect only the margin- landholder liabilities, as overseas. Note that al administrative costs of processing an this is distinct from statutes that limit operator application. Tour clients generally have to pay liability, which also exist in some jurisdictions. entrance and camping fees in the same way as individual members of the public, but even these are discounted in many cases. Permit Acknowledgements fees do not begin to reflect the cost of increased infrastructure to meet the demands Data were kindly provided by staff of the pro- of commercial tour operators and their clients, tected-area management agencies from each let alone the costs of conservation manage- State and Territory and the Commonwealth. ment for the primary environmental assets. This project was funded in part by Cooperative Parks agencies throughout Australia have Research Centre Tourism. begun to design and implement permit systems that incorporate screening and accreditation References systems, recreational capacities and site quo- tas, environmental performance guarantees Australian and New Zealand Environment and and differential fees for high-impact activities. Conservation Council (ANZECC) (2000) We can anticipate that these will become Benchmarking and Best Practice Program: more widespread, along with specific permit User-Pays Revenue. ANZECC Working Group conditions for specific sites and activities. on National Parks and Protected Area Asset-management systems in Australian Management, Canberra. parks are evolving rapidly. The changeover to Buckley, R.C. (1998) Tools and indicators for man- accrual accounting systems and the introduc- aging tourism in parks. Annals of Tourism tion of the GST have caused significant Research 26, 207–210. Buckley, R.C. (2000) Tourism in the most fragile complications. Because of general underfund- environments. Tourism and Recreation ing by governments, most parks agencies are Research 25, 31–40. running down their assets. Parks cannot oper- Buckley, R.C. (2001) Pay to play in parks: global ate as businesses, because they cannot issues and Australian case study. In: Taylor, L. exclude consumption of their most valuable (ed.) Human Use Management in Mountain assets, namely biodiversity and ecosystem Areas. The Banff Centre, Banff, pp. 99–105. Asset and Risk Management by Parks Agencies 59

Buckley, R.C., Ward, J. and Warnken, W. (2001a) Newsome, D., Moore, S. and Dowling, R. (2002) Tourism and World Heritage in the central Natural Areas Tourism: Ecology, Impacts eastern rainforests of Australia. Tourism and and Management. Channel View, Clevedon, Recreation Research 26, 106–108. UK. Buckley, R.C., Witting, N. and Guest, M. (2001b) Schneider, I.E. and Budruk, M. (1999) Displacement Managing People in Australian Parks, 6 vols. as a response to the federal recreation fee pro- CRC Tourism, Griffith University, Gold Coast. gram. Journal of Park and Recreation Fennell, D. (1999) Ecotourism: an Introduction. Administration 17(3), 76–84. Routledge, London, 314 pp. Stone, M. (2001) Managing visitors in the national Harris, C.C., Driver, B.L., Binkley, C.S. and parks of Victoria. In: Buckley, R.C. (ed.) Mendelsohn, R.O. (1987) Recreation user fees: Abstracts, Nature Tourism and the pros and cons, an economic analysis. Journal Environment. Australian Academy of Science, of Forestry 85(5), 25–40. CRC Tourism and Griffith University, Gold Honey, M. (1999) Ecotourism and Sustainable Coast, p. 13. Development: Who Owns Paradise? Island US Department of Interior and US Department of Press, Washington, DC, 405 pp. Agriculture (USDI and USDA) (2001) Knapman, B. and Stoeckl, N. (1995) Recreation user Recreation Fee Demonstration Program: fees: an Australian empirical investigation. Progress Report to Congress Fiscal Year 2000. Tourism Economics 1, 5–15. USDI and USDA, Washington, DC. Lindberg, K. (2001) Economic impacts of eco- van Sickle, K. and Eagles, P.F. (1998) Budgets, tourism. In: Weaver, D. (ed.) The Encyclo- pricing policies and user fees in Canadian paedia of Ecotourism. CAB International, parks tourism. Tourism Management 19, Wallingford, pp. 363–378. 225–235. Lindberg, K. and Aylward, B. (1999) Price respon- Vogt, C.A. and Williams, D.R. (1999) Support for siveness in the developing country nature wilderness recreation fees: the influence of fee tourism context: review and Costa Rican case purpose and day versus overnight use. Journal study. Journal of Leisure Research 31(3), of Park and Recreation Administration 17(3), 281–299. 85–99. McDonald, J. (2001) Financial liability of park man- Watson, A.E. (1999) Recreation fees and pricing agers for visitor injuries. In: Buckley, R.C. (ed.) issues in the public sector. Journal of Park and Abstracts, Nature Tourism and the Recreation Administration 17(3), 1–20. Environment. Australian Academy of Science, World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) CRC Tourism and Griffith University, Gold (2000) Financing Protected Areas: Guidelines Coast, p. 15. for Protected Area Managers. IUCN, Gland.

8

The Net Economic Benefits of Recreation and Timber Production in Selected New South Wales Native Forests

John Ward Australian School of Environmental Studies, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Abstract

The National Forest Policy Statement recognized that forests provide a multiplicity of jointly produced goods and services. The resulting Regional Forest Agreements (RFA), as a joint Commonwealth and State compliance initiative, attempt to resolve contentious and protracted debate regarding the allocation and conservation of forest resources. Proposed outcomes are designed to ensure conservation of forest diversi- ty in concert with industry resource security. Net economic returns of the two main direct-use economic activities of forestry and tourism in select- ed New South Wales (NSW) native forests for the 1997/98 financial year are compared. The research analysis is based on 11 distinct sites of paired, contiguous or proximate native forests, under the manage- ment of either NSW State Forests or the National Parks and Wildlife Service. The sites are located in the three RFA regions in NSW and provide a geographically dispersed sample of native forests situated on the eastern seaboard of Australia. The logging revenue and management costs derived from selected native forests were calculated from disaggregated raw data supplied by State Forests of NSW. The economic value of recreation at selected national parks was determined by the analysis of on-site survey results, using the travel-cost method. For six of the 11 research sites, recreation confers higher economic benefits than timber production, inclusive of estimated error statistics. For the remaining sites, the magnitude of estimated variance in net economic values precludes the conclusive determination of site differentials. It is of note that there is a negative net value of logging at 12 of 17 state-forest sites. The magnitude of the estimated values for native- forest recreation established by this research challenges the conventional wisdom of the economic primacy of logging compared with alternative non-wood outputs. Modelling based on the research results indicates that the promotion of recreation in native state forests will maximize both the economic values of indi- vidual state forests and, in aggregate, the economic benefits accruing to society. In contrast, the failure to incorporate and account for the substantial value of native-forest recreation into the decision-making process breaches the codified National Forest Policy Statement of maximizing the economic benefits of native forests within an ecologically sustainable framework.

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 61 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 62 J. Ward

Introduction 1992a; Resource Assessment Commission, 1992). The commitment to meet these inter- Native forests provide an extensive suite of national and legislated obligations, in concert goods and services, which contribute an with the political pressure exerted by stake- important source of wealth and well-being. holder groups, has led to the National Forest Historically, timber has been seen as the main Policy Statement (Commonwealth of Australia, economic contribution from native Australian 1992b) and the genesis and ratification of the forests. The environmental and economic Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) in 1995. importance of non-wood, non-market values The process is iterative and still evolving of forests is increasingly subject to more for- (Dargavel, 1998). mal institutional recognition and assessment, The identification and compilation of a potentially informing contemporary forest pol- systemic set of forest values into the RFA pro- icy and management. These values include, cedure have been an important outcome but are not limited to, biodiversity, flood and (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997, 1998). soil-loss mitigation, climate stabilization, The policy changes highlight the institutional maintenance of water catchments, carbon recognition of a broader suite of forest values sequestering and other ecosystem services and than those associated with past forest man- recreational amenities. The scope and extent agement and commissions. As an initiative, the of these values are testimony to the expecta- comprehensive and multilateral approach to tions and dependence society places on data collation, in conjunction with indepen- forests, which, in concert with a depleted for- dent, open and thorough analysis, stands in est estate, have led to a contentious and, at contrast to the reactive, ad hoc and expedient times, hostile conflict between stakeholders rationale associated with the 79 forest- regarding the allocation and conservation of resource inquiries and commissions held since forest resources and services. The conflict has 1940 (Mercer, 1995). However, the limited been protracted and highly polarized and collation of field data and the subsequent esti- extends through all levels of politics. As a mation of the economic values of alternative large proportion of native forests are non-wood forest uses have hampered a more publicly tenured, this conflict has been comprehensive implementation. The primary focused upon the government agencies and rationale of the RFA, negotiated between the departments responsible for their management States and the Commonwealth, has been to (Dargavel, 1998; National Forest Inventory, ratify the conservation of forest ecosystems 1998). and to secure resources for the timber indus- Recent trends have exacerbated the pres- try, without the risk of attenuation based on sures placed on native forests and the environmental grounds. expectations of responsible land-management Many of the values of native forests are agencies. These include increasing levels of intangible and remain largely unpriced (Bowes demand on forest resources, more rigorous and Krutilla, 1989; Adger et al., 1995). They environmental regulations, market constraints, are measured by value-specific parameters agency imperatives of commercial self-suffi- and scales, making direct comparison of value ciency and a change in the hierarchy of measures extremely complex and their inter- societal values. pretation generally ambiguous. The rapid Amid an amalgam of industry, union and increase in demand for non-market forest conservation interests, Australian forest policy resources and the services and experiences has in part been shaped and directed by a associated with them has necessitated the number of international forums, conventions determination of a common metric to enable and treaties (inter alia, WCED, 1987). As a sig- meaningful comparison. Applying the appro- natory, the Australian government has priate econometric methodology to value committed both State and Commonwealth individual forest outputs provides a suitable forest-managing agencies to a number of comparative metric, particularly as the syn- in-principle policies and non-binding compli- thesis and mutual reinforcement of economic ance initiatives (Commonwealth of Australia, instruments and environmental policy are a Forests: Economic Benefits of Recreation and Timber Production 63

central tenet in the RFA process. The recogni- determine the use, extent and allocation of for- tion and eventual economic valuation of all est resources has not eventuated in two key forest outputs and services, the reliance on areas. First, the prerequisites to ensure efficient market mechanisms to determine the extent market allocation have not been satisfied. The and allocation of forest products and the heterogeneous outputs of native forests are preservation of the functional and spatial jointly produced and physically interdepen- integrity of forest ecosystems are integral com- dent and the attributes are often empirically ponents of forest-policy formulation. In indivisible, confounding the accurate mea- articulating these precepts, the National Forest surement of attribute scarcity (Randall, 1978, Policy Statement (Commonwealth of Australia, 1987; Bromley, 1991). The simultaneous pro- 1992b) states that, within a sustainable frame- vision of the multiple benefits conferred by work, forests are to be managed to maximize native forests precludes the determination of the economic benefits to society. relative scarcity described by a single margin- The prevailing institutional convention al-benefit estimate. The consumption of each that forestry values substantially outweigh benefit attributable to forests is described by a those of recreation is not surprising. There is specific demand schedule, indicative of per- a historical precedence and a substantial polit- ceived relative scarcity. The demand schedule ical, industry and agency inertia to conserve and the elasticity of demand are similarly ben- the status quo. While the comparative eco- efit-specific. The total economic value of nomic techniques also have an extensive native forests represents the aggregate of the international pedigree, their institutional partial marginal-benefit estimates and is not recognition and application to measure the simply a function of a scalar and an ‘average’ non-wood economic benefits of Australian partial benefit. The difficulty in imputing a reli- native forests are limited. Non-wood econom- able metric of scarcity for many of the ic benefits are not always translated as attributes of native forests complicates the financial cash flows. This, in concert with the unambiguous partial and hence total determi- financial self-sufficiency imperative imposed nation of economic benefits and costs (Toman, on forest-management agencies, has led to an 1993; MacDonald et al., 1999; Adger and operational impedance and agency reluctance Luttrell, 2000). Secondly, the term ‘forest to adopt management strategies and account- resources’ appears to apply only to wood pro- ing conventions that incorporate the economic duction and excludes other, non-wood, values of non-wood forest outputs. values, particularly recreation. Given these A number of factors have therefore led to failings, the chances of market forces effi- the formulation of this research project: ciently allocating all forest outputs are remote. 3. The failure to rigorously determine recre- 1. The mandatory inclusion of a systemic set ational uses by Australian forestry agencies of forest values in the RFA process is rhetori- reflects their apparent belief that wood pro- cally persuasive; however, there is no protocol duction is the most economically beneficial for their estimation, analysis or comparison.1 utilization of native forests. Evidence suggests 2. The pivotal National Forest Policy that this may not be the case and contrasts Statement recommendation that, within the with appraisals of the US Forest Service government regulatory and appraisal frame- (Bowes and Krutilla, 1989; USDA, 1995; work, commercial market forces will Hanson, 1999) and the public forest estate of

1 The JANIS criteria refer to the nationally agreed criteria for the establishment of a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system for forests in Australia, prepared by the Joint Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC)/Ministerial Council on Forestry, Fisheries and Aquaculture (MCFFA) National Forest Policy Statement Implementation Subcommittee (JANIS) (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997). The Montreal criteria refer to a set of internationally agreed, non- binding criteria and indicators to monitor and assess the sustainable management of boreal forests, originally drafted in 1993. An addendum agreement, consisting of seven criteria and 67 indicators, was ratified by 12 countries in Santiago, Chile, 1995. 64 J. Ward

British Columbia (Eagles, 1999; Eagles et al., Methods 1999; Gallon, 1999). Driml and Common (1995, 1996) and Carlsen (1997) suggest sim- The working hypothesis developed for this ilar results in the wet tropics in north research is that the net economic value of Queensland and northern New South Wales recreation in native forests in NSW is less than (NSW), respectively. In these instances, the that of logging. To test the research hypothe- economic value of forest recreation, both sis, the net economic returns of the two main explicit and implicit, is greater than that of log- direct-use economic activities within selected ging. areas of the NSW native forest estate, namely forestry in state forests and recreation in The aims of this study may be summar- national parks, are estimated and compared ized as follows: for the 1997/98 financial year (Ward, 2000). The logging revenue and management costs 1. To compile data on and determine the net derived from native forests are calculated from economic values of the two main direct uses disaggregated data supplied by State Forests of of representative NSW native forest reserves, New South Wales (SFNSW). The recreational namely timber production and tourism, value of national parks is determined by the respectively. The annual net value is deter- analysis of on-site survey results, using the mined as the gross value minus the relevant travel-cost method. A research site’s net eco- management cost and compared for the peri- nomic benefits are estimated as gross od 1997/98. economic values less infrastructure and man- 2. To establish the sensitivities of revenues, agement costs. The comparative temporal unit costs and net benefits to the relevant scale and is set as an accounting period of one financial management regime for each use in different year and the hectare is employed as the unit forest types, and hence the potential range of for spatial comparisons. net economic returns from each use. Specific econometric techniques measure 3. To establish and model the circumstances specific values and therefore only represent under which both forestry and recreation partial valuations of the total economic value activities may be implemented concurrently in of native forests. The difference in the mea- the same forest reserve and meet the stipula- sured, direct-use values and the total tions of current forest policy. economic value equates to those values asso- In seeking to resolve these issues, a num- ciated with the critical natural capital of native ber of methodologies are deployed and forests. For empirical purposes, the current discussed. The chapter reports the level of natural capital of native forests under public native forest-site concordance, measured as tenure is assumed as non-depreciating and the correlation of forest ecosystems at 11 pairs conserved through legislation, irrespective of of contiguous or proximate national parks and management. Agency compliance with the state forests. A summary of the methodology Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998 employed to estimate the level of recreation- provides a control for the economic values of al demand at 11 national parks and the forests that are not traded in the market-place. determination of net logging revenues at 17 These non-wood, non-use values are not state forests follows. The chapter reports on the included in the estimation of a site’s net eco- determination of decision criteria to account nomic value. As a corollary, the research for variable levels of uncertainty in the eco- estimates of the direct-use value of recreation nomic-value estimates. Finally, modelled and logging constitute only a partial compo- scenarios are presented, based on the ranked nent of the total economic benefits of net economic values of the research sites, environmental commodities from selected enabling state-forest managing agencies to native forests. Bateman et al. (1996) note that meet the criteria stipulated in Commonwealth direct-use values are recognized as exerting and State forest policies. considerable influence on the decision-mak- ing process. Forests: Economic Benefits of Recreation and Timber Production 65

Table 8.1. Proximate state forests and national parks at each research site. National park State forest National park State forest Bald Rock Boorook Nightcap Whian Whian Ben Boyd Yurramie Toonumbar Beaury, Yabbra, Toonumbar Border Ranges Mebbin, Toonumbar Wadbilliga Badja, Wandella Bournda Yurramie Washpool Ewingar, Washpool Deua Dampier, Badja Werrikimbe Mt Boss Mt Warning Mebbin, Wollumbin

Location of the Research Sites correlated (P < 0.05) and treated as having sta- tistically similar forest composition, measured The research analysis is based on 11 distinct by the forest-ecosystem classification index sites of paired, contiguous or proximate native (Ward, 2000). As a corollary, the majority of forests, used principally for logging (state observed variation in site-specific economic forests) and tourism (national parks) respec- value is ascribed to the primary variable of the tively. The sites are located in three of the four dominant forest use, independent of variations RFA regions in NSW and provide a spatially in biogeographical, abiotic or demographic dispersed sample of native forests situated on attributes. The correlation of ecological and the eastern seaboard of Australia. For those biogeographical attributes at each site indi- national parks characterized by several con- cates that the primary management focus of tiguous or proximate state forests, a composite recreation or logging is theoretically transpos- state-forest value is determined, consisting of able between management regimes and the mean value of logging, standardized to constitutes a site-specific appraisal of the eco- account for spatial differences and expressed nomic opportunity cost of each forest output. as dollars per hectare. The economic com- parison for six of the research sites is made between a national park and up to three state The estimation of the economic forests, summarized in Table 8.1. value of recreational demand The correlation of forest ecosystems observed at each research site is deployed as Apart from entrance fees to some national a measure of site concordance. In accord with parks, the use of these parks and the conse- the RFA forest ecosystem research (NSW quent values placed on the recreational NPWS, 1999), ecosystem concordance pro- experience are not transacted in the market- vides a surrogate spatial control of a raft of place and a direct valuation of revenues (as is biogeographical and abiotic variables. The the case with forestry and log royalties) is not attributes are a composite index of variables possible. The travel-cost method assumes that that potentially influence commercial timber the value of forest recreation is more than the management, visitor perception of forest char- entrance fee and individuals’ preferences and acteristics and the subsequent level of evaluations of recreation can be revealed by recreational demand. These variables include: their purchase of goods associated with the mean annual rainfall, slope, soil depth, mean consumption of the environmental asset – in temperature, solar-radiation index, soil fertili- this case national parks located throughout ty, minimum temperature of coldest month, NSW: that is, the value placed on associated topographic wetness index, geological classes, goods (and the transactions that occur in the ruggedness indices, soil-moisture index, topo- market-place) acts as a surrogate or proxy for graphic position, topographic indices and the value of recreation. The goods consumed rainfall in the driest quarter (NSW NPWS, in the production of the recreational experi- 1999). ence include the monetary and time costs of All paired sites, except Washpool travelling to the site, specialized equipment National Park and Ewingar State Forest, are and accommodation. 66 J. Ward

Visitor information is obtained by means tors) are incorporated into the research analy- of a questionnaire to ascertain place of resi- sis, pooled from the on-site completions and dence, demographics, means of travel, the mail-back responses. This represents a frequency of visits, substitute sites, length of response rate of 81.5%. According to results travel and travel costs. A non-compensated of the chi-squared test, there is no statistical demand curve can be described relating visits difference in the methods of questionnaire per capita as a function of travel and visit administration at all sites (P < 0.05). The site- costs. Total recreational value can be estimat- specific sample size and expected error are ed from the demand curve. Total value is reported in Table 8.2. partitioned into on-site and residual compo- Despite a long and extensive pedigree, nents by the imposition of incremental the travel-cost method is characterized by hypothetical entrance fees as a means of sim- methodological and theoretical issues that are ulating increased travel costs. A second yet to be fully resolved and require further demand schedule is estimated which describes refinement and calibration (Bateman, 1993; visits against entrance fees. The welfare Loomis and Walsh, 1997; Ward and Beal, measure equates to the non-priced value 2000). The estimated values are treated by of recreational participation at a national some analysts as ordinal rather than cardinal park. and reflect criticisms that the estimates of The survey instrument is based on a ques- recreational demand remain an artefact of the tionnaire developed by Bennett (1995) for the travel-cost accounting convention employed National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), (Randall, 1994; Common et al., 1999). Several ensuring compatibility of the research data set sensitivity analyses were carried out to miti- and those from previous studies. Reference to gate these criticisms, to ensure that the results questionnaires prepared by Wilman (1980), best reflect extant levels of recreational con- Connolly and Price (1991) and Bateman et al. sumption and to minimize the degree of (1996), as well as respondent reaction to uncertainty in the error parameters (Ward, instrument testing, enabled refinement of the 2000). questions specific to the research. The zonal travel-cost method was deter- A total of 1518 questionnaires were dis- mined as the appropriate travel-cost model. tributed to respondents from 2/10/1997 to The failure to describe a relationship between 14/4/1998. Of these, 845 were self-completed the number of annual visits reported by indi- by respondents on site and 673 were supplied viduals and the distance travelled precludes with postage-paid envelopes. A total of 1201 the individual travel-cost model. Geographical usable questionnaires (representing 4081 visi- information system software was used to mea-

Table 8.2. Survey sample sizes and expected error used in the analysis of 11 NSW national parks, 1997/98. National park Sample Sample visits Confidence interval at 95% confidence level Bald Rock 278 1036 ±3.1% Ben Boyd 139 470 ±4.6% Border Ranges 108 335 ±5.5% Bournda 118 452 ±4.7% Deua 56 163 ±7.8% Mt Warning 317 973 ±3.2% Nightcap 59 234 ±6.5% Toonumbar 20 82 ±11.0% Wadbilliga 29 106 ±9.7% Washpool 55 155 ±8.0% Werrikimbe 22 75 ±11.5%

Note: Sample = number of completed questionnaires at each site; sample visits = total number of visitors reported in completed questionnaires. Forests: Economic Benefits of Recreation and Timber Production 67

sure visitors’ travel distance accurately, and royalty revenues for 17 forest sites used in the weighted according to the population distrib- research. The timber-harvest details for the ution of a postcode. The analysis accounted period 1978/98 represent the economic value for the effects of multiple-site visitors, per- of logging in state forests of the paired sites ceived site substitution, site-specific costs of employed in this research. Observed variation travel time and on-site congestion. In all cases in total annual revenue indicates that, for all the double-log functional form was statistical- sites, the value from a specific year cannot be ly the most appropriate functional form and taken as a representative revenue period best describes the recreational-demand sched- (Ward, 2000). ule. At all sites the variation in the single The main source of revenue for all state independent variable of travel costs signifi- forest sites was from quota log sales (SFNSW, cantly explains the variation in visit rates (all 1998). The relative stability of royalty prices 2 B1 coefficients are significant, P = 0.05; R val- for quota log sales implies that the observed ues range from 0.394 for Washpool National variation in annual revenue is a function of Park to 0.966 for Bald Rock National Park). harvesting volumes, not price fluctuations. The effect of aggregation of visitor’s travel ori- This is hardly surprising considering that the gin into zones of differing sizes was also 20-year period approximates an average for- quantified. Derived consumer surplus values est-cutting cycle (SFNSW, 1995, 1996; are found to be sensitive to zone resolution National Forest Inventory, 1998), inclusive of and to be site-specific. An optimal zone reso- the normal logging oscillations of silvicultural lution of 5 km is employed for the analysis of management. The current management strate- the Ben Boyd, Bournda, Deua, Nightcap, gy allows for years of both intense and Toonumbar, Washpool and Werrikimbe minimal logging activity as a means of dis- National Parks. The 10 km zone is used for persing and mitigating log-harvesting impacts Wadbilliga, the 50 km resolution for the and as a function of the availability of mer- Border Ranges and Mt Warning and the 100 chantable logs. The level of logging is subject km resolution for Bald Rock National Park. to a range of operational guidelines, many of A hypothetical entrance fee schedule which are related to rainfall levels and may be ranging from Aus$0.01 to Aus$500, in incre- simply an outcome of prevailing weather con- ments of Aus$5 to Aus$25, was used to predict ditions. the number of visits at each site, from the trip- The 20-year period in question has generating function specified for each site. The arguably been one of the most volatile in predicted consumer surplus was calculated as Australian forestry history in terms of jurisdic- the definite integral of the on-site demand tional changes in tenure, forest quota equation between the limits of Aus$0.01 and allocations and political and agency changes a cut-off price calculated from the reported in the definition, codification and practice of maximum travel costs from the on-site survey sustainable forestry. The period is epitomized data. Total consumer surplus was calculated by conflict and acrimonious debate in estab- for a proposed site-specific entrance fee that lishing a set of operational principles, predicts the number of visits to equal one. In guidelines and prescriptions to ensure mini- all cases, a polynomial equation best describes mum acceptable standards for harvesting and the predicted number of visits (log-trans- multiple-use forest management at both State formed) as a function of proposed fees. and Commonwealth levels. Year-by-year comparisons can therefore reflect a changing regime of quota allocations, The determination of logging revenues negotiated and enforced deferments and dis- persal strategies superimposed on the The provision of and access to data from the established cutting and rotation cycle for com- SFNSW central database enabled the collation partments and forests. Harvesting levels over and compilation of timber yields, compart- this time horizon can also reflect the evolu- ment harvest volumes and product tion in the hierarchy of agency priorities of stratification and the computation of actual alternative forest uses and services, such as 68 J. Ward

Table 8.3. Consumer surplus (CS) estimated for 11 national parks for 1997/98. National-park CS per visit Total CS Gross value Cost Net value research site (Aus$) (Aus$ million) (Aus$ per ha) (Aus$ per ha) (Aus$ per ha) Bald Rock 15.66 0.782 171 16.10 154.90 Ben Boyd 36.00 1.909 199 20.30 178.70 Border Ranges 33.22 2.751 86 38.80 47.20 Bournda 36.00 1.693 661 20.30 640.70 Deua 58.60 1.663 40 14.20 25.80 Mt Warning 29.00 2.999 1260 38.80 1212.0 Nightcap 10.60 0.648 132 38.80 93.20 Toonumbar 9.65 0.048 8 38.80 –30.80 Wadbilliga 18.15 0.245 6 14.20 –8.20 Washpool 45.40 0.665 13 16.90 –3.90 Werrikimbe 46.00 0.253 9 16.90 –7.90

water catchment, habitat preservation, main- regional pro rata value calibrates for the pre- tenance of riparian-zone integrity, socio- vailing management regime but does not economic effects, soil maintenance, fire man- account for specific site productivity, topo- agement and the preservation of amenity graphical characteristics or variability in forest values. access, infrastructure and haulage distance. In establishing the state-forest logging val- Analysis indicates that, while the pro rata ues, the revenues from forest products are values accurately reflect management pre- consumer price index (CPI)-adjusted. They do scriptions at the regional scale, the averaged not, however, provide an index of prevailing yields do not account for the observable indi- forest-management practices. There is no vidual site variance (Ward, 2000). They are extant prescription to nominate a specific year unable to provide sufficient detail to accu- as being a representative value of the research rately estimate revenues at the individual forest period without calibration to a composite of scale. It is assumed for this analysis that the temporal and spatial factors, such as the dura- estimation of annual revenue is more sensitive tion of the cutting cycle, prevailing operational to the composite of variables that constitute guidelines, localized conditions and the polit- site productivity, measured over an approxi- ical milieu that these values are dependent on. mation of a 20-year cutting cycle, than those To establish a logging value that accounts constituting regional management regimes. for the forestry guidelines and regulations of 1997/98, adjusts for the cutting cycle and allows for site productivity, two methods are Results employed and compared. They are the CPI- adjusted mean 20-year value (1978–1998) and The estimated consumer surplus per visit at the the site’s pro rata value based on the region- 11 national-park sites ranges from Aus$9.65 to al quota allocations and total loggable area for Aus$59 at an imputed cost of travel time the financial period 1997/98. equivalent to 33% of the mean respondent The 20-year CPI-adjusted mean annual wage rate, site-specific travel speeds and revenue is representative of a typical cutting NPWS estimates of annual number of visitors. cycle and accounts for site productivity, The values are consistent with recent despite its non-calibration to the prevailing Australian estimates of native-forest recre- management regime: that is, the model ational demand (Knapman and Stanley, 1993; assumes that regional quota allocation, land Stoeckl, 1994; Bennett, 1995; Driml, 1996; tenure, operational guidelines, deferments and Lockwood and Lindberg, 1996; Gillespie, the overarching forestry legislation are con- 1997). Table 8.3 summarizes the results and stant throughout the 20-year period. The indicates that four national park sites are char- Forests: Economic Benefits of Recreation and Timber Production 69

Table 8.4. The net timber revenues for the 1997/98 financial year of 17 native forests in NSW. Annual revenue Direct costs Net revenue State forest (Aus$ per ha per year) (Aus$ per ha per year) (Aus$ per ha per year) Badja 11.25 15.60 –4.35 Beaury 14.49 16.00 –1.51 Boorook 63.83 16.00 47.83 Dampier 5.13 15.60 –10.47 Eboyd 0.11 17.80 –17.69 Ewingar 16.20 16.00 0.20 Mebbin 74.33 16.00 58.33 Mt Boss 6.88 14.60 –7.72 Nadjee 1.19 17.80 –16.61 Nullica 3.52 17.80 –14.28 Toonumbar 12.56 16.00 –3.44 Wandella 7.79 15.60 –7.81 Washpool 62.38 16.00 46.38 Whian Whian 49.27 16.00 33.27 Wollumbin 9.59 16.00 –6.41 Yabbra 13.14 16.00 –2.86 Yurramie 11.64 17.80 –6.16 acterized by negative net economic values of of variance in the economic values observed recreational consumption, namely Toonum- for this research (Ward, 2000). The research bar, Wadbilliga, Washpool and Werrikimbe. strategy relies on the sensitivity analysis of cal- Costs represent the amortized per-hectare culated values for the range of input variables. value of regional operational and infrastruc- A primary outcome for the research is the ture costs, provided by the regional offices of determination of specified differences, inclu- NPWS responsible for the management of the sive of variance, in the economic value of research sites (Ward, 2000). logging and recreation in biogeographically Logging revenues are derived from disag- paired sites. gregated state-forest data and calculated as the To account for observed variation in the mean CPI-adjusted value determined for economic value of recreation and logging in 1978–1998. The results are presented in Table native forests, intra-site difference is predicat- 8.4. Direct costs represent the amortized per- ed on discrete value sets specific to state-forest hectare value of regional operational and logging revenues and national-park recre- infrastructure costs, provided by the regional ational consumer surpluses. The evaluation offices of state forests responsible for the man- protocol specifies the range of values imput- agement of the research sites (Ward, 2000). ed for logging at specific sites as the minimum Twelve state-forest sites are characterized by and maximum royalty revenues for the period negative net present values of logging. 1978–1998. The variance in the consumer surplus of the recreational use of specific national parks is calculated as a function of Intra-site comparisons of economic the imputed value of travel time (25%, 30%, value 50% and 100% of median respondent wage rates) and the variance in estimated annual vis- Meaningful comparisons of economic value at its (Ward, 2000). The results are presented in each site are contingent on the efficacy of error Fig. 8.1. The intra-site comparisons are made estimates and the accounting convention according to paired sites noted in Table 8.1: employed to incorporate them into the deci- that is, the economic value of Bald Rock sion criteria. There is no theoretical formula National Park is compared with the econom- or protocol currently established, ex ante or ex ic value of Boorook State Forest, Ben Boyd is post, to account for the array of permutations compared with Yurramie and so on. Where a 70 J. Ward

3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 –500 Bald Boorook Ben Boyd Yurramie Bournda Yurramie Mt Wollumbin Nightcap W/Whian Rock NP SF NP SF NP SF Warning SF NP SF NP Analysis value 155 47.8 179 –6.2 640 –6.2 1221 11.8 93 33.3

Site

200

150

100

50

0 Economic value (Aus$ per ha) Economic value (Aus$ per ha)

–50 Border Mebbin Deua Badja T/numbar Yabbra W/billiga Wandella W/pool Ewingar W/ikimbe Mt Boss Ranges SF NP SF NP SF NP SF NP SF NP SF NP Analysis value 47 18 26 –4.4 –30.4 –2.9 –8 –7.8 –4 8 –8 –7.7

Site

Fig. 8.1. The variance in the net economic value of state forest (SF) logging and national park (NP) recreation during 1997/98 at 11 research sites in NSW. The lower bound of NP sites represents the site-specific minimum value of net recreational consumer surplus per hectare; the upper bound repre- sents the site-specific maximum value; the lower bound of SF sites represents the site-specific minimum value of logging per hectare; the upper bound represents the site-specific maximum value. Analysis value is the mean NP net recreational consumer surplus per-hectare value at an imputed 33% of respondent wage rate, and SF is the mean 20-year per-hectare net value of logging. national park is abutted by more than one al demand, is greater than the net present state-forest, the imputed state forest value rep- value of logging in correlated and proximate resents the mean economic value of logging state forests. These national-park sites are Bald per hectare of state forests. Rock, Ben Boyd, Bournda, Mt Warning, Applying these methodological con- Nightcap and Deua. Intra-site equivalence of straints, the ranked net value of recreation at economic value is observed for Nightcap, five of the 11 national parks, estimated over a Border Ranges, Toonumbar, Wadbilliga, range of values specified for the significant Washpool and Werrikimbe. There are no state (P < 0.05) explanatory variables of recreation- forests characterized by positive logging Forests: Economic Benefits of Recreation and Timber Production 71

values greater than the value of recreational non-wood use of recreation in state forests is demand observed at a paired national poorly defined and quantified and the esti- park. mated value of recreational consumption in In view of the research results, a number proximate and paired national parks is of applications and strategies for the optimal employed as a surrogate index of evaluation. use of forests are articulated as possible solu- The established intra-site correlation of bio- tions in fulfilling the National Forest Policy geographical characteristics, which concur- Statement requirement of maximizing the eco- rently influence levels of logging activity and nomic benefits of native forests. recreational participation, indicates a compa- rable spectrum of recreational opportunity at both state-forest and national-park sites A Model to Optimize the Net Benefit (Stankey et al., 1985). Combinations of the of State Forests state-forest economic outputs of logging and recreational participation are modelled to The NSW Forest and National Park Estate Act determine: 1998 and the Commonwealth National Forest 1. As a prerequisite, the minimum levels of Policy Statement 1992 stipulate the economic state-forest logging revenues and recreation to optimization of native forests within an eco- establish a positive net value of state forests logically sustainable framework as a primary (NV ); management objective. Modelled scenarios sf 2. The potential of individual state forests, are presented, based on the ranked net eco- managed under the aegis of a multiple-use nomic values of the research sites, enabling regime, to generate an economic benefit at state forests to meet the criteria of national and least equivalent to those estimated at adjacent State forest policy. As a prescriptive index of national parks (NV ). an optimal economic solution, the highest- np ranked net value (NV) confers the greatest State forests are included in the model benefit to society. With no political con- if: straints, the forest use characterized by the NV < NV and NV > 0 or highest-ranked NV would be the appropriate sf np np NV ≡ NV and NV < 0 pattern of intervention to optimize economic sf np sf benefits. The results do not imply that a native The model inputs for Yurramie State Forest forest managed by State Forests or NPWS and represent estimates for the proximate East analysed in isolation is a net economic cost to Boyd, Nullica and Nadjee State Forests. The society. The computed net values are for log- derived values for the latter are substantially ging and recreation only and do not purport less than those calculated for Yurramie and are to be an estimate of the total economic value excluded from the model. Based on a similar of a native forest. rationale, the modelled estimates for Badja The aim of the model is to reveal possible State Forest substitute for and exclude state-forest management regimes and pre- Dampier State Forest. Ewingar, Mebbin and scriptions, comprising recreational and Washpool State forests are not included in the ≡ logging strategies based on the research model as NVsf NVnp and NVsf > 0, which results, to fulfil the economic-optimization cri- satisfies the optimizing criteria. Whian Whian teria. Currently, there is no quantifiable State Forest is characterized by a substantial standard prescribed in the legislation against and identified existing recreational value and which the extant levels of economic opti- is excluded as a modelled site. mization in native forests can be reconciled or The model is limited by the following calibrated. Therefore, the adequate compen- assumptions and constraints: sation of the opportunity cost of alternative non-wood economic services provided by 1. Logging volumes are not included as a publicly tenured native forests is employed as model variable. The assessment and establish- the minimum benchmark for state-forest eco- ment of current harvesting volumes is assumed nomic outputs. The primary alternative to equate to a sustained, maximized yield cal- 72 J. Ward

ibrated to growth rates and site productivity, Nsf = (LOsf – MICsf) + CSsfV and not subject to change. 2. Annual State Forests and NPWS infrastruc- where: ture and management costs are assumed to be N is the net economic value of a state forest; constant. sf LO is the 1997/98 revenue received by state 3. The management strategy is predicated on sf 3 the principles of multiple-use forestry, the pri- forests in the form of log royalties (Aus$ m ) mary agency charter of State Forests. and estimated as the mean 20-year value 3 4. The number of annual national-park visits (Aus$ m per ha); MIC is the 1997/98 management costs of the is assumed to be constant and independent of sf additional annual visits at an adjoining state specific state forest (Aus$ per ha); CS is the consumer surplus per visit in state forest. sf 5. There is a potential spillover of visitors from forests for 1997/98 (Aus$ per ha); national parks approaching carrying capacity V is the number of annual visits; N is the 1997/98 net value of the adjacent to adjoining state forests. In accord with np Toman (1993), Seidl and Tisdell (1999) pro- national park (Aus$ per ha), pose that carrying capacity is a complex and where: symbiotic construct, responsive to institution- al settings, ecological dynamics, human values Nnp = annual consumer surplus per hectare and norms and prevailing management (CS/V at 33% of the median respondent regimes. Quantifying site-specific ecological wage rate × NPWS 1998 estimate of the carrying capacity, sensitive to the type and number of visits) – NPWS management magnitude of recreational activity, is the focus costs. of ongoing research (Brown et al., 1995; Tisdell, 1997; Buckley, 1999; Seidel and The value of recreational consumption at Tisdell, 1999). The level of recreational par- a specific state forest is estimated assuming ticipation in national parks is potentially three values of consumer surplus. CS10 is the conditioned by the imposition of visitation lim- estimated consumer surplus per visit of recre- its, a corollary of identified breaches in ation at Toonumbar National Park and ecological carrying capacity. employed as a proxy of the economic value 6. State Forests allows a broader range of of current state-forest recreational consump- recreational activities, such as four-wheel dri- tion. CSnp is the consumer surplus value of the ving, mountain-bike riding, horse riding and adjoining national park and CS59 is the con- motor-cycle riding. An increase in the number sumer surplus per visit ($59) of recreational of visits to state forests may occur as a result demand at Deua National Park. Wadbilliga of recruitment from non-national park sites and Deua National Parks are contiguous and that facilitate these ‘harder’ recreational activ- characterized by similar areas and biogeo- ities. graphical attributes, the existence of 7. The receipts from logging royalties are wilderness zones and concordant forest imputed as the mean 20-year value (the cur- ecosystems. In contrast to Deua, recreational rent rate) and the current rate plus an demand at Wadbilliga is valued at $18 con- increment of 30%, 50% and 100%. sumer surplus per visit. Deua is the only national park where four-wheel driving is The number of annual recreational visits authorized. For the purposes of the model, is estimated at a range of incremental addi- CS59 is imputed as an estimate of the value of tions to royalty values, such that the net ‘harder’ recreational activities in native forests. revenue per hectare of the state forest equals Mt Boss, Toonumbar and Wandella are zero or the net revenue of the adjoining associated with national parks characterized national park, whichever is the greater. The by a negative Nnp and modelled such that Nsf model outputs are estimated such that Nsf = = 0. Badja, Beaury, Boorook, Wollumbin, Nnp or 0 if Nnp < 0. Yabbra and Yurramie are modelled such that The model variables are: Nsf = Nnp. Forests: Economic Benefits of Recreation and Timber Production 73

Table 8.5. Calculated ratio of visit numbers at NSW state forests required to optimize economic benefits. Ratio at R = +0% Ratio at R = +30% Ratio at R = +50% Ratio at R = +100%

State forest CS10 CSnp CS59 CS10 CSnp CS59 CS10 CSnp CS59 CS10 CSnp CS59 Badja 1.76 0.30 0.30 1.58 0.27 0.27 1.29 0.22 0.22 0.94 0.16 0.16 Beaury 0.57 0.17 0.10 0.52 0.16 0.09 0.49 0.15 0.08 0.40 0.12 0.07 Boorook 0.94 0.58 0.16 0.76 0.47 0.13 0.65 0.41 0.11 0.35 0.22 0.06 Mt Boss 4.29 0.93 0.73 2.79 0.61 0.47 2.23 0.48 0.38 0.56 0.12 0.09 Toonumbar 0.38 0.11 0.06 0.35 0.11 0.06 0.31 0.09 0.05 0.23 0.07 0.04 Wandella 0.64 0.36 0.11 0.45 0.25 0.08 0.32 0.18 0.05 0.08 0.05 0.01 Wollumbin 2.78 0.96 0.47 2.77 0.96 0.47 2.76 0.95 0.47 2.76 0.95 0.47 Yabbra 1.13 0.34 0.19 1.04 0.31 0.18 0.99 0.30 0.17 0.83 0.25 0.14 Yurramie 1.41 0.39 0.24 1.39 0.39 0.24 1.37 0.38 0.23 1.32 0.37 0.22

Note: R = royalty at nominated % increase on current rates. CS10 is the consumer surplus per visit value of Aus$10. CSnp is the state forest’s consumer surplus per visit derived from the proximate national park. CS59 is the consumer surplus per visit of recreational consumption at Deua National Park, assumed to represent the perceived recreational benefits accruing from four-wheel driving in native forests.

The results for individual state forests are model combinations associated with the num- assessed using the modelling parameters and ber of state-forest annual visits held constant policy constraints of optimized economic ben- (or reduced) to 1997/98 levels. Ratios of efits. The feasibility of a state forest complying greater than 0.2 quantify the increase in the with the policy objectives is determined by the annual state-forest recreational visits required ratio of predicted state-forest visit numbers to satisfy a positive model outcome, in con- compared with observed annual visits at the junction with the modelled increases to proximate national park (called the output royalties and consumer surplus. The model ratio). indicates that, at constant current state-forest

The National Forest Inventory (1998) esti- annual visits and imputing CS10, variable roy- mates that state-wide, total annual levels of alty increases are needed to satisfy the recreation in forests managed by State Forests optimization criteria. The mean royalty approximate 0.2 of the current number of increase to existing levels for the nine state- annual visits to NSW national parks. Initial forest sites is estimated at a factor of 17.95. combinations of modelled increases to royal- Excluding Wollumbin State Forest (defined as ty and consumer surplus per visit resulting in a statistical outlier) reduces the mean royalty an output ratio of less than 0.2 are highlight- increase to a factor of 4.44 for the remaining ed in bold in Table 8.5. Subsequent proposed eight forest sites. royalty increases combined with the same consumer surplus value are not highlighted. The results are presented in Table 8.5. Conclusion The model outcomes indicate that, when recreational demand is imputed at CS59, the The opportunity costs of the management at optimizing criteria of a positive economic ben- each site are the revenues or values forgone efit and national-park equivalence are satisfied as a result of exclusion of a particular forest at five sites with current annual state-forest vis- use. Traditionally, this has been considered as itor numbers and royalty levels. For the the opportunity cost of logging due to a remaining state forests, there exists a suite of change in forest management from a state for- combinations of timber royalty increases and est to a national park. The results from this increments of recreational consumer surplus research challenge that assumption. The cal- that satisfy the model objectives. Output ratios culated net value of logging at 12 of 17 state equal to or less than 0.2 indicate positive forests are negatively signed or are less than 74 J. Ward

the value determined for an adjacent national outcomes indicate that, to satisfy the optimiz- park. The negatively signed values do not con- ing criteria, a recreational demand of the fer an economic benefit and therefore do magnitude of CS59 (representing ‘hard’ recre- not constitute an opportunity cost if logging ational activities) is necessary at five state were to cease. Boorook, Mebbin, Ewingar, forests if current annual visitor numbers and Washpool and Whian Whian state forests royalty levels are held constant. For the would incur a loss of economic benefits if remaining state-forest sites, a combination of there were to be a cessation of logging. The increased consumer surplus per visit, value of logging at those sites is equivalent to increased annual visit numbers and variable or less than the estimated recreational demand increases in royalties are necessary. In the at the proximate, correlated national park. absence of increases to recreational values or The research results also challenge the the number of annual visits, the royalty conventional wisdom of the economic prima- increases must be increased by (up to) two cy of timber production in native forests at the orders of magnitude. In the absence of statis- 11 research sites. Ceteris paribus, the derived tical outliers, existing royalty revenues need to values of recreation confer the greatest eco- be increased by a mean factor of 4.44 to nomic benefits. The pivotal National Forest equate to the economic value of recreation at Policy Statement recommendation that, with- paired national parks. in a government regulatory framework, The selection and implementation of a commercial market forces will be relied on to specific set of model variables are conditioned determine the use, scale and allocation of for- by an amalgam of localized biogeographical, est outputs is similarly challenged by the physical and social factors affecting both research results. The failure to incorporate recreational participation rates and regional adequate price signals regarding the substan- forest-management regimes and strategies. tial economic benefits of recreation, in concert Tension between potential forest uses and the with the lack of a conventional market where regional determination of management transactions may occur, breaches one of the regimes is played out within an institutional primary conditions of efficient markets. The and political milieu that has historically been results of that market failure may include sub- subject to intransigence and bureaucratic iner- optimal royalty prices, overexploitation of tia (Mercer, 1995; Dargavel, 1998). The timber resources and inappropriate rotation successful implementation of increasingly cycles. If multiple-use forestry is not to be con- stringent economic and environmental objec- sidered a pejorative term, associated with the tives is conditioned by institutional settings subordination of non-wood forest outputs, the geared to objectives of single-resource devel- substantive economic value of forest recre- opment and expansion rather than the optimal ation, established by this research, needs to be allocation of a raft of jointly produced forest recognized and incorporated at the policy- outputs. The research results provide cogent making and operational constituencies. reasons for designing and implementing man- Possible strategies for the optimal use of agement regimes and strategies that focus on state forests were simulated as part of this recreational demand and participation in research, with variable inputs of royalty rev- native forests with at least the same degree of enue, total recreational visits and consumer vigour and efficiency of execution as those surplus per visit. In lieu of a cross-jurisdictional ascribed to timber extraction. industry standard, the modelling strategy opti- mized state-forest economic benefits by calibrating state-forest revenues to associated Acknowledgements national-park values of recreational demand. The model indicates that there is no one solu- The chapter is a synopsis of an unpublished tion to optimising state-forest economic PhD thesis entitled ‘The net economic bene- benefits such that values are positive and fits of recreation and timber production in equivalent to paired national parks. The model selected New South Wales native forests’, Forests: Economic Benefits of Recreation and Timber Production 75

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Moving Nearer to Heaven: Growth and Change in the Greater Yellowstone Region, USA

Jerry Johnson,1 Bruce Maxwell2 and Richard Aspinall3 1Department of Political Science; 2Land Resources and Environmental Science; 3Department of Earth Science, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA

Abstract

The recent population growth in the rural counties of the American West promises to surpass the impact of the first western migrations. Much of this growth is associated with tourism and recreation and the desire to live in amenity-rich rural areas such as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Of concern are changes to the social and geographical landscape resulting from rapid settlement of the rural landscape in the region. Scenic vistas are compromised and there may be impacts on ecological processes as increasing numbers of people settle on productive agricultural lands. This chapter characterizes the social and economic changes to the region, and presents research in land-use change detection and prediction aimed at engaging the local citizenry in land-use decisions. In addition to managing the effects of rapid population growth in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, these models may also be applicable in other amenity-rich tourist destin- ations.

Greater Yellowstone and a New the rural countryside of the interior West many Western Reality counties are experiencing a population surge. This new growth promises to surpass the Rural areas in the American West are in the impact of the first western migrations, where midst of a demographic and economic shift 67% of the counties in the Rocky Mountain unlike any in the past. Between 1990 and the axis grew at rates faster than the national aver- recent 2000 census, the West was the age (Beyers and Nelson 2000; US Bureau of fastest-growing region of the USA at 19.7% the Census 1999). The Rocky Mountain states while the national average was 13.2%. During include Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, that period the population of the region grew Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Much of by over 10 million. Most growth occurred in this recent growth is associated with tourism the coastal urban centres of the nation. But in and recreation as visitors return to live in

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 77 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 78 J. Johnson et al.

amenity-rich rural areas such as the Greater the National Park Service and was defined as Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) (Johnson and the range of the Yellowstone grizzly bear by Snepenger, 1992; Johnson, and Rasker, 1995; Craighead (1984). The region comprises the Snepenger et al., 1995, 1998). two national parks (Yellowstone and Grand Historically the source of the nation’s nat- Teton), seven national forests and numerous ural-resource base, the lands west of the 100th other federal and state jurisdictions (Clark et meridian were characterized by low human al., 1991; Fig. 9.1). Of particular interest are population densities and vast tracts of unde- the private lands that are targets of population veloped public and private lands (Stegner, growth and resultant land-use change. 1954; Power, 1996; Johnson and Beale, 1999). The public lands in the region act as eco- Today, the geographical features that provide logical and recreational refuges for the natural resources are powerful attractants to 355,000 residents and 3.5 million yearly visi- those who would live near mountains, rivers, tors to the area. These lands are home to key forests and protected areas (Power, 1996; predator species (grizzly bear and grey wolf), Aspinall, 2000). The increases have been pri- prey species (elk, deer, moose) and a host of marily in mid-size cities like Boise and Coeur birds and smaller mammals, as well as a mosa- D’Alene, Idaho; Bozeman and Missoula, ic of vegetation, including coniferous forests, Montana; and Sheridan and Jackson, arid shrublands and grasslands. Several major Wyoming. Concurrent growth rates are taking river systems originate in the region and ele- place in satellite communities and rural areas vational gradients range from lowland river around these small cities. Of particular con- valleys (< 1800 m above sea level) to the cern are changes to the landscape as a result Grand Teton at over 4165 m. In the GYE over of rapid population growth. Scenic vistas are 40 peaks exceed 3000 m. compromised and there may be impacts on Most of the spectacular vistas and recre- ecological processes as increasing numbers of ational possibilities are found on public land, people settle on productive agricultural lands. while the remaining 20% of the land base is Models that can depict future landscape privately owned. Public land managers are changes and can engage the local citizenry in increasingly consumed with recreation and its land-use decisions are particularly useful for impacts (e.g. off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, managing the effects of rapid population wilderness boundary enforcement). But it is growth. the human settlement on the private lands that is the focus of this chapter. Like many rural areas in the interior West, Study-area Description the social and economic landscape is undergoing rapid change. The traditional The more than 6 million ha that make up the resource-extraction economy is being aug- GYE are but one destination for in-migrants to mented and in many cases overwhelmed by a the Rockies. However, given the high level of new economy based on services, especially international attention as the world’s first tourism, a retirement economy, a declining national park, the GYE is an ideal laboratory agricultural economy and urban refugees flee- for monitoring changes brought on by shifts in ing the crime and social problems of urban rural economies and population growth. The centres. These four social features are inex- region exhibits all of the features inherent in orably linked. Tourism visitation acts as a other rapidly growing areas for similar reasons catalyst for relocation to rural communities and with similar outcomes. In addition, a rich and new business opportunities emerge with history of social and ecological research exists more people, all in an era of declining agri- for the area (Williams and Jobes, 1990; cultural profitability. New residents inevitably Johnson and Snepenger, 1992; Johnson and bring with them a dichotomous mix of values, Rasker, 1995; Snepenger et al., 1995; Johnson talents and ideas, which may differ from those and Maxwell, 1996, 2001; Jobes, 2000). of long-time residents. The GYE was originally adopted as a for- mal management concept as early as 1971 by Growth and Change in the Greater Yellowstone Region, USA 79

Fig. 9.1. Map of Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

A New Socio-economic Reality in and Snepenger, 1992; Beyers and Lindahl, the West 1996; Power, 1996). Mining, oil, gas, timber, farming and ranching activities collectively The economy of the GYE, like much of the accounted for 19% of total personal income West, is diversifying away from a reliance on in the region in 1970; by 1995 they account- resource extraction and agriculture (Johnson ed for 6%. Over 99% of the net growth in 80 J. Johnson et al.

personal income from 1970 to 1995, in real digital pens and CAD/CAM programs. terms, was in industries other than the histor- Exploration for natural resources is now done ical economic base of the region (Rasker and electronically via remote-sensed data and a Hansen, 2000). They include business, laptop computer. Even the most mundane job engineering and health services and account now has some high-technology component to for 26% of net new income growth. Non- it. One result is that those who come from labour income sources of income account for backward-looking schools that seek to pre- another 51% of the growth. Main-street busi- serve the old economy will not be able to nesses today include traditional retail outlets compete for the jobs available in their home but also include tourist services, several town. high-tech firms, software development and Tourism, as an industry, is notoriously dif- financial-service offices. Ubiquitous in the ficult to measure. The standardized industrial area are numerous real-estate brokers and classification (SIC) system used in the USA home-construction firms and the services they does not measure tourism as a discrete indus- require, such as architects, interior-design try. Further, each state and community in the professionals and building-materials suppliers. GYE collects a slightly different tax on tourists Some like to point to the ability of firms or business travel, making comparisons and to move easily from one location to another summations problematic. However, given the as a driving factor behind the character of the large number of out-of-state visitors to the communities of the ‘New West’. This so-called region and the number of businesses associat- ‘footloose’ ability, it is argued, is facilitated by ed with tourism, it is not unrealistic to believe modern telecommunications technology and a that tourism increasingly accounts for a large willingness of owners to move operations to a percentage of employment and investment in lower-cost or a more desirable rural setting. the region. In one study of tourism in the GYE, However, Beyers and Lindahl (1996) find lit- growth rates of tourist revenues approached tle evidence of such widespread migration of 40% during the 1990s (Johnson and firms and, in any case, most are so small (usu- Snepenger, 1992). Tourism activity provides ally one- or two-person operations) as to be indirect economic activity by serving as an unimportant to the community economy. attractant for business creation. In a study con- Rather, a more common scenario is that recent ducted in 1995, four out of ten business arrivals quit old jobs and relocate to small owners surveyed first experienced the GYE as towns to start a small business or simply work a tourist (Snepenger et al., 1995). These ‘trav- for an existing firm. Indeed, small businesses el-stimulated entrepreneurs’ either moved or account for over 50% of employment in the started a business in the region subsequent to West (Shepard, 1993). their tourist experience. One aspect of job growth that is under- Many of the jobs, in the old and new reported is the high level of competitiveness economy, are filled by people simply looking in the small towns of the Greater Yellowstone for work and following the burgeoning job Ecosystem. The level of educational attain- market. They are looking for a place to raise ment in high-amenity communities is their children in safe, clean towns with decent significantly higher for recent arrivals than for schools. However, two demographic niches their old-timer counterparts (Jobes, 2000; are found in the GYE and other high-amenity Leistritz et al., 2000) and, as a result, they regions that create special problems for com- enjoy a competitive advantage in the local job munities. market. The nature of work for even the low- Retirees (and the semi-retired) make up and medium-wage jobs available in rural the largest age cohort of in-migrants to the towns has changed. Jonathan Rauch suggests region. This is partially a function of the eco- there is a new/old economy where technolo- nomic boom of the 1980s–1990s and partially gy has been integrated into even traditional a function of the post-Second World War blue-collar jobs (Rauch, 2001). Architectural ‘baby-boom’ generation, which is now of plans, for example, are no longer drawn with retirement age. Life expectancy is not only pen and paper, but are done routinely with longer for this generation, but they are also Growth and Change in the Greater Yellowstone Region, USA 81

healthier and wealthier. Power (1996) states tion agriculture to rural housing, there is an that the rural communities of the region are abundance of evidence that current landown- desirable locations for retirees and they tend ers, as well as residents of rural communities, to spend more of their income locally. They increasingly value the cultural and scenic demand financial planning, health care, recre- attributes provided by a productive agricultur- ation amenities (e.g. developed ski areas, golf, al landscape (American Farmland Trust, 1998; tennis) and homes – all high-value, labour Johnson and Maxwell, 2000). intensive activities. As a result, he points out, The population of the GYE increased 55% they support almost twice as many jobs in an between 1970 and 1997, a rate of growth economy as others. Unfortunately, probably as exceeding that of 78.2% of counties in the a result of fixed incomes and having less fam- USA. What is attracting these people and busi- ily in the area, retirees tend not to support tax nesses to the region? Two views prevail and bond levies for schools, parks and other (Johnson and Rasker, 1995). The quality-of-life public infrastructure at the same rate as the argument states that choices by would-be res- community as a whole. idents to move to a specific region are a Others moving to the region include function of a mix of amenities acting as pull ‘lifestyle migrants’. Jobes (2000) describes factors. Examples include a move to a small these residents as people who came to the town in part because of the scenic beauty of region hoping to ski, fish or find the ideal rural the area, the low crime rate, a desirable cli- community. Most are gone within 5 years of mate, the recreation opportunity or to be close their arrival. They are young, idealistic and to family and friends. The demand model recreation-orientated. However, they are also asserts that in-migration of population to rural less financially secure than retirees, for exam- areas is a function of wages and employment. ple, and tend not to be as invested in the This model of rural migration suggests that community either socially or economically. increases in the demand for labour will create The high turnover of the lifestyle migrant is migration to the community – jobs first, then problematic for communities who seek to pre- migration. An example of such migration serve some collective memory of the would be to relocate for a higher wage. In fact, community history, such as local-land use both models have explanatory power and both patterns. are probably simultaneously acting to change Finally, one group of residents is on the the social demographic character of the GYE. decline – the agricultural producer. Faced with declining agricultural prices and their chil- dren’s inability or reluctance to remain in The Nature of the Problem agriculture (Stauber et al., 1995), owners of farms and ranches often sell the land to devel- The effects of rapid in-migration to the recre- opers or farm and ranch brokers. In rapidly ation and retirement communities of the GYE growing counties, the potential wealth from are basically twofold. First, development pres- selling to developers serves as a lucrative sure may result in significant impacts on the retirement. Many of the new buyers of rural ecological quality of the area. These include land will not continue the agrarian tradition or threats to habitat (e.g. fragmentation, loss), will shift from intensive agricultural produc- geographical features (e.g. irrigation water tion to a less utilitarian form of land supply and quality, diminished soil quality) management, such as ‘hobby ranching’ or and native species and ecosystem processes owning the land for its recreational potential. (e.g. weed invasion, biodiversity loss, changes In many cases, developers purchase agricul- to natural fire regimes). The conversion of tural land, subdivide it and build ‘ranchette’ native and agricultural lands to residential sub- properties of small acreages and thereby per- divisions or small ranches is of particular manently remove land from agricultural concern because such development will prob- production. While a market-based economic ably never revert to undeveloped land model might suggest that greater efficiencies (Riebsame et al., 1996). Hansen et al. (2000) are attained by moving the land from produc- and Maxwell et al. (2000) document the 82 J. Johnson et al.

ecological changes resulting from rural resi- cost about US$600. The same tract near dential development. The other effect is on the Bozeman may now be priced at over people and where they live. Understanding US$10,000. As a result, not only are service changes to the many communities of the workers faced with housing shortages at the region is a challenge compared with the eco- resort destination, but there is also a lack of logical elements because the rate of change affordable housing for those who work in the makes it very difficult to assess the impacts retail and service sectors in town. Most mea- across the wide variation of sociodemograph- sures of economic well-being are on the ic groups and spatial locations. In addition, decline as fewer workers are able to save for funding for socio-economic research is not the a home and more and more people qualify for priority of foundations and agencies to the subsidized school lunches and welfare pay- same degree as ecological study. ments (http://www.nwafdev.org/). Montana, The notion of rural western communities Wyoming and Idaho rank among the highest is of a close-knit social and economic struc- of the 50 states whose population works mult- ture where employment, social and consumer iple jobs and whose pay is among the lowest functions are carried out in a self-sufficient in the nation. All of these attributes contribute socio-economic system. In the New West and to the rapid turnover of population. the GYE, rural land adjacent to small towns Using voter data from 1970–2000, L. serves primarily as residential rather than Schell (2000, unpublished) has documented social locations (Williams, 1982; Johansen and significant changes in the political (re)align- Fuguitt, 1990), and some have observed that ment of high-growth counties in Montana, recently arrived rural residents are less including those in the GYE. She finds a new attached to the nearby community and have ‘ecoconservative’ voter inhabiting the West. less need of it to meet their social and eco- They exhibit pro-environment values but nomic needs (Brown, 1993). One effect is that express an anti-government culture. The eco- main-street shopping functions move to conservative voter supports legislation for regional shopping centres and small-town clean water and air but opposes the taxes and business districts erode. In the process, the programmes needed to ensure them. The eco- social function of ‘downtown’ is also affected conservative vote is growing at a faster rate in (Snepenger et al., 1998). The community also the high-growth counties of Montana than in loses its sense of place and solidarity (Huang the state as a whole. The effect may be that, and Stewart, 1996). This may be compound- in the long run, there will be less political will ed given the high turnover of new residents, to elect leaders who would preserve the envi- as documented by Jobes (2000). On the other ronmental quality and emergent economy that hand, shopping and entertainment possibilities attracts investment and new residents and sup- are expanded for residents. ports a thriving tourism industry. A major effect of rapid in-migration is the Another part of the social/political inflationary pressure on homes and cost of liv- realignment is the growing conservative ing. Communities that are good places to live, Christian movement in rural areas. Although work and raise a family in are increasingly largely anecdotal, there seems to be a con- unaffordable for many would-be residents. In siderable social movement of fundamentalist several communities in the region, the aver- religious zealots to the many small communi- age cost of a home is over US$1 million (e.g. ties of the region. Much of this behaviour is Jackson, Wyoming, Big Sky and Yellowstone related to the liberal ‘home schooling’ laws Club, Montana). Adjacent to these are service prevalent in the western states. These laws communities requiring long commuter jour- make it very easy for families to teach chil- neys for little pay and high housing costs. This dren at home while disengaging from the pressure, coupled with a limited amount of pri- traditional curriculum of the local education vate land, has resulted in sky-rocketing land system. prices. In 1977, the average cost of a suburb- Others identify a general loss of the sense an acre in Gallatin County, Montana, for of community and place (Jobes, 1988; Carroll example, was US$150. In 1981 that same acre and Lee, 1990; Kemmis, 1990; Brown, 1993). Growth and Change in the Greater Yellowstone Region, USA 83

They point out that, as communities change surrounding countryside and they constitute and adapt to new social values and design pol- the majority of the small amount of private icy to accommodate them, the small town land in the GYE. loses its cultural roots. Patricia Stokowski Agriculture is the dominant use of rural speaks eloquently of the romanticism and real- private lands, with crops ranging from seed ity of the changes created by new population potatoes in eastern Idaho to sugar beets in growth in the West’s small towns: north-west Wyoming; most of the cultivated acreage is devoted to livestock forage. Within Newcomers move to Gilpin County (Colorado) the 20 counties, 57% of the private land is in search of expansive personal freedoms and range, 20% is in crops, 7% is pasture, 6% is to escape urban congestion and big-city forested and 10% is developed (Greater problems, but they complain that development Yellowstone Coalition, 2001). levels and services are inadequate in the Even as they help to define the character county, and desire an economic stability that is of the region, agricultural lands and associat- unlikely to be provided without broader ed open spaces are highly valued even by governmental financing and coordination. those residents who are not involved in agri- Long-standing antagonisms (between culture and do not live in the countryside. At newcomers and old-timers) remain unresolved, present, there is a direct conflict between though few community members lived during efforts to maintain this character and the phe- the times that gave rise to the confrontations nomenon of rural residential development. (Stokowski 1996). The public is of two minds: wanting to pre- Finally, there is a growing concern that serve rural character and yet wanting to own rural in-migration is damaging some of the rural land in small and agriculturally unpro- qualities that attract new arrivals to the region. ductive parcels. Between 1974 and 1997, the The views and open spaces produced by large 20 counties in the GYE lost, on average, 18% tracts of agricultural land are compromised by of farmland – most to rural development. In rural subdivisions and homes on the skylines, the last decade, over half a million hectares lights from rural homes overwhelm night skies have been subdivided into parcels of 80 ha or and favourite recreational spots are over- less in the 20-county area. The real amount of crowded. developed acreage is underestimated because these figures consider only subdivision that is documented by local governments. The rate of Changes to the Lands of the GYE growth is such that in some counties formal and the Rural West record-keeping cannot keep pace.

The land is, in large part, why the communi- ties of the West are experiencing a population Research Efforts to Model Land-use boom. Compared with urban centres, land in Change the Rocky Mountain states is inexpensive, clean, safe, a ready source of recreation oppor- The land is central to the people that inhabit tunity and scenically spectacular. But local the region, and change in land use can read- governments must grapple with uncontrolled ily affect the qualities of the natural ecosystem. growth and loss of agricultural open spaces. We have responded by building an interdisci- Environmental and community planners are plinary team to focus research efforts aimed at concerned about community integrity and the modelling social, economic and ecological ecological impacts discussed earlier and all changes taking place across the rural West and concerns eventually focus on the land. Of par- the GYE. The overall objective is to assess and ticular interest are the pace and likely effects predict the rate, nature and impact of land-use of population growth in the agriculturally fer- change in rural areas and to use the best avail- tile river valleys of the region. They are home able technology to do so. A second objective to the mix of social and ecological amenities is to develop modelling tools that meet the cri- that attract in-migrants to rural towns and the teria of being user-friendly (for community 84 J. Johnson et al.

employees, volunteers, secondary-school stu- land-use change and residential development. dents, etc.), relatively low-cost and applicable The model is able to predict > 90% of rural to rural communities. Finally, they are residential development in the GYE using two designed to be compatible with each other, data layers: distance from roads and distance thereby making multidisciplinary investigation from major regional centres as measured by and policy analysis feasible. travel time. These inputs were also found to be The specific design outcomes for the suite important in a study of growth in five counties of tools are as follows: in the Appalachians between 1950 and 1990 (Wear and Flamm, 1993). Such a simple but • Create awareness of urbanization and effective model demonstrates that straightfor- other significant land-use changes in rural ward prediction and interpretation are possible landscapes. with little investment in time and data. • Bring objective data and analysis to the The Public-input Land-use Prioritization planning process. Model (PILUM) utilizes a recent addition to the • Identify the major factors that influence ARCVIEW suite of geographical information sys- land-use change at multiple scales. tem (GIS) tools – Model Builder. Users can • Determine the socio-economic and eco- weight different landscape attributes to identify logical impacts of land use change. lands for conservation and development using Table 9.1 identifies specific tools and virtually any factor they deem important. Output delineates the scale to which they are most in the form of a land-use map is instantaneous appropriate. and serves the public with immediate feedback The Countywide Land-use Change Model on their choices of priority values. The method (Aspinall 2000) utilizes existing spatial data to works well with focus groups and promotes an assess overall growth and to model large-scale awareness of how human values can be used

Table 9.1. Land-use planning and forecasting tools for the GYE. Tool Scale GIS-based tools Countywide Land-use Change Model Large County/multi-county/ecosystem/ watershed Public-input Land-use Prioritization Model Medium County/small watershed GIS-linked LUC Model Small (approx. 250 km2) Rural community/countryside Rural growth ‘hot spot’ Cost-of-services, Build-out Tool Small to medium Visualization tools Visual Build-out Analysis Small Resident Visual-preference Survey Medium–small Socio-economic tools Community-attitude Survey Medium–small Measuring Change in Rural Communities: Large–small A Workbook for Determining Demographic, Economic and Fiscal Trends Landowner-attitude Survey Medium–small Ecosystem-response tools Wildlife Habitat I D (Gap analysis) Large Biodiversity Hot-spot Detection and Response Medium Terrestrial Ecosystem-integrity Index Small Growth and Change in the Greater Yellowstone Region, USA 85

to influence future land-use policy. The model The workbook Measuring Change in has been used successfully to help rewrite the Rural Communities (Rasker et al., 1998) is a countywide land-use plan in Gallatin County, step-by-step guide designed to help rural res- Montana (Gallatin County, 2001). idents and community leaders gain a better The Land-use/Land-cover Change Predic- understanding of the demographic, economic tion System (LUCCPS) (Maxwell et al., 2000) and fiscal features of their communities. was designed to create a visualization (map) Exercises in the workbook focus on trend of future land use based on historical changes. analysis, using easily accessible federal data to The model is based on the history of past land- determine how the local population, economy use change, natural features, human-made and tax base have changed over the last 25 infrastructure and land-use decisions. Each years. The workbook is intended for non- layer of information is used as an independent experts. Other helpful features include driving variable to calculate the transition suggestions about presenting findings, tracking probabilities for landscapes in private owner- tourism and listings for other resources ship. LUCCPS currently allows up to 30 (Sonoran Institute, 2002). secondary influencing layers. Standard social science research methods The Cost of Services (COS) (S. Mitchel, are used to assess Community Attitudes. 2000, unpublished) build-out tool utilizes These surveys can investigate a well- another ARCVIEW add-in: Smart Places. This defined population for attributes such as com- system inventories all the capital costs and tax munity attachment, economic security, level revenues of subdivision development and then of government services, etc. They can be com- provides for reconfiguration of the mix of bined with workbook exercises and visual homes/commercial property, lot sizes, road surveys. layout, etc. to allow developers and citizens As part of the LUCCPS model, Landowner to design the most cost-effective land-devel- Attitude Survey results indicate that agricul- opment plan. tural landowners operate on a continuum from A Visual Build-out has been designed to profit maximization to value-driven decision- provide for the aesthetic configuration of rural making (Oglethorpe, 1995). The qualitative development where home placement, open- semi-structured interviews explore the range of space conversion or the visual impact of landowner decision-making criteria. The find- development can be assessed and discussed. ings confirm those of Dent et al. (1995), who When combined with the COS model, the describe the management of farm systems as visual and economic impacts of rural land a complex mix of elements contained within development will be integrated into a single two broad categories. The first includes eco- tool. nomic factors, such as profit-maximizing The Resident Visual Preference (RVP) sur- behaviour, commodity prices, relative value of vey is an existing tool in widespread use for land and product mix. The second includes urban planning. Briefly, RVP helps residents to social factors, such as personal values, lifestyle quantify the perceptional responses they may pursuits, family considerations and past expe- hold for an environmental setting or experi- rience. The mix of these elements is included ence by allowing the respondent to take in the LUCCPS model through a land-use photographs that reflect their feelings about a behaviour index used as a dimension in the range of management outcomes. RVP has probability transition matrices. Including the been used as a method of enquiry to investi- behaviour index significantly improves pre- gate feelings of scenic beauty (Daniel and dictions, indicating the vital connection Boster, 1976) and recreational impact (Cherem between social factors and land-use change. and Traweek, 1977), for the management of As a discrete project, the survey is a useful natural resources in a national park (Taylor et depiction of land-management orientations for al., 1995) and for community planning. We those who own large tracts of agricultural land have used it to assess values residents hold for in the region. different types of land use and will integrate Wildlife Habitat Identification (Garrot et those findings into the PILUM. al., 2000) is carried out at a large scale, using 86 J. Johnson et al.

two broad sources of data: national and state turbed by aesthetic changes associated with databases depicting known fish and wildlife residential development. habitat and geographical features. Data sources are primarily federal agency resource inventories for fisheries, birds and wildlife. The Conclusion other source of data is a series of expert inter- views of resource managers and university The 6 million ha that make up the GYE are a researchers. Habitat delineations are placed premier destination for tourists, recreationists on a land-use data layer (Classified Landsat and permanent residents seeking a rural Images) and draped over a Digital Elevation lifestyle. As such, the GYE is an ideal location Model (DEM) at 30 m resolution. The output for the study of amenity-driven in-migration. can be used as a discrete depiction of habitat The region is undergoing significant social, or in conjunction with the PILUM. economic, political and potentially ecological Biodiversity Hot-spot Detection research change as a result of two decades of > 20% has been conducted for the western half of the population growth. Much of the settlement is GYE. Using a combination of fieldwork and a function of the very active tourism and out- modelling, population source and sink loca- door-recreation activity in close proximity to tions have been developed for several bird national parks and forests, large river systems species. ‘Hot spots’ for population source are and spectacular natural beauty. Combined dominated by deciduous forests (aspen, cot- with the many small rural communities scat- tonwood and willow) at low elevation. Private tered throughout the region that offer lands in these areas are also desirable for rural employment and a quality of life not found in residential development and often result in the larger urban centres, the region continues to potentially rich area breeding parasitic birds attract retirees, lifestyle refugees and those that have converted the area into a population looking for a good place to live and raise a sink (Hansen et al., 1999). family. The GYE is only one such case study Finally, a Terrestrial Ecosystem Integrity globally. (EI) Index has been designed to work within Concurrent with the population boom is several land-use change models. The EI is an ongoing transition of land use from tradi- composed of 14 variables for upland and 13 tional natural-resource extraction and variables for valley-bottom areas. They include agricultural operations to a land use based on vegetation, animal and soil measures. EI scores rural subdivisions and loss of agricultural pro- are referenced to those areas, predicted to duction and open space. The results are a change land use over time, allowing for a conflict between efforts to maintain the rural dynamic view of how ecosystem function may agricultural character of the region and want- be affected by rural development (Johnson and ing to own rural land for private home sites Maxwell, 2001). and a fragmentation of ownership into small When coupled with the ability to predict and agriculturally unproductive parcels. The future land use, the methodologies described new pattern of ownership and land manage- above that quantify land-use and ecological ment may have unfortunate ecological effects change in rural communities have application for resident herds of ungulates and for fish- in other amenity-rich locations globally. Data eries, and it certainly compromises the scenic needs are universally available and the vista of the mountains and surrounding pub- field-specific work can be accomplished using lic lands. students or other university researchers. The A variety of tools are in development or land-use prediction systems should be useful have been developed to aid in land-use plan- to land-use planners concerned with main- ning, community collaboration and ecological taining the integrity of rural communities monitoring processes. The tools exist across wherever rapid population growth and its scales and are intended to deliver objective effects are found to be a policy concern. The data and analysis to the planning process, to ability to produce visualization of future create awareness of urbanization and other land-use scenarios is of value to citizens dis- significant land-use changes in rural land- Growth and Change in the Greater Yellowstone Region, USA 87

scapes and to identify the major factors that community and identity among pacific north- influence land-use change. They reside on a western loggers: implications for adapting to GIS platform for ease of visualization and data economic changes. In: Field, A. and Lees, B. management. (eds) Community and Forestry: Continuities in The problems and possibilities related to the Sociology of Natural Resources. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado. tourism and related population growth in the Cherem, G.J. and Traweek, D.E. (1977) Visitor GYE and other amenity-rich areas will persist. employed photography: a tool for interpretive Rapid in-migration will inevitably lead to planning on river environments. In: Proceeding change in the social and economic condition on River Recreation Management and of rural communities. Much of this will be Research. GTR NC-28, USDA Forest Service, beyond the control of local governments or St Paul, Minnesota, pp. 236–244. residents with respect to the rate of growth and Clark, T.W., Amato, E.D., Wittemore, D.G. and its effects. Land-use policy within the GYE, like Harvey, A.H. (1991) Policy and programs for most western states, is a tenuous and politi- ecosystem management in the Greater cally charged process and private property Yellowstone Ecosystem: an analysis. Conservation Biology 5(2), 412–422. rights prevail when it comes to land-use poli- Craighead, J. (1984) The Ecocenter. Audubon cy. However, the erosion of scenic vistas, Society, Casper, Wyoming. overcrowding due to tourists and residents, Daniel, T.C. and Boster, R.S. (1976) Measuring increasing traffic congestion and other Landscape Esthetics: the Scenic Beauty changes to the regional quality of life are pro- Evaluation Method. GENERIC 76, USDA viding incentives for residents and Forest Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. decision-makers to engage in local conversa- Dent, J.B., Edwards-Jones, G. and Mcgregor, M.J. tions about the effects of population growth (1995) Simulation of ecological, social and and land-use change. economic factors in agricultural systems. Agricultural Systems 49, 337–351. Gallatin County (2001) Planning Department. http:// Acknowledgements www.co.gallatin.mt.us/planning Last viewed 5 December 2002. Garrot, B., Carlson, J., Craighead, A., Harmata, P., Thanks to sociologist Patrick Jobes for the title Koons, D., Oechsli, L., Ouren, D., Stackhouse, based on his book Moving Nearer to Heaven: E. and Wilmer, B. (2000) Gallatin County Fish The Illusions and Disillusions of Migrants to and Wildlife Habitat. http://www.montana. Scenic Rural Places (Jobes, 2000). edu/wwwbi/staff/garrott/gallatin/ Greater Yellowstone Coalition (2001) http://www. greateryellowstone.org/lands_private.html References Hansen, A.J., Rotella, J.J., Kraska, M.L. and Brown, D. (1999) Dynamic habitat and population American Farmland Trust (1998) Living on the Edge: analysis: an approach to resolve the biodiver- the Costs and Risks of Scatter Development. sity manager’s dilemma. Ecological Applica- http://farm.fic.niu.edu/cae/scatter/e-loe.htm tions 9, 1459–1476. Aspinall, R. (2000) Baysean Model for Land Use Huang, Y. and Stewart, W.P. (1996) Rural tourism Change in the Greater Yellowstone. Society for development: shifting basis of community sol- Human Ecology, Jackson, Wyoming. idarity. Journal of Travel Research 34(4), 26. Beyers, W.B. and Lindahl, D.P. (1996) Lone eagles Jobes, P.C. (1988) Nominalism, realism and plan- and high fliers in rural producers services. ning in a changing community. International Rural Development Perspectives 11, 2–10. Journal of Environmental Studies 31, 279–290. Beyers, W.B. and Nelson, P.B. (2000) Contemporary Jobes, P. (2000) Moving Nearer to Heaven: the development forces in the nonmetropolitan Illusions and Disillusions of Migrants to Scenic west: new insights from rapidly growing com- Rural Places. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut. munities. Journal of Rural Studies 16, 459–474. Johansen, H.E. and Fuguitt, G.V. (1990) The chang- Brown, R. (1993) Rural community satisfaction and ing rural village. Rural Development attachment in mass consumer society. Rural Perspectives 2(6), 2–6. Sociology 58(3), 387–403. Johnson, J.D. and Maxwell, B.M. (1996) Community Carroll, M.S. and Lee, R.G. (1990) Occupational sustainability through ecosystem management 88 J. Johnson et al.

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Visitor-impact Data in a Land-management Context

Ralf Buckley and Narelle King International Centre for Ecotourism Research, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Abstract

Land managers need to know the impacts of different recreational activities in different environments. Different impacts are critical in different ecosystems. Localized, direct, lasting impacts, which are cheap and easy to measure, such as trampling, have been studied much more than diffuse, indirect, intermittent impacts, which are difficult and expensive to measure, such as water-borne pathogens, noise disturbance to rare fauna or interference with plant-pollination ecology. The latter are more critical for conservation, but relevant research is uncommon and underfunded. The quantitative relationships between the type and intensity of recreational activity and the types and intensity of ecosystem response across a full range of global environments are not known for any type of impact, even pedestrian trampling. Managers must typ- ically rely on summaries of studies of similar impacts in similar environments. For different management issues it may be more useful to review impacts by: (i) type of activity or equipment, e.g. off-road vehicles; (ii) type of impacts, e.g. weeds and pathogens; or (iii) ecosystem components affected, e.g. wildlife or water quality. We have recently reviewed each of these. Different sampling designs are required: (i) to differen- tiate impacts of tourism from other natural or anthropogenic changes; (ii) to track changes in environmental quality or conservation value over time; or (iii) to test impact mechanisms, e.g. possible increased preda- tion by feral cats on small native mammals along little-used recreational hiking trails. Without much better knowledge of impacts, and management tools to minimize them, increasing tourism (including ecotourism) will damage parks in ways that are not predicted or detected until they become irreversible. Such knowl- edge needs both long-term skilled observation by rangers and professionally competent scientific studies by appropriately qualified parks staff or others. If parks are to be used for recreation and tourism as well as conservation, parks services will need funds for this work – from either taxpayers, visitors or commer- cial users.

Management Needs for Impact Data of their ecological impacts and ways to reduce them becomes increasingly important for con- As tourism and recreation in protected areas servation and visitor management. We need continue to increase, an accurate knowledge quantitative information on the effects of par-

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 89 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 90 R. Buckley and N. King

ticular numbers of people engaged in particu- mining or manufacturing may still be highly lar activities with particular equipment in significant ecologically (Buckley, 2000). particular ecosystems at particular seasons Most of the information available on the with particular frequencies under particular impacts of nature tourism is from independent management regimes, on particular environ- scientific studies, largely related to public mental parameters, components and functions recreation in parks and to a lesser extent other (Buckley, 1994). Without such data, managers land tenures. Different countries have empha- cannot predict how more visitors or new activ- sized different issues, reflecting their different ities will affect primary conservation values, or ecosystems and types of recreational use. select visitor- and resource-management tools Globally, some types of impact have received that minimize both degradation of the natural a great deal more research effort than others. environment and intrusion on visitor experi- Easily studied, localized and direct impacts ences. Without such information, land have been studied far more intensively than managers can only respond to visitor impacts impacts which are inconspicuous, diffuse and once they have become obvious; and by then indirect or require long-term studies, complex they may be irreversible either for ecological sampling designs or expensive equipment to reasons, e.g. introduction of a weed or measure (Manning, 1999; Buckley, 2001a; pathogen; economic reasons, if there are insuf- Newsome et al., 2002). ficient funds for rehabilitation; legal reasons, The most-studied indicators are not nec- if land managers have granted rights to tour essarily those which are most critical, either operators or other users; or political reasons, for ecological integrity or for visitor manage- once users have become accustomed to access ment. Additionally, impacts that are highly in a particular area. significant for ecological integrity in one Detailed stress–response–recovery stud- ecosystem may be relatively insignificant in ies, however, are currently available for only another, and vice versa. Worldwide, the very few ecosystems, recreational activities effects of pedestrian trampling on soil and and environmental parameters. In some other ground-cover plants have been studied in far industry sectors, such as mining and manu- more detail than any other impact, presum- facturing, information on impact prediction ably since they are cheap and easy to measure has been built up through large-scale indus- (Cole, 1993; Liddle, 1997). The bulk of this try-funded environmental-impact assessment research has been in North America, and (EIA) and monitoring programmes over sever- the results are indeed useful in advising back- al decades. This is not the case for nature country hikers whether to fan out or hike tourism, for several reasons: (i) EIA and mon- single-file when travelling off track, and itoring in the tourism industry are generally of whether to camp in alpine meadows or low scientific quality (Warnken and Buckley, subalpine forests. The recovery of vegetation 1998, 2000); (ii) most nature tourism and if trampling ceases has also been examined in commercial outdoor recreation operations are some detail, and the results are useful in deter- too small to trigger EIA requirements individ- mining whether it is worth closing a section ually, even though their cumulative economic of track for rehabilitation. Similar research has and environmental significance is large also been carried out in Australian alpine (Buckley, 1998; Buckley and Warnken, 1998); regions over recent years (Scherrer, 2001; (iii) commercial nature-tourism operations Whinam et al., Chapter 15, this volume). often take place at the same time and place In many ecosystems, the most significant as individual public outdoor recreation, and ecological impact of tourism and recreation is their impacts are typically similar in type and not localized trampling but the potential intro- scale and difficult to distinguish (Manning, duction of weeds and pathogens or 1999; Newsome et al., 2002); and (iv) nature disturbance to endangered animal species. For tourism and outdoor recreation commonly example, visitors can introduce new weeds take place in protected areas and other areas (Buckley, 1981; Johnson and Pickering, 2001) of high conservation significance, where much or new water-borne pathogens (Buckley et al., smaller and more subtle impacts than those of 1998; Buckley and Warnken, 2003) into Visitor-impact Data in a Land-management Context 91

catchments or even countries where they were logical models seems not to be generally not previously present; and, if weeds or appreciated by the tourism industry. There are pathogens are able to establish and spread, the perhaps several reasons for this. The first is ecological consequences may be many orders that, compared with other industry sectors, of magnitude more serious than localized veg- which constantly rely on new technologies to etation damage from trampling. locate or extract new resources or invent and For animals, by far the most commonly manufacture new products, the tourism indus- studied indicator of visitor impacts is the try has seen itself as a service sector dealing human approach distance at which birds of only with people. It uses new technologies, various species take flight (e.g. Fitzpatrick and from airline navigation systems to new poly- Bouchez, 1998; Buckley, 2001a). Shore birds mers, infrared telescopes to internet booking and raptors have been studied most intensive- systems, but it does not invent or manufacture ly. Distances flown before re-alighting have them. In general, therefore, the tourism indus- also been recorded for some species. More try has little experience in commissioning or subtle pre-flight behavioural or physiological using scientific research. indicators of stress, however, have been stud- Secondly, the tourism industry has only ied for only a few species. Again, it is easy to recently begun to acknowledge that it pro- walk towards a conspicuous bird in open duces environmental impacts. This may be country, note when it flies away and measure partly because the sector is relatively young, the distance by pacing or with a rangefinder. partly because it focuses more on consump- Measuring heart rates through remote teleme- tion than on production and partly because try, in contrast, requires specialist equipment, many of its impacts are diffuse. Only large- expertise and experimental design, which take scale tourism infrastructure developments, a great deal more time and money (e.g. such as airports and integrated resorts, for McArthur et al., 1982a,b; Holmes et al., 2001). example, are generally subject to formal EIA Similarly, the population-level consequences procedures (Warnken and Buckley, 1998). of alarm disturbances, through, for example, The third likely reason is the much greater effects on individual energy balances, effective complexity of biological than physical sys- reduction of available habitat area or preda- tems, and the fourth is the relative youth of tion of offspring, have been quantified for only the ecological compared with the physical sci- a few species and circumstances. And, again, ences. These reasons are of course common subtler impacts, such as the effects of passing to all industry sectors, not only tourism. We hikers on foraging behaviour or territorial calls can predict concentrations and speciation of by rare and cryptic rainforest birds and small chemical pollutants in a river downstream mammals, remain almost entirely unknown. from a mine tailings discharge or in the sea While detailed data on stress–res- around an ocean outfall with reasonable reli- ponse–recovery relationships for localized ability; because physicists and chemists and direct impacts, such as vegetation trampling or their specialist cousins, such as hydrologists shore-bird alarm flights, are still restricted to a and geomorphologists, have carried out hun- few ecosystems, species and circumstances, at dreds of thousands of scientific experiments least the impact mechanisms are identified and over several centuries to understand how these widely recognized. There are probably many physical systems behave. Even in these cases, other ecological impacts of tourism, however, we may have difficulty in predicting, for exam- which act through more complex indirect ple, dispersion patterns in irregularly shaped mechanisms whose existence may not even be tidal estuaries or speciation of complex identified. Even for pedestrian trampling, how- organometallic ions. Our ability to predict the ever, we have only a tiny proportion of the behaviour of these physical systems, however, data which would be needed to predict the is orders of magnitude more accurate than our impacts of tramping at any intensity in any ability to predict their effects on aquatic ecosystem worldwide (Cole, 1993; Liddle, ecosystems. This is true even at the basic level 1997; Buckley, 2001a). The volume of of acute toxicity to individual species, and far research required to establish predictive eco- more so at the level of chronic sublethal tox- 92 R. Buckley and N. King

icity or secondary effects through interactions There are many other indicators, howev- between species. Ecological systems are far er, which generally cannot be detected by more complicated than physical systems, and human senses alone. Such indicators include, far less research effort has been devoted to for example: the presence and concentrations them for a far shorter period of time. Our abil- of water-borne pathogens or pollutants; noise ity to predict ecological impacts, in any regime; or the population structure of a cryp- industry sector, is far less than our ability to tic animal species. For indicators such as predict physical impacts (Treweek, 1995). This these, the best advice is surely, ‘Hire an ecol- applies for the impacts of tourism in protect- ogist.’ People do not expect a home health ed areas as much as anywhere else. manual to replace a medical doctor’s diag- Protected-area management agencies and nostic skills and equipment: why do they environmental non-government organizations discount the lifetime training it takes to often number scientists among their staff and approach a similar level of understanding for commonly recognize the complexity and sig- ecological systems? nificance of ecological impacts and the One major diagnostic tool for analysing importance of good science in predicting and impacts on any complex system is prior infor- monitoring impacts. Rarely, however, do they mation on the types of impact known to occur have the resources to undertake or commis- and how common they are. This applies for sion relevant research. Over the past decade, the impacts of tourism on natural ecosystems the authors have been asked repeatedly, by as much as for the impacts of pathogens on both community groups and parks agencies, the human body. As with any such informa- to help design programmes to monitor the tion base, for different purposes it may be impacts of tourism on the natural environment. more useful to classify such information either: Not once, however, has the organization con- (i) by the source of impacts; (ii) by the type of cerned acquired or allocated the resources to impact; or (iii) by the system component affect- implement any monitoring plan more ambi- ed. In the medical analogy, for example, these tious than direct human observation, expert or might include: (i) the symptoms of dengue otherwise. fever or dislocation; (ii) the various causes of Indeed, for environmental parameters jaundice or fever; and (iii) the diseases of the where the individual observations can be leg or the liver. made with the naked human eye, and the most For the impacts of tourism and recreation critical aspect of monitoring is a long-term on the natural environment, examples include: series of observations at the same places, over (i) impacts from a specific source, such as hik- many seasons and years, the recollections of ers and helicopters; (ii) impacts of a specific an interested ranger are as reliable a method type or mechanism, such as trampling or as any to determine the impacts of tourism and noise; and (iii) impacts on a specific ecosys- differentiate them from other anthropogenic tem component or function, such as air quality impacts or natural sources of variation. Such or a particular plant or animal species. To indicators might include, for example, the illustrate these approaches, we have reviewed spread of a particular weed species along a international published scientific literature for: walking track; the arrival or disappearance of (i) impacts of off-road vehicles (ORVs); (ii) a particular bird species at a campground; or impacts associated with jarrah dieback dis- the years in which an endangered frog species ease, Phytophthora cinnamomi; (iii) impacts could be heard calling at a particular water- on water quality; and (iv) impacts on wildlife. hole. Each of these requires interest and In each case we have tried to identify: (i) what attention to the issue concerned; accurate is well established; (ii) what is new, little observations and recollections or field notes; studied or less obvious; and (iii) what is miss- and the field-naturalist skills to identify partic- ing. ular plant or animal species. They do not, however, require experimental design, statisti- cal analysis or specialist equipment or instrumentation. Visitor-impact Data in a Land-management Context 93

Impacts of Off-road Vehicles use of vehicles on beaches to wide sandy beaches at low tide during the day; and Recreational ORVs include four-wheel-drive restricting vehicle numbers and warning oper- (4WD) and 6WD cars and coaches, all-terrain ators where exhaust pollution may be vehicles (ATVs), trail and dirt bikes and detrimental to human health (R. Buckley, snowmobiles. ORVs can have adverse 2004, submitted). environmental impacts on soils, vegetation, Several of these impacts, such as deafen- fauna and air (Buckley, 2001a,b; R. Buckley, ing lizards (Brattstrom and Bondello, 1983) 2004, submitted). ORVs compact soil at depth, and crushing crabs (Woolcott and Woolcott, which decreases infiltration rates while caus- 1984), are not yet widely recognized by land ing erosion near the surface and breaking up managers or 4WD tour operators. Perhaps this surface crusts (Eckert et al., 1979; Iverson et is because the relevant scientific studies are al., 1981; Anders and Leatherman, 1987; few in number, even though they were carried Wilson and Seney, 1994). Off-road vehicles out years or decades ago. Perhaps it is because cause a significant reduction in plant cover the impacts are hidden rather than immedi- and diversity, with the most impacts general- ately visible. There would appear to be a range ly experienced within the first few vehicle of potential impacts similar to these. For exam- passes (Webb et al., 1983; Yorks et al., 1997; ple, the study of ORV-induced hearing loss in Kutiel et al., 2000; Milchunas et al., 2000), desert lizards was for an off-road race, where and can spread weeds and pathogens (Wace, noise levels are particularly high (Brattstrom 1977; Lonsdale and Lane, 1994). ORVs affect and Bondello, 1983). What are the behav- fauna through collisions and crushing, noise, ioural impacts of ORV noise at lower levels? displacement away from tracks, disturbance to For example, how do bettongs, potoroos or feeding and social activities and habitat dam- lyre-birds respond to the sound of 4WD age (Vollmer et al., 1976; Brattstrom and vehicles on little-used forest tracks in Bondello, 1983; Dearden and Hall, 1983; Australia? And, if land managers upgrade Woolcott and Woolcott, 1984; Kuller, 1999). 4WD tracks to reduce erosion or restrict the ORVs can have significant impacts on air qual- spread of jarrah dieback fungus (see below), ity and human health (Wilkinson, 1995). does that make the track more of a barrier ORV operators can minimize their envi- to local movements by small terrestrial ronmental impacts by: using lightweight and/or arboreal mammals and/or increase road vehicles; avoiding easily damaged soils, kill (Turton and Goosem, 2001)? And how marshes, wet trails, steep dunes and beaches does track maintenance affect habitat for above the high-tide mark; crossing dunes only weeds, and how do weeds affect wildlife? on ramps or well worn tracks; minimizing All but the simplest questions remain creek crossings and, where necessary, cross- unanswered. ing at existing fords or tracks or where it is possible to drive straight across; washing vehi- cles carefully before use; driving to reduce Impacts through Dieback Disease noise levels; slowing down in areas with wildlife or wildlife warning signs; and watch- Tourism is now a highly significant factor in ing wildlife from a distance (Rickard and the spread of P. cinnamomi (jarrah dieback) in Brown, 1974; Buckley, 2001b). Land man- national parks and forests in several Australian agers can minimize the environmental impacts states, especially in the temperate south (R. of vehicles by: restricting vehicle use to a small Buckley, N. King and T. Zubrinich, 2004, sub- number of heavily used, well-maintained mitted). The broad-scale distribution history of tracks; signposting off-track areas; educating P. cinnamomi remains problematic (Irwin et ORV operators and encouraging them to al., 1995; Podger and Keane, 2000; Wilson et improve their minimal-impact driving skills; al., 2000). At a local scale, susceptibility is leaving road kills on roadsides; diverting ORVs high for vegetation on wet sandy soils, partic- away from critical wildlife habitat and warn- ular plant species and genotypes and ing operators of potential health risks; limiting individual plants stressed by drought, water- 94 R. Buckley and N. King

logging, fire, insects or other pathogens. Elefsiniotis, 1997; Mosisch and Arthington, Symptoms vary, but most heavily infected 2001). Nutrients enter water bodies in sewage plants die within 3 years. Spores can be spread and storm-water runoff; in runoff from golf into previously uninfected areas in soil and courses (Wan et al., 1996; Kunimatsu et al., water on machinery, vehicles, tyres, boots and 1999; Mallin and Wheeler, 2000); through camping equipment. Spores are spread along human waste deposited near streams and lakes roads, tracks and trails by vehicles and pedes- (Crabill et al., 1999); and through soil erosion trians, and off-track by ORVs, mountain bikes, (Robertson and Colletti, 1994). Storm-water horses, hikers, waterflow and mycelial trans- runoff, municipal wastewater discharges, mission between plants (Podger and Keane, resorts and recreational boats can also contain 2000; Shearer and Smith, 2000; R. Buckley, biotoxic substances, ranging from industrial N. King and T. Zubrinich, 2004, submitted). solvents, cleaning compounds and pesticides Chemical controls are ineffective and too to antifouling agents, personal insect repellents expensive for broad-acre use. On flat dry and sunscreen residues. Recreational boating, ground, plant-to-plant transmission can some- soil erosion and nutrient-rich discharges times be halted by clearing a broad bare can increase turbidity (Hilton and Phillips, barrier zone. Generally, however, once the 1982). Microbiota enter water bodies in pathogen has entered a catchment with sus- sewage, disposal of human waste and poten- ceptible soil and vegetation conditions, tially through water sports (Anderson et al., controls are largely ineffective (Cahill, 1999; 1998; Cilimburg et al., 2000; Mallin and Podger and Keane, 2000). The only effective Wheeler, 2000). control is mapping of infected areas and strict All but the crudest water-quality para- quarantine of uninfected areas. This may meters are expensive to monitor. To require restrictions on access, wash-down and distinguish visitor impacts on concentrations other hygiene measures for vehicles, footwear of the intestinal bacteria Escherichia coli in a and equipment; or a combination of these and rainforest stream, for example, and differenti- other measures (R. Buckley, N. King and T. ate them statistically from natural seasonal and Zubrinich, 2004, submitted). rainfall-related variations required several Dieback is more significant as a protect- thousand individual water samples and ed-area management issue in Australia than laboratory analyses over a 3-year period overseas, and more significant in states such (Warnken, 1996). Even a basic presence– as Western Australian and Tasmania than in absence screening for the water-borne patho- the Northern Territory or Queensland. genic protozoa Giardia and Cryptosporidium Different states have taken different manage- in remote protected areas required the devel- ment approaches, but their effectiveness is opment of new sampling technologies and largely untested. research-standard microbiological laboratories (Buckley and Warnken, 2003). Testing the tox- icity of specific pollutants, such as personal Impacts on Water Quality insect repellents, in confined aquatic ecosys- tems would require even more complex Tourism can cause impacts on water bodies approaches. through increases in litter, fuels and oils, nutri- ents, toxins, turbidity and microbiota (King and Mace, 1974; Dickman and Dorais, 1977; R. Impacts on Wildlife Buckley, 2004, submitted). Any and all of these can endanger aquatic biota and ecosys- Recreational hunting, fishing (including catch- tems and reduce the appeal of water bodies and-release) and collection of animals for for tourists. Tourists can drop litter on land or souvenirs and artefacts (including medicines) into water bodies. Fuel and oils enter water all kill individual animals and disturb others. bodies from boat engines at all scales from jet- Whether this affects populations depends on skis to cruise liners and also from runoff population size, the various external and inter- through storm-water drains (Nedohin and nal factors affecting survival and reproduction, Visitor-impact Data in a Land-management Context 95

how the population is managed and which but are rarely quantified. And no doubt there animals are killed. Non-consumptive wildlife are many other impact mechanisms as yet watching can also affect individuals and pop- unrecognized. ulations if infrastructure or human disturbance The impacts of tourism and recreation on affect feeding, breeding, predation or disease, wildlife are difficult to determine, for a num- either directly or indirectly (Anderson and ber of reasons. Keith, 1980; Ferguson and Keith, 1982; 1. Many animal species, particularly those Gotmark and Ahlund, 1984; Ahlund and that are rare or endangered, may be difficult Gotmark, 1989; Goodrich and Berger, 1994; to observe because they are shy, cryptic or few Liddle, 1997; Anderson, 1998; Shepherd and in number. Boates, 1999; Au and Green, 2000; Green and 2. Even where individual animals are easy to Higginbottom, 2000). Approach distances for observe on occasions, behavioural or physio- flight, alert behaviours, heart-rate increases, logical responses to human disturbance may etc. have been quantified for a selection of be difficult to detect and quantify without spe- species (McArthur et al., 1982a,b; Knight, cialist equipment and expertise. 1984; Au and Green, 2000), but population- 3. Even where immediate physiological or scale impacts remain unknown for most behavioural responses are easy to detect, the watchable wildlife, except for heavily man- long-term effects on individual fitness and aged populations (Robert and Ralph, 1975; population size and structure may be difficult Belanger and Bedard, 1989; Green and to determine. Higginbottom, 2000). Wildlife may also be 4. Where population size and structure fluc- affected by other forms of tourism infrastruc- tuate markedly through natural causes, the ture, development and activity in or near their effects of human disturbance are particularly habitat areas, even where the wildlife them- difficult to differentiate. selves are not part of the tourism activity or 5. Particularly for low levels of tourist activi- attraction. Common impact mechanisms ty, the disturbances caused by researchers may include: habitat destruction or modification; be similar to those caused by visitors. direct mortality of individuals through road 6. Individual animals may adapt their behav- kill, crushing of burrows, etc.; barriers to iour in response to repeated disturbance either movement at large or small scales; direct dis- by tourists or researchers, whether through turbance through noise, sight or smell; habituation or increased avoidance. health-related effects through contamination 7. To determine the impacts of tourism and of soil, plants, water or air; effects on inter- recreation with any confidence requires a set species interactions through introduction of of undisturbed control populations, as well as feral predators or competing herbivores or a set of populations with visitor disturbance; through changes to habitat or food supply that and the dynamics of all these populations prior favour introduced species; introduction of to disturbance needs to be known. This is rare. stress-related increases in disease; and a wide range of more complex and indirect effects As a result, the pioneering work of McArthur (Shepherd and Boates, 1999; Turton and et al. (1982a,b), who used remote telemetry to Goosem, 2001). Even for relatively simple monitor heart rate for bighorn sheep in mechanisms, such as barriers caused by roads Yellowstone National Park, and Bernard or fences, impacts depend on how different Stonehouse and his colleagues, who used species respond and are not always easily pre- dummy eggs to monitor the physiological dictable. More complex mechanisms, such as responses of nesting penguins to disturbance changes to energy balances through increased by tourists (Giese and Riddle, 1999; Holmes territorial interactions, noise impacts on bird- et al., 2001), are very much the exception song displays, synergistic impacts of rather than the rule in studies of tourist dis- temperature changes and introduced species turbance to wildlife. Similarly, the effects of on endangered native fish, or cascaded preda- tourist tracks and traffic on small terrestrial and tor–prey interactions where one species arboreal mammals have as yet been examined obtains a new food supply, may be recognized in only a few ecosystems. 96 R. Buckley and N. King

There are many other instances where a assess their potential significance. Rarely, potential impact mechanism has been identi- however, can results for one plant or animal fied, but its significance has not been species, community or ecosystem be applied quantified. For example, snow grooming and directly for another (Dearden and Hall, 1983; over-snow vehicles may affect small mammals Higham, 1998). Even for the simplest and most in the Australian alps by crushing their bur- direct impacts, such as pedestrian trampling of rows under the snow and forcing them to ground-cover plants or visual disturbance of spend more time on the surface, where they shoreline birds, where the same mechanisms are vulnerable to predation (Green, 2000). In apply in many different environments, the forest ecosystems such as those of eastern responses of different individual species and Australia, even little-used back-country tracks their significance for ecological integrity differ may provide a significant advantage for feral widely. And, for impacts which are more com- cats and foxes stalking small native mammals; plex, indirect and potentially more significant but this has not yet been tested experimental- ecologically, the impact mechanism itself may ly. Similarly, aggressive bird species seem to be specific to a particular species or ecosys- be particularly numerous and bold at many tem. If we are to manage the impacts of campsites, lookouts and other visitor attrac- tourism and recreation in our protected areas tions, presumably because food stolen from or and other land of high conservation value, we provided by visitors provides a significant sup- shall need a great deal more local and high- plement to their food supply. Since these quality ecological research in addition to species also prey on the eggs and nestlings of international reviews. other birds, it has been suggested that this may indirectly decrease the populations of smaller birds, including rarer species, around areas References visited by tourists. And, in at least one park on Australia’s central eastern coastline, park man- Ahlund, M. and Gotmark, F. (1989) Gull predation agers have had to construct fences to divert on eider ducklings, Somateria mollissima: off-road vehicles on beaches around nesting effects of human disturbance. Biological colonies of an endangered tern species. But Conservation 48, 115–127. they still pass close by, and it seems likely that Anders, F.J. and Leatherman, S.P. (1987) the disturbance increases predation on tern Disturbance of beach sediment by off-road eggs and chicks by silver gulls. vehicles. Environmental Geology and Water Sciences 93, 183–189. Anderson, D.W. and Keith, J.O. (1980) The human Conclusions influence on seabird nesting success: con- servation implications. Biological Conser- vation 18, 65–80. The more direct and obvious impacts of Anderson, I. (1998) With people come plagues: tourism and recreation on the natural envi- tourists and scientists could be bringing ronment are widely recognized, and often deadly diseases to Antarctica’s wildlife. mentioned in park management plans. Even New Scientist 159, 4. for the most straightforward and heavily stud- Anderson, M.A., Stewart, M.H., Yates, M.V. and ied types of impacts, however, quantitative Gerba, C.P. (1998) Modelling the impact of stress–response–recovery relationships are body-contact recreation on pathogen con- known for only a few ecosytems. More com- centrations in a source drinking water plex and less obvious impacts, particularly reservoir. Water Research 32, 3293–3306. Au, W.W.L. and Green, M. (2000) Acoustic inter- those which are indirect, diffuse or difficult to action of humpback whales and measure, have typically been identified in only whale-watching boats. Marine a few isolated instances and analysed for even Environmental Research 49, 469–481. fewer. Reviews of published literature, such as Belanger, L. and Bedard, J. (1989) Responses of stag- those presented here, can help protected area ing greater snow geese to human managers to identify potential sources and disturbance. Journal of Wildlife mechanisms of impacts and, in some cases, to Management 53, 713–719. Visitor-impact Data in a Land-management Context 97

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Science, CRC Tourism and Griffith Webb, R.H., Wilshire, H.G. and Henry, M.A. (1983) University, Gold Coast, p. 28. Natural recovery of soils and vegetation fol- Vollmer, A.T., Maza, B.G., Medica, P.A., Turner, lowing human disturbance. In: Webb, R.H. F.B. and Bamberg, S.A. (1976) The impact and Wilshire, H.G. (eds) Environmental of off-road vehicles on a desert ecosystem. Effects of Off-road Vehicles: Impacts and Environmental Management 1, 115–129. Management in Arid Regions. Springer, New Wace, N. (1977) Assessment of dispersal of plant York, pp. 279–302. species – the car-borne flora in Canberra. Wilkinson, T. (1995) Snowed under. National Parks Proceedings of the Ecological Society of 69, 32–36. Australia 10, 167–186. Wilson, B.A., Aberton, J.A. and Cahill, D.M. (2000) Wan, H.B., Wong, M.K. and Mok, C.Y. (1996) Relationships between site factors and dis- Pesticides in golf course waters associated tribution of Phytophthora cinnamomi in the with golf course runoff. Bulletin of Eastern Otway Ranges, Victoria. Australian Environmental Contamination and Journal of Botany 48, 247–260. Toxicology 56, 205–209. Wilson, J.P. and Seney, J.P. (1994) Erosional impact Warnken, J. and Buckley, R.C. (1998) Scientific of hikers, horses, motorcycles and off-road quality of tourism EIA. Journal of Applied bicycles on mountain trails in Montana. Ecology 35, 1–8. Research and Development 14, 77–88. Warnken, J. and Buckley, R.C. (2000) Monitoring Woolcott, T.G. and Woolcott, D.L. (1984) Impact diffuse impacts: Australian tourist develop- of off-road vehicles on microinvertebrates ment. Journal of Environmental Manage- of a mid-Atlantic beach. Biological ment 25, 453–461. Conservation 29, 217–240. Warnken, W. (1996) Threshold detection of eco- Yorks, T.P., West, N.E., Mueller, R.J. and Warren, tourism impacts: microbiological and S.D. (1997) Toleration of traffic by vege- chemical indicators of recreational effects tation: life form conclusions and sum- on water quality in a subtropical rainforest mary extracts from a comprehensive data conservation reserve. PhD thesis, Griffith base. Environmental Management 21, University, Gold Coast. 121–131.

11

Small Recreational and Tourist Vessels in Inshore Coastal Areas: a Characterization of Types of Impacts

Jan Warnken and Troy Byrnes School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Abstract

In most parts of the world, recreational boating activities are confined to sheltered near-shore coastal waters. Increased per capita leisure time and rising disposable incomes have kept growth rates of boat registrations at levels of 4% annually in most developed countries, including Australia. In many areas, this has led to increasing levels of congestion at popular anchor sites and launch facilities and to greater chances of pro- ducing significant impacts. This chapter examines two principal types of impacts associated with small recreational and tourist vessels and highlights current management strategies to mitigate adverse effects on the environment. Where possible, technical information and simplified models, rather than quantitative field data, were used to provide some estimates about pollution loads that can be emitted at crowded mooring sites.

Introduction ries of the USA alone have 12,740,000 regis- tered boats, generating an estimated US$25 An increase in human population concentrat- billion in retail expenditures (Beckett, 2001). ed in coastal areas and, for most parts of the The predominant reason for using boats developed world, increased per capita leisure for recreational or tourism purpose is to enjoy time as a result of our post-fordic society, parts of the natural environment. This includes together with higher disposable incomes, have anything from wave jumping on personal resulted in a continuous growth of registrations water crafts (PWCs) (or jet-skis), to of recreational boats and other pleasure craft. whale-watching, fishing and dive trips. By Over the last two decades, growth-rate esti- their very nature, however, these pleasure craft mates have averaged 4% in the USA and cause disturbances to the environments in Queensland, Australia; 2% in New Zealand which they are used. Many of the disturbances and 11% in France in 1999. According to US produced by a single recreational vessel or Coast Guard figures, the 50 states and territo- pleasure craft are so small or infrequent that

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 101 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 102 J. Warnken and T. Byrnes

they are considered to be negligible or well Tributyltin within the range of natural events. Yet, where boats, particularly larger boats that provide Tributyltin (TBT) compounds have been the sleeping facilities, aggregate in larger numbers, most effective but most toxic agents in these disturbances accumulate and are likely to antifouling coatings (Goldberg, 1986). Modern cause impacts. Such impacts can arise from copolymer paints have a high initial leach rate almost every aspect of boat use, leading to an of TBT, which reaches a standard and constant equally wide range of impact types. This value of approximately 4 µg TBT per cm2 per potential has long been recognized for com- day within days. The half-life of TBT in sea mercial vessels. Accordingly, international, water is around 6 h (Batley, 1996); however, national and state organizations have respond- it rapidly partitions to suspended sediments or ed by promulgating regulatory frameworks, to the surface microlayer. In sediments, half- such as the Australian and New Zealand lives are estimated to range from 3.5 to 15 Environment Conservation Council (ANZECC) days (Seligman et al., 1986; Hinga et al., 1987) Maritime Accidents and Pollution Strategy and, in laboratory experiments, from 330 days (MARPOL) and, at the state level, the Transport to several years for surficial and anaerobic lay- Operation (Marine Pollution) Act 1995 (Qld), ers, respectively (Dowson et al., 1994). The for example. toxicity of TBT is almost universal, thereby Although smaller recreational vessels are affecting a range of aquatic biota, including often, though not always, included in these fish, macroalgae, molluscs and crustaceans frameworks, their contribution to marine pol- and invertebrate communities of sea-grass lution and impacts on coastal environments is beds (Evans et al., 1995; Raffaelli and less well understood. This chapter examines Hawkins, 1997). two of the major types of impacts associated The most pronounced effects of TBT, i.e. with recreational-boat usage and tries to illus- causing imposex, have been documented for trate the variability in the data published so the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, and the far, in Australia as well as in other parts of the dog-whelk, Nucella lapillus, at sites close to world. Searches for quantitative data pub- marinas in France, Europe, Japan and the USA lished in peer-refereed journals or technical (Evans et al., 1995; Stur-Lauridsen and Dahl, reports focused on antifouling agents and 1995; Dahl and Blanck, 1996; Ten Hallers- sewage-related impacts. Tjabbes, 1997). Regulatory authorities reacted accordingly and banned the use of TBT-based antifouling paints for all vessels less than 25 Antifouling m in length, first in France (1982), then in the UK (1987), in the USA (1988) and soon after To date, the most concerning impacts arising in Canada, Japan, the European Union and in from recreational vessels have been associat- most states of Australia. Existing TBT deposits ed with the use of antifouling paints. Most in sediments have been estimated to have a hulls of recreational vessels that remain in the half-life of approximately 2.5 years (de Mora water when not in use need to be covered with et al., 1995). Therefore, TBT-related impacts a layer toxic to marine organisms that colo- from recreational vessels, most of which are nize submerged hard substrates. The biggest smaller than 25 m, should phase out over the problem with antifouling agents, however, is next decade and are not discussed in further their toxicity towards non-target organisms. detail. Wherever large numbers of such antifouled hulls are exposed to a confined water body over an extended period of time, they cause Copper significant effects on surrounding biota. Toxic components leach from these antifouling Some of the oldest ingredients of metal-based paints and accumulate in surrounding waters antifouling coatings are lead and, more recent- and sediments or filter-feeding organisms. ly, copper (see discussions in Keen, 1991). Originally applied as metal sheets, copper is Small Recreational and Tourist Vessels in Inshore Coastal Areas 103

nowadays incorporated into ablative matrix or (Hall and Anderson, 1999). Yet, as indicated self-polishing copolymer paints that require earlier, concentrations of dissolved copper in replacement after 36 months (ablative matrix marinas often exceed this threshold value by paints, etc.) or 5–7 years (TBT copolymers) a factor of two to eight. (Nichols, 1988; Keen, 1991; Powell, 1995; Hunter, 1997). Copper-based antifouling Other antifouling compounds paints are now widely used for recreational vessels not permanently moored on hard- A variety of organic booster compounds have stands or trailers, particularly since the ban of been developed to improve the antifouling TBT. Estimates for actual leach rates of copper capacity of respective coatings and to replace from submerged surfaces covered with mod- TBT. These include algicides, such as Irgarol ern antifouling paints range from 1.1–1.5 µg 1051, general herbicides, such as Diuron, a per cm2 per day (Foerster et al., 1999) to major urea herbicide, and broad-spectrum 18.6–21.6 µg per cm2 per day (Thomas et al., biocides like Kathon 5287. Other biocides 2000) and 25–40 µg per cm2 per day using include Chlorothalonil, Dichlofluanid, Thiram standard methods adopted by the American and Ziram, and Maneb and Zineb (Voulvoulis Society of Testing Materials (ASTM). et al., 1999). The current lack of validated ana- Accordingly, release rates of copper from lytical methods, limited monitoring data and antifouling paints have been set at 40 µg per very little information about environmental cm2 per day (Canada) or are considered to be half-lives prevent accurate risk assessments of set at that level (UK, USA, Australia) (see the impacts associated with the use of these Champ, 2000). compounds in antifouling paints for recre- Copper concentrations measured in envi- ational vessels. ronments utilized by recreational vessels have ranged from 20 µg per l in British estuarine waters (Matthiessen et al., 1999) and 10–40 Sewage µg per l in two small marinas in the USA (Foerster et al., 1999) to 79 mg per kg wet Boats with on-board facilities, such as toilets weight in marina sediments on the Gold Coast and kitchen or bathroom sinks, produce (AEC, 1988). This compares with 150 µg per sewage and greywater. Apart from a few plas- l in untreated domestic sewage (Dojlido and tic items occasionally flushed down toilets (for Best, 1993) and approximately 1.5–4.5 µg per example, plastic wrappings of sanitary items), l of total copper in treated effluent (Donat et all constituents of boat raw sewage are readi- al., 1994; Hall and Anderson, 1999). The actu- ly biodegradable. The major constituents of al effects of copper, however, are more concern in untreated or raw sewage from use difficult to determine. In low concentrations, of toilets and sinks are nitrogen (N), phospho- copper ions are taken up by a large number rus (P), faecal bacteria, protozoa and viruses – of organisms as micronutrients. Many marine all at levels that can be several orders of mag- species are also known to develop communi- nitude higher than those of ocean and ty-induced tolerance to chronic copper estuarine waters (e.g. Koot, 1974). They have exposure (Gustavson et al., 1999). As a result, no direct toxic effect and short half-lives in values causing acute toxicity in marine organ- most environments. Despite attempts to regu- isms vary from as low as 1.2 µg per l for some late the release of such boat-sourced sewage bivalves (e.g. Villorita cyprinoides cochi) to as in some areas, most sewage from boats is still high as 346,700 µg per l for mud crabs, Scylla released with little or no prior treatment (e.g. serrata, which can withstand even these lev- no enforcement of sewage provisions under els, sometimes without signs of any acute the Transport Operation (Marine Pollution) Act toxicity (Hall and Anderson, 1999). Based on 1995 (Qld)). Given the range of chemical and a major review of all known copper-related biological agents emitted with raw sewage, toxic effects, a dissolved-copper acute toxici- sewage released from boats has the potential ty 5th percentile value of 5.6 µg per l has been to affect not only environmental health but recommended for all marine waters in Europe human health as well. 104 J. Warnken and T. Byrnes

Pathogens and Indicator Bacteria P and N are readily taken up by many marine organisms. Therefore, only larger quantities of Under normal circumstances, human recre- sewage emitted continuously or over pro- ational activities in coastal environments longed periods are likely to cause shifts in and include no more than a few hours of direct consequently impacts on marine plant and contact with coastal waters. Such limited peri- animal communities. Sewage-related impacts ods are usually too short to result in acute from boating activities are therefore expected effects from exposure to toxins such as heavy to be cumulative, i.e. in conjunction with metals or other organic compounds. In theo- land-based activities or in areas where boat- ry, though, a single pathogen ingested sourced nutrients are not readily dispersed. In accidentally can trigger a major infection, and other terms, the release of boat wastes is con- it is well known that many human diseases of sidered a problem primarily in enclosed inland the gastrointestinal tract are transmitted waters and semi-enclosed coastal waters through water contaminated by faecal mater- where flushing is minimal. ial. For coastal waters, excess N is believed Although there has been general agree- to be the main factor that can cause signifi- ment for some time that boats contribute to cant changes to communities depending on faecal contamination of water (Faust, 1982), low nutrient levels (Day et al., 1989). Typical demonstrating the exact magnitude and effect examples of these types of communities are of such contamination proved to be less coral reefs and sea-grass beds (Udy, 1997; Udy straightforward. The presence and extent of and Dennison, 1999), both of which are pre- faecal pollution, as determined by indicator sent in many protected areas along Australia’s bacteria, have become an important factor in coastline. In the extreme, sea-grass beds can assessing the quality of a body of water and be replaced by algal assemblages (Walker et the best correlations between high boat num- al., 1999); therefore, levels of exogenous N bers and increased concentrations of faecal introduced by large numbers of boats are of coliform bacteria have been obtained for areas concern. At present, however, there are few with low hydrological flushing during periods data quantifying the overall amount of N and of peak usage (Fisher et al., 1987; Gaines and P released as a result of recreational boating Solow, 1990; Milliken and Lee, 1990). activities, and no peer-reviewed publication in However, actual concentrations of indicator a scientific journal could be found that clear- organisms have varied greatly due to differ- ly demonstrated an effect of boat-sourced ences in sampling protocols, methodology for nutrients on local marine communities. detecting bacteria, background levels from ter- restrial sources and seasonal variations. Earlier studies by Faust (1982) found that effects of Estimating Impacts boating were barely perceptible during sum- mer in Chesapeake Bay, USA. Recent studies In most developed nations, recreational boat- in the Broadwater area of the city of Gold ing activities are controlled by a complex set Coast, Queensland, in central eastern of regulations under nature conservation, pol- Australia, have also suggested that tidal flush- lution control and maritime safety legislation. ing, rain events and other terrestrial activities As a result, most areas subject to high use can mask the effect of boats on indicator sig- intensities are nowadays covered by regional natures (Pratt, 2000). conservation and/or waterways management plans. In Australia, for example, such plans apply in Sydney Harbour, Moreton Bay, Port Nutrients Phillip Bay and the Whitsunday Islands. These plans assign a type of zone with a defined set In regard to impacts on the natural coastal of management measures to a specific loca- environment, faecal bacteria and many other tion based on local environmental settings and human pathogens seem to have little effect on an assumed type and level of boating activi- local marine communities. Nutrients such as ties. Most of these zones have been assigned Small Recreational and Tourist Vessels in Inshore Coastal Areas 105

on the basis of broad-scale physical and envi- tants require more extensive hydrological ronmental characteristics, rather than on the modelling (Heape, 1998). In theory, most of basis of quantitative data of actual use inten- this information should be readily available for sities or magnitudes of impact. In the light of marinas approved subject to environmental- increasing complexities of types and intensi- impact assessment (EIA). In practice, however, ties of boat usage in coastal areas (e.g. data in EIA documents are rarely detailed emergence of PWCs and kite surfing), man- enough for hydrological modelling. agement measures for local sites need to be On the other hand, predicting type (iii) based on more realistic risk assessments or impacts originating from marine accidents is estimates of likely impacts. only possible at a very large scale and only Impacts associated with recreational ves- with large error margins. Not all marine inci- sels can be classified as: (i) continuous or dents are reported in searchable electronic regular; (ii) intermittent; or (iii) one-off and format (Warnken and Byrnes, 2000). Indeed, related to catastrophic events or accidents. many smaller incidents, particularly those that Most category (i) and (iii) impacts are either do not require assistance from coastguard or confined to small local areas, such as antifoul- marine rescue vessels, are unlikely to be ing agents released from vessels in busy reported to the relevant authorities. Another marinas, or they are rare, such as major acci- limitation is the common lack of knowledge dents resulting in larger oil or fuel spills about the number of boat trips that affect a (Warnken and Byrnes, 2000). Most other boat- particular area over a year. Risk assessment is ing impacts originate from category (ii)-type only possible where long-term accident data disturbances. Typically these occur at anchor can be compared against growth rates of boat sites and include emissions of raw sewage and traffic in the area of interest. disturbance of bottom substrates by anchors. The magnitude of typical category (ii) Estimating pollutant loads from type (i) impacts generated by recreational boats impacts is relatively straightforward. Daily depends largely on the number of boats in use inputs of antifouling agents into a marina can and the number of people on board. Both fre- be calculated from occupancy figures for quencies of boat usage and the number of mooring sites, some algorithm that allows esti- people on boats fluctuate depending on sea- mation of the submerged hull area (SHA) for sons and weather conditions. Boating activity a vessel based on its overall length and beam, in near-shore areas is highest during holidays and data for standard leaching rates of rele- or long weekends at times of calm and sunny vant compounds from antifouling paints. SHA weather, whereas stormy or rainy weather dur- can be approximated by treating the hull as a ing midweek reduces usage of recreational triangular prism with the beam equal to one- boats to almost zero. As a result, type (ii) third of the length overall (LOA) and the impacts are not only a function of boat size, draught equal to 0.3 x beam, less an adjust- boat numbers, people on board (sewage only) ment of one-third of total calculated value to and area or volume of water affected, but also allow for the narrower areas around the bow a function of local flushing rates, pollution and stern. This gives SHA = 0.26 (LOA)2. inputs from terrestrial sources and the time Copper emission rates vary from 11 to 170 mg between major boat-use events, i.e. time for Cu2+ per m2 per day (Foerster et al., 1999; recovery from disturbances. A conservative USEPA and Command NSS, 1999). Hence a estimation of the number of faecal coliform typical 150–berth marina occupied to 80% by (FCF) bacteria per day that can be emitted from vessels with an assumed average LOA of 10 an average-sized vessel with on-board m would result in emissions between 34 kg facilities would equate to 11.38–22.75 × 108 and ~0.5 t of copper per day. FCF bacteria per day, assuming 2.5 people on Predicting concentrations of boat-sourced board and an output of toilet wastes contain- pollutants in a marina requires additional ing 4.55–9.1 × 108 FCF bacteria per person information about volume, flushing rates and per day (Koot, 1974). flow patterns of the marina basin. Small-scale Based on these estimates, it requires spatial variations in concentrations of pollu- 730–1520 m3, or about twice the volume of a 106 J. Warnken and T. Byrnes

25 m pool, to disperse these loads to levels of DGT is that it pre-concentrates the analyte of 150 FCF bacteria per 100 ml, as recommend- interest and removes interference from high ed for primary recreational contact by the levels of sodium and chloride ions in estuar- Australian National Health and Medical ine and sea waters. This methodology is Research Council (NHMRC). currently being tested at several sites in cen- tral eastern Australia. In monitoring pollution from human Advances in Monitoring Impacts of sewage, one of the principal problems of stan- Recreational Boats dard bacteriological indicators is the lack of source specificity. Commonly used indicator In the past, most sampling programmes that organisms, such as FCF bacteria and tried to quantify concentrations of pollutants Escherichia coli, can be found in faeces of or sewage indicators had to rely on spot warm-blooded animals, including pets and checks, i.e. a single or duplicated water sam- livestock, and also in marine sediments. ple collected in the field, which had to be Surface-water runoff and disturbance of sedi- transported into the laboratory for analysis. ments can also lead to increased This methodology could only provide infor- concentrations of indicator organisms. This mation about short time intervals, e.g. an hour can mask the effect of boats or it can lead to or less. Extrapolation of overall loads, there- overestimates of boating impacts where mon- fore, required longer-term monitoring to itoring sites receive inputs of indicator incorporate variations such as daily fluctua- organisms that are unrelated to boating. tions in boat numbers, flow rates, tides, Alternatively, changes in water temperature weather, etc. This involved more sophisticat- and other environmental parameters can affect ed sampling programmes with sufficient survival of coliform bacteria (Rhodes and statistical power, i.e. frequent replication over Kator, 1988), which can cause a more rapid time and space (see discussions in Warnken reduction in bacteria numbers, thereby leav- and Buckley, 2000), which in turn greatly ing the impression that boats do not emit increased the costs for such exercises. sewage quantities of concern. To monitor pollution from antifouling Analysing the sterol fraction of organic agents and similar sources, one new approach compounds contained in sediments and the involves the deployment of small diffusive gra- water column has been shown to provide a dients in thin film (DGT) probes (Zhang and novel way for distinguishing between sources Davidson, 1995; Denney et al., 1999; of faecal contamination (Green et al., 1992; Davidson et al., 2000). This technology is Chalaux et al., 1995). The distribution of based on two thin films. The outer one, the sterols found in faeces is caused by a combi- hydrogel, acts as a diffusion barrier with a dis- nation of diet, an animal’s ability to synthesize tinct diffusion coefficient that is similar to that its own sterols and the intestinal microbiota in of an aqueous solution. The inner one, the the digestive tract. In this aspect humans are binding gel, provides binding sites for the ana- no different. The principal human faecal sterol lyte of interest. Using Fick’s law of diffusion, is coprostanol (5β(H)-cholestan-3β-ol), which the exact length of time for deployment, the is excreted in only trace amounts by birds and area of the hydrogel exposed to the water body dogs, for example, and is not present in many of interest and the mass of the analyte bound herbivores, birds or fish (Leeming et al., 1996). to the binding gel allows calculation of a value By analysing the sterol signature or fingerprint for the concentration of the analyte integrated in a water or sediment sample, it is therefore over the time that the probe was deployed. possible to determine the contribution of fae- This technique is particularly useful for labile cal matter from different sources. In this way, ionic analytes, such as Cu+ and Cu2+ ions sterol signatures are a lot less ambiguous than (Alfaro-De la Torre et al., 2000), the principal bacterial indicators, such as E. coli. biocide in many antifouling paints. DGT Determining the sterol fingerprints of sediment probes can be deployed for several days or and water samples has been used with great even up to 2 weeks. The other advantage of success to trace faecal contamination from Small Recreational and Tourist Vessels in Inshore Coastal Areas 107

sewage-treatment works for up to 20 km off regulations with alternative measures based on the coast near Sydney (Nichols et al., 1996). moral suasion and, consequently, industry or Similarly, small traces of faecal contamination community self-regulation. have been detected along beaches in Antarctica about 150 m away from a treatment plant outlet that served a research station References occupied by around 30 persons for most of the year (Green et al., 1992). Alfaro-De la Torre, M.C., Yves Beaulieu, P. and The other advantage is that sterols are bio- Tessier, A. (2000) In situ measurements of trace organic compounds that can be assimilated by metals in lakewater using the dialysis and DGT many organisms naturally occurring in the techniques. Analytica Chimica Acta 418, affected environments. Very low concentra- 53–68. tions of coprostanol in the sediments several Australian Environment Council (AEC) (1988) Impact weeks after periods of high boating intensities of Marinas on Water Quality. Australian would indicate that at least some of the com- Environment Council Report No. 24, Australian ponents of faecal contamination are Government Publishing Service, Canberra. Batley, G.E. (1996) Heavy metals and tributyltin in assimilated within carrying capacities of the Australian coastal and estuarine waters. In: natural environments. This technology is also Zann, L.P. and Sutton, D.C. (eds) State of the being tested currently on the eastern Australian Marine Environment Report for Australia – seaboard. Technical Annex 2: Pollution. Ocean Rescue 2000 Program, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority for the Department of Environment, Management and the Need for More Sport and Territories, Townsville, pp. 63–72. Accurate Data Beckett, G. (2001) US Market Overview. National Marine Manufacturers Association, Probably the most compelling argument for http://www.nmma-intl.org/bestofusa/besto- fusa_overview.htm Last viewed 28 August more accurate data about boating impacts 2001. stems from the difficulties with policing boat- Chalaux, N., Takada, H. and Bayona, J. (1995) ing regulations. These difficulties are largely Molecular markers in Tokyo Bay sediments: the result of the high costs involved in sources and distribution. Marine and patrolling marine areas, the diverse range of Environmental Research 40, 77–92. pollution sources associated with boats and Champ, M. (2000) A review of organotin regulato- the ‘out-of-sight out-of-mind’ problem with ry strategies, pending actions, related costs and many polluting substances. In practice, there- benefits. Science of the Total Environment fore, the role of legislative regulation is limited 258(1–2), 21–71. in regard to preventing impacts in the marine Dahl, B. and Blanck, H. (1996) Toxic effects of the antifouling agent irgarol 1051 on periphyton environment (Davis et al., 1997). Another communities in coastal water microcosms. impediment to controlling pollution associat- Marine Pollution Bulletin 32, 342. ed with small vessels is the unwavering Davidson, W., Fones, G., Harper, M., Teadsale, P. opinion among several players in the and Zhang, H. (2000) Dialysis, DET and DGT: Australian boating community that recreation- in situ diffusional techniques for studying al and tourist activities cause negligible or no water, sediments and soils. In: Buffle, J. and impacts (see comments in Byrnes and Horvai, G. (eds) In situ Monitoring of Aquatic Warnken, Chapter 12, this book). In the past, Systems: Chemical Analysis and Speciation. sampling technology and the sampling design John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, pp. 496–569. of many studies have not been able to demon- Davis, D., Banks, S., Birtles, A., Valentine, P. and Cuthill, M. (1997) Whale sharks in Ningaloo strate the overall contribution of small vessels Marine Park: managing tourism in an to pollution in coastal environments. Without Australian marine protected area. Tourism scientifically reliable demonstration of impacts Management 18, 259–271. and their relation to boating activities, there is Day, J.W., Hall, C.A., Kemp, W.M. and Yànez- little chance to educate the boating commu- Arancibia, M. (1989) Estuarine Ecology. John nity and to effectively supplement legislative Wiley & Sons, New York, 576 pp. 108 J. Warnken and T. Byrnes

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12

Establishing Best-practice Environmental Management: Lessons from the Australian Tour-boat Industry

Troy Byrnes and Jan Warnken School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Abstract

The environmental impacts of tour-boat operations are generally difficult to control through existing legis- lation and regulation alone. Policing the relevant provisions at a large scale usually becomes too costly to justify their expense in relation to their likely magnitude of impact. As an alternative to legislation and reg- ulations imposed by government and management authorities, industry self-regulation has been promoted in Australia to minimize tour-boat-related impacts. The initial aims of this study were: (i) to assess the cur- rent level of use of formal, non-legislative environmental-management guidelines by Australian tour-boat operators (thereby allowing the identification of best practice in environmental-management measures); (ii) to try to establish what factors influence the level of compliance of tour-boat operators to formal, non-leg- islative environmental-management guidelines; and (iii) to gain an insight into the effect of the Australian tour-boat industry on the environment. The methodology used was: (i) survey questionnaires administered during face-to-face personal inter- views; and (ii) individual in situ boat audits carried out incognito. However, after almost 120 days in the field, nearly 1000 phone calls and investing considerable funds to become available to the operators, only 47 interviews and 32 individual boat audits were completed. The problem pivotal to the study was the tour-boat operators. Most were generally very unwilling to cooperate in the survey for many reasons, including: survey fatigue; being too busy during the survey peri- od; and a belief that they should not be answering the questionnaire – mostly because they could not see themselves as part of the tourism industry. Even when the operators did agree to participate in the survey, the majority were somewhat defensive and hostile. Given this type of response, it would seem unlikely that industry self-regulation as it is currently imple- mented and promoted will be effective for the larger tour-boat operator industry sector. Inefficient or poor investment is seen as one of the major impediments to the successful implementation and adoption of industry self-regulation measures and hence the adoption of best-practice measures for environmental man- agement.

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 111 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 112 T. Byrnes and J. Warnken

Introduction Mia in Western Australia (WA), and this trend is likely to increase (Davis et al., 1997). The Besides a number of outstanding historical only official figures for aquatic charter opera- sites and areas with unique natural-heritage tors were published for WA and showed an values, possibly the most sought-after mass- increase of 337% over 7 years. ‘A continued tourism destinations are located within the expansion at this rate would see approximately coastal zone. During the early days of mass 1500 aquatic charter operators by the end of tourism, the four Ss (sun, sand, surf and sex) 2010. This rate of expansion is certainly not were enough to make many tourism destina- in decline, and may even be on the increase tions competitive. As a result of increasing in some regions of WA’ (TOFWGWA, 1998). competition between destinations at the inter- Tourism industries place a greater national and national levels, modern tourists reliance on the use of natural resources than generally expect a more diverse array of most other service industries, which can lead opportunities to satisfy their expectations. The to these very resources becoming overused coastal waters of various global destinations and degraded in the process (Butler, 1991; offer many potential activities to satisfy this Garrod and Fyall, 1998). The increasing lev- demand, e.g. fishing, snorkelling, sailing, div- els of pollution and habitat disturbance ing, cruising, boating, parasailing, etc. Most of resulting from human activities, both com- the sites used for these activities are only mercial and recreational, experienced within accessible by boat (or some other form of the coastal zone over the last 20–30 years has marine transport, e.g. personnel water craft) led to major concerns over the environmental and, as a result, the number of private and status of coastal and marine environments commercial vessels used for tourism and recre- (RAC, 1993). These problems are not restrict- ational purposes has increased in most parts ed to Australia alone. For example, in Canada, of the world (see Warnken and Byrnes, human-induced stresses, such as pollution, Chapter 11, this book). However, with the habitat degradation and resource depletion, number of sites or attractions around a seaside continue to compromise the productivity and destination being limited, the increased sustainability of coastal communities, resulting demand for marine tours will inevitably lead in the loss of potential income and ecological to greater pressure on these often rare and frag- integrity (Ellsworth et al., 1997). ile marine habitats. Boat operations have the potential to In Australia, the natural environment cause environmental impacts, including both forms a major attraction for overseas and the release of chemical pollutants and physi- domestic visitors, possibly to a greater degree cal habitat disturbances (Chmura and Ross, than in other countries, due to a perceived 1978; San Francisco Estuary Project, 1995; lack in outstanding historic sites. The tourist Smith, 1995; Zann, 1995; Driml, 1996; Turner industry dependent on these areas is econom- et al., 1997; Blanck and Dahl, 1998; Guillon- ically significant for Australia. Marine-based Cottard et al., 1998; Lambert and Lambert, tourism is a rapidly growing industry along its 1998; Velander and Mocogni, 1998; Creed coastline and will assume even greater impor- and Filho, 1999; Glasby, 1999; Scarlett et al., tance internationally as the quality of marine 1999a,b; Smethurst and Nietschmann, 1999). environments elsewhere in the world deterio- Furthermore, the marine and coastal areas rate (Zann, 1995). used for boating operations are often ecolog- Consequently, the demand to experience ically sensitive areas that are inherently marine wildlife in its natural environment is susceptible to pollution (Zann, 1995). There is growing rapidly, particularly in the case of growing concern that the cumulative effect of marine animals such as dolphins and whales the increases in number and concentration of (Davis et al., 1997). For example, over boats in coastal waters may have a significant 600,000 people participate in whale- and dol- impact on the marine environment. However, phin-watching activities in Australia each year, there is a lack of extensive information on all while approximately 100,000 visitors per of the inputs resulting from human activities annum interact with wild dolphins at Monkey into the natural environment (Jacoby et al., Environmental Management: the Australian Tour-boat Industry 113

1997), especially (in a quantitative sense) of the largest city in Queensland, the greater tour-boat operations in Australia. Brisbane area (4650 km2), with an estimated Until the 1970s, international law regard- population of over 3 million people. ing oceans had paid scant regard to marine Moral-suasion measures, such as self-reg- pollution. However, it is now widely acknowl- ulation, are frequently promoted as an edged that the ability of the ocean to absorb addition to institutional regulation by govern- wastes is not infinite and that the freedom to ment authorities (Christensen and Handberg, allow the unrestricted introduction of pollu- 1996; Davis et al., 1997; Ellsworth et al., tants into the sea can no longer be allowed 1997; Jacoby et al., 1997). Self-regulation is (e.g. the Marine Accidents and Pollution necessary for industry sectors not adequately Strategy (MARPOL), 1973–1978; Stephenson, covered by legislation, which are therefore 1992). Theoretically, there are three principal ultimately responsible for regulating their own instruments that can be used to control ship- impact on the environment. Since the marine ping and, similarly, marine tour-operation environment is the major asset of boat opera- impacts: (i) direct regulations (commonly tors, self-regulation is clearly in their best referred to as command and control mecha- interest. This is true not only for Australia, but nisms, e.g. legislation and policy); (ii) for many other places around the world, wher- economic instruments or price incentives, e.g. ever significant marine-tourism industries insurance premiums; and (iii) moral suasion, exist. such as self-regulation (Common, 1996). Formal adoption of environmental-man- The use of command and control proce- agement guidelines are a form of industry dures (i.e. legislation and policy) will only self-regulation. They represent a set of techni- work effectively in situations where relevant cal/operational guidelines that outline the regulatory authorities are able to enforce these most effective ways of avoiding or mitigating regulations through adequate policing. adverse effects of human activities on the nat- Difficulties arise in the regulation of boating ural environment. For the various sectors of operations in marine environments because of the boating community these guidelines could the vast area involved, the diverse range of be introduced through one or several industry pollution sources which may have an impact associations, which could then adopt the upon it and the problems associated with envi- guidelines and encourage their members to ronmental monitoring in such an environment implement them. Marine tourism is probably (Warnken and Buckley, 2000). Many pollu- the largest sector of the recreational boating tants are not readily observable: some sink and industry and could serve as an ideal example become part of the ‘out-of-sight out-of-mind’ of self-regulation through the adoption of such problem, while others rapidly diffuse and guidelines. become widely distributed due to the diluting If authorities and industry bodies are to capacity and currents of the ocean. Thus, in increasingly rely on the use of formal envi- practical terms, the role of legislative regula- ronmental-management guidelines as a tion alone is extremely limited in the marine workable supplement to legislative regula- environment (e.g. Davis et al., 1997). tions, then there is a need for continuous An excellent example that illustrates the monitoring to assess: (i) the level to which difficulties involved with policing legislation these guidelines are used; (ii) the factors that and regulations in the marine environment is influence boat operators’ decisions to adopt or provided by Australia’s Great Barrier Reef alternatively to reject the practices outlined in Marine Park (GBRMP). This covers an area of such guidelines; and (iii) the extent to which approximately 350,000 km2 and is policed by they can actually reduce the adverse environ- approximately 74 compliance boats (Bob mental effects of boat operations. Obviously, Nankivell, Compliance Manager, GBRMP determining this question for all boat opera- Authority, 19 June 2001, personal communi- tors throughout Australia would prove to be cation). This translates into about 4730 km2 an extremely difficult and time-consuming per boat, which would be equivalent to hav- study. Therefore, this research examines a ing only one police car monitoring the whole subsector of boat operators, i.e. commercial 114 T. Byrnes and J. Warnken

tour-boat operators at specific tourism ‘hot practice and environmental-management spots’ around Australia and their attitude measures. The second was to assess the cur- towards and compliance with environmental rent level of adherence of Australian tour-boat best-practice standards. Commercial tour-boat operators to formal non-legislative environ- operators were chosen as they use boats on a mental-management guidelines or, in cases regular basis and thus should have a sound where these were not implemented or avail- knowledge of the issues involved, their activ- able, best practice. The final aim of this study ities are usually concentrated in certain areas was to ascertain what factors influence the and they often conduct their tours in marine level of compliance of tour-boat operators to protected areas (where environmental impacts such guidelines. should be avoided altogether). However, it must be understood that the adverse effects of commercial tour-boat operations on the nat- Study Sites ural environment are not entirely unique to this sector of boat user. Therefore, it is hoped The sites chosen for this study represent a that results from this study will be used as a selection of the major areas for marine tour- basis for boat users in general. boat operations around the Australian coast. These were: Cairns; Whitsundays; Moreton Bay; Gold Coast; Melbourne; Broome; and Aims Exmouth (Fig. 12.1). These areas represent two major tourism ‘hot spots’ (Cairns, There were three major aims to this study. The Whitsundays), two isolated tourism ‘hot spots’ first was to portray the current attitudes (Broome, Exmouth), a major coastal capital of tour-boat operators towards industry best city (Melbourne), and the Gold Coast/Moreton

Fig. 12.1. Relative locations of study sites within Australia. Environmental Management: the Australian Tour-boat Industry 115

Bay area, Australia’s second largest coastal sites and thus allow the best chance of com- tourism destination. pleting the highest number of survey questionnaires possible; (ii) to ensure that most boats would be operating on a regular basis Methods and thus allow the best chance of any ran- domly chosen operator being available for an Information for this research was obtained in situ field audit; (iii) to ensure that boats car- using survey questionnaires administered dur- ried a large number of tourists, allowing field ing face-to-face personal interviews and staff to remain anonymous and inconspicuous incognito in situ field audits of individual tour- during in situ audits; and (iv) to avoid periods boat operators’ environmental performance. of maximum tour-boat activity and thus avoid Following consultation with experts in the field potential conflict with extremely busy opera- of social science/anthropology, it was decid- tors. ed that survey questionnaires would be administered during face-to-face personal interviews, rather than telephone or mail-out Results and Discussion surveys, in an attempt to increase the survey response rate and the reliability of information After spending almost 120 days in the field, obtained. making over 1000 phone calls and investing Due to the technical nature of many of a considerable amount of funds to become the questions, respondents needed to have a available to tour-boat operators, a total of only sound understanding of the characteristics and 47 face-to-face survey questionnaires and 32 the routine on-board procedures and practices in situ field audits were completed. Such poor of the vessel. This usually meant either the participation during personal interviews (i.e. skipper of the vessel or a company director or only 47 face-to-face survey questionnaires manager who had a close association with the completed from a randomly selected sample maintenance and operation of the vessel. of 450 operators, approximately 30% of all Therefore, operators were phoned prior to the operators considered active during the survey interview to arrange an appropriate time and period) highlights one of the major difficulties place to meet the relevant personnel. in obtaining information from Australian tour- Preceding the completion of personal boat operators. Conversely, the number of interviews at each of the study sites, random- completed environmental audits was limited ly selected operators were assessed in situ. by time and financial constraints, leaving too This involved the compilation of a check-list many different categories with insufficient based on practices that could be physically replicates, thereby preventing in-depth statis- observed during a boat trip. These included tical analysis. Consequently, results were actions and measures related to waste dispos- based on qualitative observations rather than al, sanitary arrangements, launching and extensive analysis of quantitative data. operation of the boat and anchorage practices. The apparent reluctance in collaboration Any other general observations regarding envi- was surprising in light of the fact that research ronmental impacts and management were also into industry best practice and efficient envi- recorded. These inspections were done incog- ronmental-management measures would be in nito so that the boat operators’ typical the interest of the tour-boat operators them- practices could be observed and to ensure that selves. The following is a preliminary review no bias arose from the knowledge of their of both the results available and the notes environmental-performance assessment. taken before and after interviews and imme- Field trips to study sites were arranged to diately following in situ audits. Characteristic coincide with times relatively close to periods statements or comments, together with some of peak tour-boat activity. This approach was preliminary quantitative analyses, are provid- chosen for four major reasons: (i) to ensure that ed to emphasize the general attitudes of the most, if not all, operators would be present operators interviewed. during the survey period at each of the study 116 T. Byrnes and J. Warnken

Observations during Interview ly refused to participate in the survey indicat- Arrangements ed their lack of interest in this research and perhaps in environmental issues altogether. The first major obstacle was to try to arrange The perception that only large companies a time and place to conduct interviews with should be answering the questionnaire seems the various operators randomly selected from to indicate that smaller operators considered each study area. Many different approaches these companies as being responsible for most were attempted to establish a first contact with of the damage or impacts in the marine envi- the operator, each being met with equal lack ronment. For certain types of operations in of interest. For example, a small trial revealed particular areas, the market was dominated by that only one in 17 operators returned calls a few large, high-profile companies. from messages left on answering machines. Prominent examples for reef tours included This was quite the opposite for arranging ‘Quicksilver’ and ‘Great Adventures’ in Cairns incognito in situ trips on boats to carry out and ‘Fantasea Tours’ in the Whitsundays. environmental audits. Where required, sever- Equivalent bareboat operators in the al return phone calls were received until trip Whitsundays included ‘Sunsail’ and ‘Whit- details were finalized. sunday Rent-A-Yacht’. However, most of their Even where operators could be contacted operations (including their reef pontoons) are directly, the next hurdle was to maintain their closely monitored and subject to environmen- attention once they learnt the topic of the tal-management plans and surveillance by interview, i.e. environmental matters and relevant regulatory authorities (see Warnken industry self-regulation. More often than not and Buckley, 2000). Most other marine tours they became elusive, defensive and occasion- in Australia (i.e. fishing, diving, boating, etc.) ally hostile. Many tried to establish reasons as were being conducted by an estimated 1500 to why they should not be included in the sur- small to medium-sized tour-boat operators (i.e. vey or why they could not answer the businesses operating one or two boats, based questionnaire. The most common arguments on advertisements in relevant telephone direc- included, but were not limited to, the follow- tories and telephone enquiries). Comments ing beliefs: during this study indicated that most of the smaller operators were well aware of their • having been called upon to answer far too competitors’ impacts but were unable or many survey questionnaires already; unwilling to accept their undeniable potential • not being in the area during the survey for cumulative impacts. period; Alternatively, operators who claimed that • being far too busy during the survey peri- they were not part of the tour-boat operators od; industry sector (despite advertising their ser- • not being part of the tour-boat operators vices as ‘Tours’ under ‘Boat Charter Services’ industry sector; in the commercial sections of local telephone • feeling ineligible, as only large companies directories) seemed either to try to distance should be answering the questionnaire. themselves from their involvement and responsibilities or genuinely believed that they Apart from these statements, several oper- were not associated with tourism operations. ators blatantly refused to participate in the However, later observations revealed that survey, despite being told that they would be almost 40% of the operators surveyed noted as ‘unwilling to cooperate’. belonged to tourism-type industry associa- Due to the large number of these types of tions, such as the Gold Coast Tourism Bureau responses and their potential to illustrate some or Tourism Victoria. This suggests a more of the issues regarding industry self-regulation widespread acceptance among tour-boat oper- for marine tour operators, it was considered ators of their ties with the tourism industry. necessary to investigate whether other factors Claims of not being in the area or being could support these statements. Operators that too busy as an argument for being unable to did not hide their true intentions and blatant- participate in an interview were more difficult Environmental Management: the Australian Tour-boat Industry 117

to gauge. Several operators moved around dur- complacent about the importance of partici- ing the year to capitalize on seasonally high pating in other surveys. In some areas, e.g. demands for certain activities in tourism ‘hot Exmouth, Cairns, and the Gold Coast, opera- spots’ and could have been legitimately tors were known to have been surveyed pre- unavailable when the principal location of viously (e.g. Davis et al., 1997; Peter their business was visited. Similarly, tourism Valentine, Senior Lecturer in Environmental activities are known to peak at certain times Science, James Cook University, 21 April during the year and field trips were organized 1999, personal communication; David to capitalize on these periods of increased Taylor, PhD scholar, Southern Cross tour-boat activities. As indicated earlier, this University, 2 October 2000, personal com- survey strategy ensured that operators were munication; respectively), making it quite visited when tours were likely to be run on a possible that the same operators were indeed regular basis and close to capacity (i.e. as sampled more than once and were likely to close as practical to peak seasons), thereby be subject to survey fatigue. leaving the investigator less conspicuous dur- ing audits. During such peak periods, some operators increased the number and types of Observations Made during trips they ran. This made it more difficult to: Interviews and Audits (i) contact them directly; and (ii) arrange an interview. However, in some cases, operators Observations during interviews could be contacted on several consecutive days, which did not seem to indicate that any After overcoming the obstructions discussed of the above applied in their situation. above and finally meeting for an interview, Furthermore, the questionnaire was designed operators became increasingly uneasy, defen- to be completed within 20 minutes without sive and in some cases even hostile. The requiring any work (such as extracting data worst-case scenario resulted in an interview from files, etc.) from the operator, and the that had to be terminated due to an operator’s investigator was prepared to meet at a time fascination with spaceships, being abusive and and location that suited the person inter- saying, ‘It’s all there on the survey, just read viewed. Under these circumstances, it seemed it!’ unlikely that even busy operators were unable On more than one occasion, operators to allocate 20 minutes of their time to partic- claimed that the questionnaire was a waste of ipate in the survey after hours. time, both to them and to the research pro- The belief of having already answered too ject, as they had already answered exactly the many questionnaires was probably the same questions for surveys being conducted response that was most difficult to assess. by other researchers. However, only two pro- Overexposure to survey questionnaires often jects were found to be operating at the same results in survey fatigue. As with all research time (one in Cairns and one on the Gold Coast) projects that wish to obtain views and opin- and both were related to fish-stock assessment- ions from an industry sector, generally, the type research and had nothing to do with the only real tool available is the survey ques- use of environmental-management guidelines tionnaire, whether administered by telephone, for vessel-operation procedures. The response through the post or during face-to-face per- mentioned above was made immediately fol- sonal interviews. When using survey lowing the completion of this questionnaire questionnaires, there is always the very real and indicated a lack of understanding of the possibility that the target research group has issues addressed by this study and quite pos- already been exposed to this technique of data sibly environmental issues in general. acquisition and may fall victim to survey Another common reply encountered dur- fatigue, i.e. being asked to answer too many ing interviews was, ‘Are you referring to my surveys and hence becoming thoroughly boat or other people’s boats?’ This was often weary, discouraged or even bored with com- followed by operators’ highlighting the failings pleting them and therefore becoming of other operators’ environmental perfor- 118 T. Byrnes and J. Warnken

mance, presumably in an attempt to have garbage and offcuts of fishing-line on approx- attention focused away from themselves. This imately 43, 52 and 10% of vessels audited, presents another issue with the tour-boat oper- respectively. The most common type of waste ators: they often failed to see themselves as a item to be thrown overboard was cigarette distinct industry group and viewed their oper- butts, of which 126 were thrown from approx- ation as being isolated from other operators. imately 38% of the vessels audited. Therefore, as mentioned earlier, they were Another indicator of the above-mentioned likely to misjudge the true magnitude of their indifference of tour-boat operators towards cumulative effect on the environment when their environmental performance was the lack focusing solely on their own activities. of any obviously observable evidence for the On a larger scale, there was the ever-pre- use of environmental-management guidelines sent rhetoric used by operators when pointing or best-practice manuals during in situ audits, at other industry sectors and retaliating with e.g. reference during briefings or presence of the question, ‘Why don’t you just leave us written materials. This was in spite of 45% of alone and concentrate on someone or some- the 47% of operators surveyed claiming to be thing else that has a far greater environmental currently using some sort of formal guidelines impact than we do?’ Although this may be a on management practices that regulate the theoretically valid point in some cases, in real- effect their vessel has on the environment. ity the potential effects of any activity that has Seven of these operators used ‘in-house’ pub- an impact on the environment cannot be lications which were never available for ignored. Most impacts occur in aggregate, and inspection, while the environmental guide- even smaller impacts, if left unchecked, even- lines a further two operators claimed to be tually increase in scope and magnitude, using turned out to be legislative regulations leading ultimately to more significant effects. (e.g. Victorian Marine Board Regulations). For example, climate change leading to coral Removing these from the total leaves only bleaching probably has a much greater around one-quarter of operators that can claim impact; however, it cannot be changed imme- to use guidelines for environmental-manage- diately, and boating impacts, which can be ment practices aimed at reducing the impacts changed more rapidly, can cause irreparable of their vessel on the environment. A review harm to already stressed coral communities. of management guidelines available in Again, this rhetoric demonstrated the apathy Australia revealed that these did not specifi- of at least some operators in regard to man- cally target or cover all aspects of boating agement of and responsibilities for the operations (Rainbow, 1999). The majority of environmental assets that provide the basis of operators not claiming to use guidelines stat- their income. ed during interviews that the main reason for this was that such guidelines were not made available to them. Observations during audits

Additional evidence highlighting the lack of Industry Self-regulation for Tour- attention of tour-boat operators to environ- boat Operators: Lessons from mental-protection measures came from in situ Australia audits. International regulations such as MAR- POL and relevant federal and state legislation, Comprehensive industry self-regulation can be for example the Protection of the Sea a valuable and cost-effective management tool (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 when used in association with existing legis- (Cth), prohibits disposal of unmodified solid lation and regulations. However, from the wastes from any vessel while at sea. However, observations made during this study, there over half of the vessels audited had some type seem to be at least three major impediments of solid waste thrown overboard by either to the successful adoption and implementation crew members or clients. The main items to of industry best-practice environmental-man- be thrown overboard included food scraps, agement standards for the tour-boat industry Environmental Management: the Australian Tour-boat Industry 119

in Australia and perhaps other locations most regulatory authorities regularly dissemi- throughout the world. nate leaflets and provide information on the First, most operators appeared to believe World Wide Web, their emphasis is often on that they have no real impact on the environ- safety issues and not on environmental issues ment and do not require regulation, or they per se, which diverts attention from and consider their operation as being managed in reduces the status of the latter. It should also a way that would cause only minimal impact be noted here, however, that some further and therefore they could not see the need for attention needs to be given to the appropriate industry self-regulation. In other words, with- methods for education, as it is generally only out a clear understanding about their impacts, larger companies that have the available time there is little room for triggering self-motivat- and resources to attend and participate in reg- ed and operator-driven implementation of ular workshops. impact-mitigation measures. Furthermore, there has been little effort to Secondly, operators failed to see them- consolidate the very many highly fragmented selves as part of a distinct industry group and and often localized organizations that repre- had a rather simplistic view of themselves sented Australian tour-boat operators. The operating in isolation. This leads to two sepa- current landscape of boating-related organiza- rate problems: tions in Australia includes boat manufacturers, dive operations, recreational and commercial 1. It prevented the formation of a single, fishers, and yachting and powerboat clubs, Australia-wide industry organization equiva- each with its own specific scope and agenda. lent to other professional associations, such as For example, boat manufacturers’ interests are among dental and medical practitioners (i.e. represented by relatively independent state the Australian Dental Association (ADA) or the chapters of the Boating Industry Association Australian Medical Association (AMA)), which (BIA), dive operators are mostly organized could have drafted, promoted, disseminated under various international dive organizations, and monitored industry best-practice stan- such as the Professional Association of dards. Underwater Instructors (PADI) and National 2. Operators were probably unable to realize Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), how many of them used the same resource not to mention the many local, regional and and in what ways and that there was the national fishing affiliations. Some have a very potential for causing a significant cumulative narrow focus, for example for dive operators impact. licensing and safety issues, while others cover Finally, the few guidelines that have been not only tour-boat operators but many other prepared by management agencies and indus- tour operators as well, e.g. Gold Coast Tourism try bodies are often vague and not Bureau, Victorian Tourism Operators ‘user-friendly’ or comprehensive. This seems Association. Given the current diversity of rep- to have created resentment among operators resentative bodies for tourism operators, it to actually incorporate these into their daily would seem vitally important that regulatory activities. authorities establish a forum that encourages Some of the above-mentioned impedi- all tour-boat operators to unite as a single ments seemed to have resulted from a poor or group – before undertaking any further steps perhaps biased investment in tour-boat oper- to promote industry self-regulation as an envi- ator education programmes. The fact that ronmental-management tool. many tour-boat operators failed to recognize Recapturing the attitude experienced dur- the potential magnitude of their impacts calls ing phone calls, interviews and audits through for more quantitative research into specific sets of ‘objective’ observations and numerical boat-related impacts to show the type and values, particularly for relatively small sam- scale of boat-related impacts on the environ- ples, requires caution when extrapolating ment. Secondly, boat operators need to be these findings into other areas. However, sev- specifically educated about their role in cre- eral key aspects of industry self-regulation ating or preventing such impacts. Although through environmental best-practice guide- 120 T. Byrnes and J. Warnken

lines were highlighted by this study. Before experimental evaluation of anchor damage. considering industry self-regulation as a seri- Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and ous accompaniment to legislative regulations, Ecology 235(2), 285–306. the following requirements need to be Davis, D., Banks, S., Birtles, A., Valentine, P. and addressed: (i) the structure and organization of Cuthill, M. (1997) Whale sharks in Ningaloo Marine Park: managing tourism in an the industry needs to be analysed in detail in Australian marine protected area. Tourism the planning phase; and (ii) considerable ini- Management 18(5), 259–271. tial investment in effectively educating the Driml, S., (1996) Coastal and marine tourism and industry’s individual members is required to recreation. In: Zann, L.P. (ed.) The State of the build the moral foundation for embracing Marine Environment Report for Australia – guidelines in the future. Finally, education and Technical Summary. Ocean Rescue 2000 leading by example should not be limited only Program, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to tour-boat operators. For example, while Authority for the Department of the auditing one vessel at Exmouth, two marine Environment, Sport and Territories, Townsville, biologists were observed throwing their ciga- pp. 159–165. Ellsworth, J.P., Hildebrand, L.P. and Glover, E.A. rette butts overboard into the sea. How can (1997) Canada’s Atlantic Coastal Action we expect tour-boat operators to become more Program: a community-based approach to col- environmentally aware when such disregard lective governance. Ocean and Coastal for the environment is shown by the so-called Management 36(1–3), 121–142. educated élite? Garrod, B. and Fyall, A. (1998) Beyond the rhetoric of sustainable tourism? Tourism Management 19(3), 199–212. Glasby, T.M. (1999) Effects of shading on subtidal References epibiotic assemblages. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 234(2), 275–290. Blanck, H. and Dahl, B. (1998) Recovery of marine Guillon-Cottard, I., Augier, H., Console, J.J. and periphyton communities around a Swedish Esmieu, O. (1998) Study of microbiological marina after the ban of TBT use in antifouling pollution of a pleasure boat harbour using mus- paint. Marine Pollution Bulletin 36(6), sels as bioindicators. Marine Environmental 437–442. Research 45(3), 239–247. Butler, R.W. (1991) Tourism, environment, and sus- Jacoby, C., Manning, C., Fritz, S. and Rose, L. (1997) tainable development. Environmental Con- Three recent initiatives for monitoring of servation 18, 201–209. Australian coasts by the community. Ocean Chmura, G.L. and Ross, N.W. (1978) The and Coastal Management 36(1–3), 205–226. Environmental Impacts of Marinas and their Lambert, C.C. and Lambert, G. (1998) Non-indige- Boats: a Literature Review with Management nous ascidians in Southern California harbours Considerations. Marine Advisory Service, and marinas. Marine Biology 130(4), 675–688. University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, 32 MARPOL (1973–1978) International Convention for pp. the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. Christensen, P. and Handberg, S. (1996) Forces and International Maritime Organization, London. incentives in the promotion of environmental RAC (1993) Coastal Zone Inquiry: Final Report. protection and improved working conditions. Resource Assessment Commission, Canberra, Environmental Management and Health 7(3), 520 pp. 4–11. Rainbow, J. (1999) Best practice environmental Common, M. (1996) Consumption and the management for dive boat operators in south- Environment: Background Paper, Environ- ern Queensland and northern New South mental Economics Seminar Series, Department Wales. Honours thesis, Griffith University, of the Environment, Sport and Territories, Queensland, Australia. Canberra. www.ea.gov.au/pcd/economics/ San Francisco Estuary Project (1995) How Boat consumption/bgpaper.html Last viewed 23 Sewage Discharges Affect the Environment. October 2002. California Department of Boating and Creed, J.C. and Filho, G.M.A. (1999) Disturbance Waterways, Oakland, California, 3 pp. and recovery of the macroflora of a seagrass Scarlett, A., Donkin, P., Fileman, T.W., Evans S.V. (Halodule wrightii Ascherson) meadow in the and Donkin, M.E. (1999a) Risk posed by the Abrolhos Marine National Park, Brazil: an antifouling agent Irgarol 1051 to the seagrass, Environmental Management: the Australian Tour-boat Industry 121

Zostera marina. Aquatic Toxicology 45(2–3), www.fish.wa.gov.au/comm/broc/mp/mp116/f 159–170. mp116.pdf Last viewed 23 October 2002. Scarlett, A., Donkin, P., Fileman, T.W. and Morris, Turner, S.J., Thrush, S.F., Cummings, V.J., Hewitt, R.J. (1999b) Occurrence of the antifouling her- J.E., Wilkinson, M.R., Williamson, R.B. and bicide, Irgarol 1051, within coastal-water Lee, D.J. (1997) Changes in epifaunal assem- seagrasses from Queensland, Australia. Marine blages in response to marina operations and Pollution Bulletin 38(8), 687–691. boating activities. Marine Environmental Smethurst, D. and Nietschmann, B. (1999) The dis- Research 43(3), 181–199. tribution of manatees (Trichechus manatus) in Velander, K.A. and Mocogni, M. (1998) Maritime the coastal waterways of Tortuguero, Costa litter and sewage contamination at Cramond Rica. Biological Conservation 89(3), 267–274. Beach Edinburgh – a comparative study. Smith, H.D. (1995) The environmental management Marine Pollution Bulletin 36(5), 385–389. of shipping. Marine Policy 19(6), 503–508. Warnken, J. and Buckley, R.C. (2000) Monitoring Stephenson, M.A. (1992) Vessel-source pollution diffuse impacts: Australian tourism develop- under the Law of the Sea Convention – an ments. Environmental Management 25(4), analysis of the prescriptive standards. 453–461. University of Queensland Law Journal 17(1), Zann, L.P. (ed.) (1995) Our Sea, Our Future – Major 117–134. Findings of the State of the Marine Environment TOFWGWA (1998) Future Management of the Report for Australia. Ocean Rescue 2000 Aquatic Charter Industry in Western Australia. Program, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Fisheries Management Paper No. 116, Tour Authority for the Department of the Operators Fishing Working Group of Western Environment, Sport and Territories, Australia for Fisheries Western Australia, Perth. Townsville, 112 pp.

13

Impacts of Nature Tourism on the Mount Kosciuszko Alpine Area, Australia

Catherine Pickering,1 Stuart Johnston,2 Ken Green3 and Graeme Enders3 1School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, Queensland Australia; 2School of Resources, Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia; 3New South Wales National Parks Service, Snowy Mountains Region, Jindabyne, Australia

Abstract

The alpine area around continental Australia’s highest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko, is an increasingly popu- lar summer tourism destination. Estimated numbers of people visiting the area have risen in the last 25 years from 20,000 to 70,000 per year. Tourists in summer principally go on day walks in the area, with the summit of Mt Kosciuszko the major destination. Winter activities principally consist of cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snow- and ice-climbing. Tourism is causing a range of impacts on the soils, water quality, flora and fauna, through recreation activities, travel and transport and accommodation near or in the area. Summer tourism and its impacts are likely to increase with an increasing promotion of the area as a summer tourism destination. The types of impacts and effectiveness of current management respons- es are discussed. Further ecological and social research is required if tourism on the roof of Australia is to remain ecologically sustainable.

Introduction the world and in their impacts on the natural environment (Buckley et al., 2000; Hill and Mountain tourism is increasingly popular Pickering, 2002; Newsome et al., 2002; worldwide as more people become aware of Worboys and Pickering, 2002b). Ecosystems in the attraction of high-altitude sites for both such regions are at particular risk from tourism winter and summer tourism. Management of activities, with vegetation highly susceptible to tourism in the Australian Alps faces similar damage and slow to recover (Körner, 1999). challenges to those for mountain regions over- Management challenges are similar for these seas (Buckley et al., 2000; Hill and Pickering, regions, revolving around how best to ensure 2002; Worboys and Pickering, 2002a,b). the ecological sustainability of mountain There are changes in the timing and types of tourism while preserving the natural and cul- tourism activities in mountain regions around tural values that attract so many people to

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 123 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 124 C. Pickering et al.

these environments (Buckley et al., 2000; vegetation, with Mt Kosciuszko (2228 m) and Worboys et al., 2001; Hill and Pickering, the associated peaks of the Main Range rep- 2002; Newsome et al., 2002; Worboys and resenting the most extensive alpine ecosystem Pickering, 2002a,b). (Green and Osborne, 1994; Fig. 13.1). Within Australia there is limited alpine Although the area is very small, 100 km2 in

Fig. 13.1. Contiguous alpine area around Mt Kosciuszko, in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, Australia including walking trails. Modified from Pascal Scherrer from data provided by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. Nature Tourism: the Mount Kosciuszko Alpine Area, Australia 125

total, it is of international biological and con- mentation, vegetation damage associated with servation significance, containing endemic slope grooming, snow compaction, faecal/ and endangered species of animals and plants waste contamination of soil and water, litter- and unique ecosystems (Good, 1992; Green ing and fire-scar formation under low snow and Osborne, 1994; Costin et al., 2000). Not conditions (Good and Grenier, 1994; Byrne, surprisingly, it is a popular destination for out- 1997; Pickering and Hill, Chapter 14, this door enthusiasts and naturalists from Australia volume; NSW NPWS, personal communica- and overseas, who come to ascend Australia’s tion). highest mountain and see the unique land- The increasing popularity of summer scape (Good, 1992; Arkle, 2000; Johnston, tourism in the region also has the potential to S.W. and Pickering, 2001; Worboys and affect the alpine environment detrimentally Pickering, 2002a). unless effectively managed (Virtanen, 1993; Previous human activities (notably graz- Good and Grenier, 1994; Worboys et al., ing of cattle and sheep and associated regular 1995; Byrne, 1997; Arkle, 2000; Johnston, F. burning) on the Main Range caused extensive and Pickering, 2001; Worboys and Pickering, damage, including vegetation loss and soil 2002a). Negative physical effects of summer erosion (Costin, 1954, 1958; Clothier and tourism include informal track formation, Condon, 1968; Good, 1992). This required braiding of tracks, vegetation damage leading extensive and expensive rehabilitation, which to soil loss and/or compaction, hardening of itself produced impacts, including the intro- existing tracks, littering and water pollution duction of alien plants (Bryant, 1971; (Bryant, 1971; Edwards, 1977; Virtanen, 1993; Mallen-Cooper, 1990; Good, 1992; Scherrer Good and Grenier, 1994; Australia, Depart- and Pickering, 2001). Since 1944, the area has ment of Tourism, 1997; Byrne, 1997; Johnston, been protected, originally in the Kosciuszko S.W. and Pickering, 2001; Worboys and State Park and since 1967 within Kosciuszko Pickering, 2002a). Biological impacts include National Park. Human activities on the Main damage and loss of vegetation, the modifica- Range are generally restricted to recreation, tion or loss of animal habitat, disturbance to tourism, conservation research and the man- native animals and the spread of soil agement activities that support them (NSW pathogens, weeds and feral animals (Bryant, NPWS, 1988; Good, 1992; Virtanen, 1993; 1971; Edwards, 1977; Virtanen, 1993; Good Worboys and Pickering, 2002a). and Grenier, 1994; Australia, Department of The major focus of tourism within Tourism, 1997; Byrne, 1997; Johnston, F. and Kosciuszko National Park is winter activities, Pickering, 2001; Worboys and Pickering, centred not in the alpine area but in the adja- 2002a). cent subalpine–alpine ski resorts (Good, 1992; Potential and documented impacts of Buckley et al., 2000; Worboys and Pickering, tourism on the alpine area of Australia are 2002a). The environmental impacts of winter reviewed in this chapter to enhance ecologi- tourism and resorts are of concern (Buckley et cally suitable tourism. Recommendations for al., 2000; Pickering and Hill, Chapter 14, this the management of the impacts of tourism are volume), particularly for the New South Wales provided. National Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW NPWS). This park agency is responsible for the management of the park and is required by The Kosciuszko Alpine Area legislation to protect the area’s natural values (NSW NPWS, 1988). The effects of snow The largest contiguous alpine ecosystem in tourism on the alpine area are generally asso- Australia occurs in the Snowy Mountains ciated with the recreational ‘footprint’ of the along the Main Range, in the south-east of resorts, the activities of backcountry skiing, mainland Australia (Costin, 1989). Other areas snowboarding, camping in the snow and win- of alpine ecosystem occur as smaller areas in ter search-and-rescue operations (Buckley et Kosciuszko National Park (Fig. 13.1), as iso- al., 2000; Pickering and Hill, Chapter 14, this lated areas centred on the higher peaks in volume). Such impacts include habitat frag- Victoria, between Mt Hotham and Mt Bogong, 126 C. Pickering et al.

and in the Central Highlands and higher peaks 1992; Green and Osborne, 1994). The flora in Tasmania (Costin, 1989). includes a high proportion of endemic and The alpine area of the Main Range rare species, with 21 endemic species and 33 extends from the upper limits of tree vegeta- rare species out of around 212 species in total. tion, at about 1830 m, to the top of Mt This is one of the highest proportions of Kosciuszko, at 2228 m. The Main Range sec- endemic and threatened species in the world tor constitutes about 40% (100 km2) of the (Smith, 1986; Good, 1992; Costin et al., 2000). total alpine area (250 km2) in Kosciuszko National Park (Costin, 1989; Costin et al., 2000; Fig. 13.1). Unlike the steep sawtooth Tourism Activities mountain ranges characteristic of some other alpine regions, the Main Range consists of an Kosciuszko National Park is within a day’s undulating plateau with a gradual stepped fall drive of approximately 50% of the Australian to the east and a very steep western face falling population, with around 860,000 people vis- approximately 1500 m in elevation (Good, iting the park annually (Good, 1992; Worboys 1992). and Pickering, 2002b). Of these visitors, the Alpine humus soils completely cover all majority visit during the winter season of June but a few rocky areas and support an almost to October (Good, 1992). Most winter tourists complete vegetative cover (Costin, 1954, visit ski resorts that are in the subalpine region 1989; Good, 1996). The soils are substantial- adjacent to the alpine area. The majority par- ly deeper than the organic soils found in high ticipates in downhill skiing and snowboarding, mountain areas elsewhere in the world, with others engaging in cross-country skiing, demonstrating a long, stable period of soil either on fixed trails or in the extensive sub- development. The soils of the Main Range are alpine backcountry, and other activities highly susceptible to erosion if vegetative (Good, 1992; Buckley et al., 2000). Some cover is reduced below a critical threshold that resort visitors do not engage in outdoor win- provides insulation from frost and freezing of ter recreation activities but participate in the soil moisture (Costin and Wimbush, 1973; social life of the resorts. A relatively small pro- Johnston and Ryan, 2000). portion (~5%) of visitors go on to visit the The Main Range is also an important alpine area in winter. They are primarily water catchment, with the headwaters of the involved in snowboarding or ski-touring, Snowy River just below Mt Kosciuszko. In either on day trips (often from resorts) or par- addition, the area contains glacial lakes and ticipating in overnight camping in snow caves tarns (Cootapatamba, Albina, Club and Blue and/or tents. A relative few engage in snow- Lakes and Headley Tarn) and perennial and ice-climbing and snow-shoeing (Virtanen, groundwater-fed streams with distinctive 1993; NSW NPWS, personal communication; ecology (Cullen, 1992; Good, 1992). Con- Table 13.1). tamination of these waterways by sediment as Summer tourism to the Australian Alps a result of erosion and pathogens associated has increased significantly over the past 25 with human waste and feral animals is a con- years, visitation to just the small alpine area cern (Cullen, 1992; Good, 1992; Good and of the Main Range having trebled during that Grenier, 1994). period. A survey published in 1978 estimated The Main Range, along with the other 20,000 summer visitors to the alpine area alpine areas of the Australian Alps, is of enor- (Worboys, 1978). By the early 1980s the num- mous biological importance for Australia and ber had increased to 36,000 people per internationally. The unique and distinctive summer (Murphy, 1985). The most recent esti- biota contains endemic species of flora and mate for the snow-free period of 1999/2000 is fauna. Species under threat in the area include 70,000 people (Johnston, S.W., 2002, person- the Feldmark grass (Erythranthera pumila), the al communication, ANU). mountain pygmy possum (Burramys parvus) The main activities undertaken by the vis- (once thought to be extinct) and the attractive itors are sightseeing, bushwalking, camping, broad-toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) (Good, mountain-biking, wildflower appreciation, Nature Tourism: the Mount Kosciuszko Alpine Area, Australia 127

Table 13.1. Tourism and recreational activities associated with the alpine area of Kosciuszko National Park (data from: NSW NPWS, 1988; Good, 1992; Mackay and Nixon, 1995; Arkle, 2000; Johnston, S.W. and Pickering, 2001; Worboys and Pickering, 2002a). Activity Winter Summer Transport and travel To alpine Private vehicles, commercial tours, Private vehicles, commercial tours, commercial train (ski-tube), bikes snow cats, skidoos, ski-lifts In alpine Cross-country skis, snowshoes, Bush walking on and off trails, snow cats and skidoos (rescue only) mountain bikes, four-wheel drives and quad bikes (management services only) Accommodation and shelter Adjacent to alpine Private lodges or public hotels/lodges Private lodges or public in resorts hotels/lodges in resorts Private housing, hotels, youth hostels, Private housing, hotels, youth etc. in local towns or areas hostels, etc. in local towns or areas In alpine Snow caves, tents (no official Tents (no official campground), huts campground), huts Recreation activity In alpine Downhill skiing (barely in alpine), Backcountry camping, bushwalking, cross-country skiing, snow- and sightseeing, picnicking, wildflower ice-climbing, snowshoeing, viewing, climbing, swimming, snowboarding running, mountain-biking, fishing, paragliding

climbing, photography and fishing (Good, transport of visitors to the alpine area; (ii) those 1992; Arkle, 2000; McMaster, 2000; Johnston, associated with accommodation for tourists in S.W. and Pickering, 2001; Worboys and and near the alpine area; and (iii) those asso- Pickering, 2002a; Table 13.1). Nearly all ciated with local travel and activities within tourism occurs within the 36 km2 area the alpine area. Here we focus on the second between the top of the Thredbo chair-lift, Mt and third of these, i.e. impacts in and around Kosciuszko, Blue Lake and Charlottes Pass the alpine area itself. (Arkle, 2000; Johnston, S.W. and Pickering, 2001; Worboys and Pickering, 2002a; Fig. 13.1). Because the area contains Australia’s Accommodation impacts highest mainland peak, it is a Mecca for a high number of day walkers who wish to ascend Accommodation in Kosciuszko National Park the summit. Public holidays, such as Christmas ranges from permanent accommodation, such and Easter, are the most popular times to visit as resort lodges and hotels, formal camping the alpine area, with as many as 4500 people areas and huts through to temporary accom- per day visiting the Main Range at these times modation, such as snow caves and small tents (Arkle, 2000; Johnston, S.W. and Pickering, (NSW NPWS, 1988; Good, 1992; Virtanen, 2001). 1993; Worboys and Pickering, 2002b; Table 13.2). In the Main Range area the only types of accommodation are two emergency shel- Impacts of Tourism ters (huts), snow caves and informal camping. Impacts associated with permanent accom- The impacts of tourism on the alpine region modation provided in the subalpine zone of Kosciuszko National Park fall into three include vegetation clearance and disturbance groups: (i) those associated with the travel and and soil erosion and compaction (NSW 128 C. Pickering et al.

Table 13.2. Impact of tourism accommodation within the Kosciuszko alpine region (data from personal observations and from Edwards, 1977; Keane et al., 1979; Mallen-Cooper, 1990; Good and Grenier, 1994; Good, 1995; Byrne, 1997; CDT, 1997; Johnston, 1997; Parr-Smith and Polley, 1998; AALC, 2000; Arkle, 2000; Buckley et al., 2000; Green, 2000; Johnston, S.W. and Pickering, 2001; Scherrer and Pickering, 2001). Type of impact Huts Tents Snow caves Flora Vegetation clearance or disturbance from Construction • Use • • Trampling • • Introduction of weeds associated with Construction • Use • Trampling • Habitat for weeds • Fauna Compaction of subniveal space • • Alteration to behaviour (feeding, reproduction, • • • etc.) due to noise and human activity Increased feral animal activity • Geomorphology Soil erosion and/or compaction from Construction • • • Use • • • Nutrification • • • Modified drainage patterns • • • Pollution Visual impacts • • Litter • • • Human waste • • • Noise pollution • • Increased fire risk • •

NPWS, 1988; Good, 1995; Buckley et al., 1989; Virtanen, 1993; Good and Grenier, 2000). These impacts continue during use, as 1994; Good, 1995; Byrne, 1997; AALC, 2000) well as generating additional impacts. Impacts are potentially greater per person in the alpine associated with use include disturbance and area than in resorts because of the absence of interruption to wildlife, the production of sewage-treatment plants. The sustainability of wastes, water pollution from effluent (Cullen camping depends on the level of use and the and Norris, 1989; Cullen, 1992), the leaching capacity of the area to absorb impacts; how- of toxic materials (Johnston and Good, 2001), ever, carrying capacities are generally noise pollution, reduction of visual amenity unknown or are not documented. For exam- and invasion of weeds and pathogens (Good, ple, intensive summer and winter camping in 1995, Table 13.2). the catchment areas around the alpine glacial The temporary accommodation in the lakes has led to erosion, soil compaction, loss alpine area of the Main Range, such as tents of vegetation and faecal contamination of the and snow caves, also has environmental glacial lakes (Cullen and Norris, 1989; effects. Impacts such as solid waste, faecal Virtanen, 1993; Byrne, 1997; McLean, 2000). contamination and nutrient enrichment of Camping in these catchments has now been water (NSW NPWS, 1988; Cullen and Norris, banned. Table 13.3. Impacts of local travel and recreational activities (references as for Table 13.2). Over-snow Backcountry Snow- and Walking on Walking off Mountain- Rock- Type of impact vehicles skiing ice-climbing tracks tracks Fishing biking climbing Flora Vegetation clearance or disturbance from Construction •• Use • • • Trampling • • • • Introduction of weeds Construction of tracks • • Use •• • Trampling •• • Habitat for weeds •• • Fauna Habitat fragmentation • • • • • Compaction of subniveal space • • Alteration to behaviour (feeding, reproductive, • • • • • • • • etc.) due to noise and human activity Increased feral animal activity • • Damage to vegetation • • • • Geomorphology Soil erosion and/compaction from Construction of tracks • • • Use • • • • • • Contamination – hydrocarbons • Modified drainage patterns • • • • • Nutrification • • • • • • • Pollution Visual impacts • • • • • • • • Litter • • • • • • • • Human waste • • • • • • • • Noise pollution • • • • • • • • Increased fire risk • • ••• 130 C. Pickering et al.

Local travel and tourist activities day on non-school holidays to over 700 peo- ple on major public holidays. These visitors Most of the impacts associated with travel and (average-size group 2.5 people) spend on aver- transport occur outside the actual alpine area age 26 minutes in the 100 m radius of the in the adjacent subalpine regions. The major summit of Mt Kosciuszko (Arkle, 2000). impacts of local travel and activities within Summer tourism activities have a range of Kosciuszko National Park are summarized in impacts, both as a direct result of activities and Table 13.3. from the provision of infrastructure for activi- Local travel can affect the natural envi- ties, such as walking tracks (Table 13.3). The ronment through clearance and disturbance of provision of formed tracks and walkways has vegetation, soil modification and erosion, soil reduced impacts, such as erosion and vegeta- compaction and soil and water nutrification, tion trampling, associated with informal tracks sedimentation and contamination with (Edwards, 1977; Virtanen, 1993; Australia, pathogens (Edwards, 1977; Keane et al., 1979; Department of Tourism, 1997). However, the Hardie, 1993; Virtanen, 1993; Good and formed tracks have their own impacts, includ- Grenier, 1994; Good, 1995; Australia, ing compaction of soil, clearing of vegetation, Department of Tourism, 1997; Parr-Smith and introduction of alien plants and leaching of Polley, 1998; Arkle, 2000; Buckley et al., nutrients into adjacent areas that changes the 2000). These impacts are usually most severe local soil chemistry (Virtanen, 1993, personal during the construction of facilities such as observation). roads and trails (Virtanen, 1993; Good and In addition to the hardening of surfaces Grenier, 1994; Australia, Department of for walking, other tourism management meth- Tourism, 1997; Parr-Smith and Polley, 1998; ods may be required, particularly for the most Buckley et al., 2000). Other impacts of trans- popular destination. A recent visitor survey port and travel include wildlife disturbance, found that 47% of tourists walking to Mt mortality and habitat destruction, air pollution, Kosciuszko arrive at the summit during noise, increased fire risk and introduction of lunchtime (Arkle, 2000). As a result, over- pathogens and weeds (Buckley et al., 2000 crowding, especially during the peak periods, and references therein). These can occur both has occurred. This has not only detracted from during construction of facilities and also in the the quality of the experience for visitors, but use of the facilities (Keane et al., 1979; Hardie, also caused damage to areas of revegetation 1993; Good, 1995; Byrne, 1997; Buckley et next to the paths and to the adjacent native al., 2000). Impacts can accumulate over time, vegetation. Because of the overcrowding, peo- and all tend to amplify with increased usage ple spread out from the central hardened area of roads and trails, even if there is no new con- on to surrounding vegetated areas (Arkle, struction (Keane et al., 1979; Hardie, 1993; 2000). Arkle, 2000; Buckley et al., 2000; Newsome Mountain-biking is currently permitted et al., 2002). only along the old summit road from Charlotte By far the most popular activity within the Pass (Fig. 13.1) to Rawson Pass. However, bike alpine area in summer is walking, with over riding in other areas does occur (personal 80% of visitors in summer going for a walk observation). While fishing is popular in many (Arkle, 2000; Johnston, S.W. and Pickering, other areas of the park, only limited numbers 2001). The next most popular activity is sight- of anglers make their way into the alpine zone. seeing (10%), with only 2% of people However, the rainbow and brown trout, intro- camping. The most popular walk is to the sum- duced for recreational fishing, have had mit of Australia’s highest mainland mountain, negative effects on stream ecosystems, includ- Mt Kosciuszko, with people starting the walk ing exclusion of the native fish Galaxias olidus from either Thredbo or Charlotte Pass along from many waterways (Green and Osborne, the existing hardened tracks (Arkle, 2000; 1994). Johnston, S.W. and Pickering, 2001; Fig. 13.1). Winter tourism activities have fewer Visitor numbers to the summit of Mt impacts than summer tourism (Table 13.3). Kosciuszko vary from around 134 people per This is in part due to the lower numbers of vis- Nature Tourism: the Mount Kosciuszko Alpine Area, Australia 131

itors to the alpine area when there is snow tion, regulations prohibiting the use of wood cover and partly because the snow itself pro- fires in the alpine area and camping in the vides some protection from direct mechanical catchments of the glacial lakes have been impacts (Table 13.3). Where the snow is com- implemented (AALC, 1993a,b; Virtanen, pacted, impacts on vegetation and soils can 1993). A revegetation programme for eroded occur (Pickering and Hill, Chapter 14, this vol- areas and hardening of high-usage tracks has ume). Other impacts involve human waste, also been undertaken at a cost of more than litter, visual impacts and noise pollution Aus$3 million (Byrne, 1997; CDT, 1997; NSW (Buckley et al., 2000). NPWS, personal communication). The degree of physical and biological Management of tourism and recreation impact of the tourism activities vary with the activities in the alpine area has, until recent- level of use, type of recreational activity, site- ly, been guided by a principle of providing specific conditions (such as specific public facilities at the edges of the alpine vegetation, edaphic factors, slope, etc.) and region rather than within it (NSW NPWS, how these factors interact (Virtanen, 1993; 1988; Virtanen, 1993). Currently it is consid- Arkle, 2000). It has been demonstrated for ered best practice to conduct surveys of visitor alpine soils that impacts have been amplified use and analyse patterns of use prior to devel- with increasing recreation/tourism use up to a oping or modifying facilities/access (AALC, threshold level of disturbance. Beyond the 1999; McMaster, 2000; Johnston, S.W. and threshold, damage is permanent without Pickering, 2001; Worboys and Pickering, restoration, even if tourism numbers decline 2002a). Kosciuszko National Park managers (Arkle, 2000; Johnston et al., 2002). For exam- have done some monitoring of tourism use of ple, if trampling and associated impacts the area and have begun to explore the poten- remove vegetation cover beyond a threshold tial for restricting visitor numbers at times of value, erosion of the organic layers of the peak visitation, for example by issuing camp- alpine soils results until a stable rock pave- ing permits for public use of the area and ment is formed or bedrock reached. Although licensing commercial tours (Virtanen, 1993; further walking impacts would be unlikely to Byrne, 1997; McMaster, 2000; Johnston, S.W. erode the new surface further, reducing those and Pickering, 2001; Worboys and Pickering, impacts would not result in restoration of the 2002a,b). soils and vegetation. This has occurred on Recent upgrading of the surface of tracks some sections of informal paths within the has been undertaken in order to protect the alpine zone, particularly where entrenched vegetation and soil from further deterioration drainage lines have developed (Virtanen, under the physical impacts of visitor use (CDT, 1993; personal observation). Restoration of 1997; Johnston, 1997; Worboys and Pickering, these areas is now dependent on human inter- 2002a). This remedial work is being under- vention, which may not be effective. taken, but the way it has been undertaken does not appear to have considered research into impacts of current visitor use, impacts of dif- Management Response ferent track types or visitor preferences for different types of tracks (Johnston, S.W. and Recreation in the alpine zone is likely to be Pickering, 2001; Worboys and Pickering, causing impacts above the natural recovery 2002a). It is important that research into eco- rate of the ecosystem (Tables 13.2 and 13.3). logical impacts and use patterns is undertaken The more obvious physical damage and pub- to confirm the directions of management and lic-health issues have long been recognized by its assumptions about the visitors and their management authorities. Education pro- effects on the ecosystem (Virtanen, 1993; grammes have been established to increase Johnston, S.W. and Pickering, 2001; Worboys awareness of visitor impacts and to define et al., 2001; Worboys and Pickering, 2002a). codes of practice to minimize them (AALC, The response of park managers to the more 1993a,b; Virtanen, 1993; Mackay and Nixon, subtle tourism impacts on vegetation, fauna, 1995; Byrne, 1997; McMaster, 2000). In addi- soil and water will increasingly rely on 132 C. Pickering et al.

research to identify recovery thresholds for environment and of safety issues for tourists affected ecosystems (Worboys et al., 2001; (McMaster, 2000; Johnston, S.W. and Newsome et al., 2002). Pickering, 2001). Current interpretation may be inadequate, and more research is required (McMaster, 2000). The aforementioned survey Priorities for impact management of 1126 visitors identified a visitor preference for more short loop tracks with interpretative The information reviewed leads us to suggest signs at access points to the alpine area associated priority areas of research for the (Johnston, S.W. and Pickering, 2001). alpine area of Kosciuszko National Park. These are: Trends in Visitor Use and Impacts 1. Ecological research into impact thresholds for the different native vegetation communities The impacts of tourism on the alpine envi- in the alpine area. Existing research has iden- ronment are likely to become more severe in tified thresholds for grazing on the tall alpine the future, particularly if climate change leads herbfield. This could be extended to identify to shorter or intermittent periods of snow cover the thresholds for various tourism activities, (König, 1998; Whetton, 1998). For example, including trampling damage associated with the ski industry is likely to substitute other camping and walking tracks. activities if decreased snow cover and higher 2. Monitoring of water quality, including temperatures reduce the length of the ski sea- pathogens in waterways such as lakes near son. Resort operators are already placing more camping sites (e.g. below Snowy River Bridge, emphasis on developing summer activities to Blue Lake and Club Lake Creek, etc.), is also maintain economic viability, including the use required for effective management of camp- of ski-lifts to facilitate sightseeing. Recent re- ing. commendations for mountain-resort viability 3. Ecological and social research into the are based on year-round tourism and include impacts of different track types. There are conference, educational, adventure and health clearly ecological issues associated with the tourism (König, 1998). These changes in different types of tracks that have been used tourism activities and their timing and intensi- in the alpine area, including the dispersal of ty are likely to increase the range and intensity weeds and potential for calcium leaching into of ecological impacts. Attempting to manage the surrounding environment (personal obser- both the impacts of climate change and vation). A clear preference for some track increasing numbers and diversification of types, such as existing raised metal walkways, tourism activities will require detailed infor- was found in a survey of 1126 people mation about how these processes will affect (Johnston, S.W. and Pickering, 2001). the alpine ecosystem and an assessment of 4. Regular visitor monitoring will help parks how they are likely to interact (Worboys and services to identify changing demands and Pickering, 2002a,b). social and ecological impacts that are devel- oping with the high numbers of summer visitors already in the area. Recent visitor mon- Acknowledgements itoring has already provided key management information (Johnston, S.W. and Pickering, We thank Pascal Scherrer for providing the 2001; Worboys and Pickering, 2002a). As a map in Fig. 13.1 and NSW NPWS for provid- result of monitoring, the number of tourists ing the original data. The Cooperative accessing the summit of Mt Kosciuszko at peak Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism and times has been recognized as a critical man- NSW NPWS provided support for several of agement issue (Arkle, 2000; Johnston, S.W. the research studies used in formulating man- and Pickering, 2001). agement recommendations in this chapter. 5. There is also a need to review the effec- tiveness of interpretation of the alpine Nature Tourism: the Mount Kosciuszko Alpine Area, Australia 133

References Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Melbourne, Australia. AALC (1993a) Bushwalking Code. Australian Alps Costin, A.B. (1989) The Alps in a global perspec- Liaison Committee, Canberra, Australia. tive. In: Good, R. (ed.) The Scientific AALC (1993b) Snow Camping Code. Australian Alps Significance of the Australian Alps. Australian Liaison Committee, Canberra, Australia. Alps Liaison Committee, Canberra, Australia, AALC (1999) Recreation Strategy – All Management pp. 7–19. Units Summary Report for the Australian Alps Costin, A.B. and Wimbush, D.J. (1973) Frost cracks National Parks. Commissioned from Missing and earth hummocks at Kosciuszko, Snowy Link Tourism Consultants, Sydney by the Mountains, Australia. Arctic and Alpine Australian Alps Liaison Committee, Canberra, Research 5, 111–120. Australia. Costin, A.B., Gray, C.J., Totterdell, C. and Wimbush, AALC (2000) Australian Alps Best Practice Human D.J. (2000) Kosciuszko Alpine Flora. Collins, Waste Management Workshop Papers and Melbourne. Presentations. Australian Alps Liaison Cullen, P. (1992) Management of water quality in Committee, Canberra, Australia. the Australian Alps. In: Good, R. and Grenier, Arkle, P. (2000) Tourism in the summit area of Mt P. (eds) The Australian Alps. Revue de Kosciuszko: an assessment of tourist interaction Géographie Alpine, Institut de Géographie and impact. Honours thesis, Australian Alpine, Grenoble, France, pp. 425–449. National University, Canberra, Australia. Cullen, P. and Norris, R. (1989) Significance of lakes Australia, Department of Tourism (1997) Repairing and rivers in the Australian mainland Alps. In: the Roof of Australia – Ecotourism Good, R. (ed.) The Scientific Significance of the Infrastructure in Kosciuszko National Park. Australian Alps. Australian Alps Liaison Australia, Commonwealth Department of Committee, Canberra, Australia. Tourism, Canberra, Australia. Edwards, I.J. (1977) The ecological impact of pedes- Bryant, W.G. (1971) Deterioration of vegetation and trian traffic on alpine vegetation in Kosciuszko erosion in the Guthega catchment area, Snowy National Park. Australian Forestry 40, Mountains, NSW. Journal of the Soil 108–120. Conservation Service of New South Wales 27, Good, R.B. (1992) Kosciuszko Heritage: the 62–81. Conservation Significance of the Kosciuszko Buckley, R.C., Pickering, C.M. and Warnken, J. National Park. National Parks and Wildlife (2000) Environmental management for alpine Service of New South Wales, Sydney, tourism and resorts in Australia. In: Goode, Australia. P.M., Price, M.F. and Zimmermann, F.M. (eds) Good, R.B. (1995) Ecologically sustainable devel- Tourism and Development in Mountain opment in the Australian Alps. Mountain Regions. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, Research and Development 15, 251–258. pp. 27–46. Good, R.B. (1996) Conflict in the Australian Alps: Byrne, N. (1997) Recreation impacts in the grazing and protected areas. In: Ralston, M.M., Australian Alps. Trees and Natural Resources Hughey, K.F.D. and O’Connor, K.F. (eds) 39, 17–19. Mountains of East Asia and Pacific. Centre for CDT (1997) Repairing the Roof of Australia – Mountain Studies, Lincoln University, Ecotourism Infrastructure in Kosciuszko Canterbury, New Zealand, pp. 58–64. National Park. Commonwealth Department of Good, R.B. and Grenier, P. (1994) Some environ- Tourism, Canberra. mental impacts of recreation in the Australian Clothier, D.P. and Condon, R.W. (1968) Soil con- Alps. Australian Parks and Recreation Summer, servation in alpine catchments. Journal of the 20–26. Soil Conservation Service of New South Wales Green, K. (2000) Small mammal activity on snow 24, 96–113. surface. Victorian Naturalist 117, 230–234. Costin, A.B. (1954) A Study of the Ecosystems of the Green, K. and Osborne, W.S. (1994) Wildlife of the Monaro Region of New South Wales with Australian Snow-Country. Reed, Sydney. Special Reference to Soil Erosion. Soil Hardie, M. (1993) Measuring Bushwalking and Conservation Service of New South Wales, Camping Impacts – Mount Bogong Victoria. Sydney, Australia. National Parks and Public Land Division, Costin, A.B. (1958) The Grazing Factor and the Department of Conservation and Natural Maintenance of Catchment Values in the Resources, Melbourne, Australia. Australian Alps. Commonwealth Scientific and Hill, W. and Pickering, C.M. (2002) Regulation of 134 C. Pickering et al.

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Milestones and Future Challenges. Mountain Parks and Wildlife Service, Queanbeyan, Tourism Research Report No. 3, Cooperative Australia. Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism, Worboys, G.L., Pulsford, I. and Mackay, J. (1995) Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. Conservation gains, setbacks and opportuni- Worboys, G. and Pickering, C.M. (2002b) Tourism ties. In: IUCN Transboundary Mountain and recreation values of Kosciuszko National Protected Areas Workshop. Australian Alps Park. In: An Assessment of the Values of Liaison Committee, Canberra, Australia. Kosciuszko National Park. Interim Report of Worboys, G., Lockwood, M. and De Lacy, T. (2001) the Independent Scientific Committee for the Protected Area Management: Principles and New Plan of Management for Kosciuszko Practice. Oxford University Press, Melbourne, National Park, New South Wales National Australia.

14

Ecological Change as a Result of Winter Tourism: Snow Manipulation in the Australian Alps

Catherine Pickering and Wendy Hill School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Abstract

This study examines potential direct and indirect effects of snow manipulation (e.g. slope grooming, snow grooming, snow making, snow harvesting and snow fences) on vegetation in the Australian Alps. The extent of snow manipulation has increased substantially over the last decade, in order to maintain the econom- ic viability of ski resorts. In Australia, little research has been done on the resulting environmental impacts. This is despite the high conservation value of the Australian Alps, with resorts located either in or adja- cent to national parks. Overseas research indicates that snow manipulation results in a cascade of changes that can nega- tively affect native flora. Slope grooming can involve extensive modification of the environment, including removal of native vegetation and reformation of slope topography, and this results in changes to hydro- logical patterns. Snow grooming not only physically damages plants but also compacts the snow, increasing its density and reducing porosity and permeability. This limits the ability of the snow pack to slow water runoff, thus increasing the risk of erosion, and can retard spring snowmelt. Snow compaction affects plants by increasing the risk of physical damage from freezing. However, the range of indirect impacts on plants can be extensive, and includes impacts due to lower soil temperatures, greater depth of soil freezing, deplet- ed soil nutrients and higher soil pH. Biological effects of snow compaction and other snow manipulation techniques have been studied less, but include changes in soil biota, herbivory, animal activity, predation, insect activity, seed dispersal and the composition of plant communities. This study highlights the need for research into environmental impacts of tourism, to ensure that winter ski tourism in Australia is not just economically but also environmentally sustainable.

Introduction million-dollar industry, estimated to be worth over Aus$50 million per annum (Buckby et al., Winter tourism in the Australian Alps princi- 1993; KPMG Management Consulting, 1994, pally consists of resort-based skiing (Buckley cited in Digance and Norris, 1999). This type et al., 2000). It is a rapidly expanding multi- of adventure tourism occurs in or near nation-

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 137 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 138 C. Pickering and W. Hill

al parks in Australia, and has clear negative resorts (except Mt Buffalo) are located adja- impacts on these protected areas and poten- cent to national parks rather than within them. tially on other tourism activities in these areas Two Victorian resorts (Lake Mountain and Mt (Buckley et al., 2000). As successful conser- Stirling) are dedicated to cross-country skiing vation of the areas requires the management and do not provide accommodation. The only of any type of tourism that affects such envi- resort in the ACT, Corin Forest, is small and ronments (McKercher, 1996), ski tourism will orientated to day visitors, with unreliable nat- be treated as a type of nature tourism for the ural snow cover and only one lift (Table 14.1). purposes of this review. In order to attract visitors, resorts depend There is strong competition among ski on providing reliable and adequate snow con- resorts for customers. With increasing temper- ditions. To do this, they use a variety of atures and less consistent snow conditions in snow-manipulation techniques to increase the the Australian Alps, a resort’s success is influ- quality and area of skiable snow, thereby enced by the quality of the snow cover it can improving the skier experience (PBPL, 1997; provide (Keage, 1990; PBPL, 1997; König, König, 1998a,b). 1998a). This has resulted in the expenditure of considerable effort and money on improving the quality and extent of snow cover at resorts Snow Manipulation in Australian (PBPL, 1997; NSW NPWS, 1998a,b). Snow- Alps Ski Resorts manipulation practices used by resorts to improve snow cover, as with other tourism Ski-slope development and activities and infrastructure, can have serious super-grooming direct and indirect negative effects on the nat- ural environment. The long-term ecological Ski resorts manipulate snow conditions by changes associated with such impacts are not altering ski slopes, and this includes extensive always recognized, even by parks agencies changes to soils and natural vegetation com- regulating and monitoring such tourism activ- munities. Most of the area utilized by resorts ities in or adjacent to national parks. This was originally subalpine woodlands dominat- chapter hopes to highlight the issue, by doc- ed by snow gums (Eucalyptus niphophila), umenting the extensive reported and potential native heaths, grasslands, bogs and sod-tus- impacts of manipulation of a natural resource sock grasslands (Kosciuszko Thredbo Pty Ltd, – snow. This activity is carried out to facilitate 1988; PBPL, 1997). Resorts have altered the the economic sustainability of the tourism landscape to enhance the quality and dura- industry, potentially at the expense of its envi- bility of the winter snow pack. Low-level slope ronmental sustainability. grooming in summer can involve the selective removal of trees and any large rocks that could protrude above the snow in winter. More Characteristics of Australian Alps extensive grooming can involve the removal Ski Resorts of nearly all rocks protruding above the soil surface and either removal or extensive prun- There are 12 ski resorts operating in the ing of shrubs. The most extensive slope Australian Alps: four in New South Wales modification (super-grooming) can involve the (NSW), seven in Victoria and one in the complete removal of native vegetation, blast- Australian Capital Territory (ACT) (Table 14.1). ing of rocks and importation and compaction Resorts in NSW operate within the subalpine of soil and fill material using heavy earth-mov- areas of Kosciuszko National Park through site ing equipment. The slope is then seeded with leases administered by the NSW National a grass mix containing native and alien species Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) (NSW (the alpine mix) (PBPL, 1997). Additionally, NPWS, 1998b). Resorts in Victoria differ from creeks may be rerouted and slopes drained to those in NSW. They are more dispersed, cor- reduce water accumulation. Super-grooming responding to the scattered areas of snow can achieve an even, well-drained, lightly veg- country in that state. Also, all the Victorian etated surface, free of rocks and heath. This Table 14.1. Increase and extent of snow manipulation in ski resorts in Australia, 1991–2001 (sources: websites for each of the resorts and personal communication with resort snow managers, June 2001). Capacity per Downhill area Artificial snow Downhill ski skiers per h Cross-country groomed No. snow area (ha) area (ha) (× 1000) trails (km) Altitude groomers max (ha) Resort max (m) 1991 2001 1991 2001 1991 2001 1991 2001 2001 2001 % total New South Wales Perisher Bluea 2054 34.5 35.00 1114 1250 46.8 53.90 105.0 100.00 19 600 48.00 Thredbo 2037 55.0 120.00 163 480 17.1 18.00 –12.00 6 100 21.00 Charlotte Pass 1980 – 0.50 45 50 2.0 2.50 – 1.8v 2 8 100.00 Selwyn Snowfields 1601 5.0 36.00 22 45 9.5 9.50 35.0 45.00 4 45 100.00 Total NSW 94.5 191.50 1344 1825 75.4 83.90 140.0 158.80 31 753 67.25

Victoria Mt Buller 1790 10.0 61.50 162 180 38.5 40.00 11.0 12.0v 8 80 57.00 Falls Creek 1780 10.0 100.00 145 450 23.0 19.40 20.0 32.80 10 145 32.00 Mt Hotham 1563 – 10.00 43 245 11.7 24.50 22.0 35.00 8 245 28.00 Mt Baw Baw 1563 – 3.00 25 35 6.0 9.00 16.0 10.00 2 35 100.00 Mt Buffalo 1595 3.5 3.50 27 30 10.0 45.00 14.5 14.50 2770.00 Lake Mountainb 1520 – 0.03 – – – – 27.0 37.0v ––– Mount Stirlingb 1747 – – – – – – 65.0 70.00 ––– Total Victoria 23.5 178.03 402 940 89.2 137.90 175.5 211.30 30 512 57.40

ACT Corin Forest 1200 – 12.00 –12– – – – 1 12–

Total for all resorts 118.0 381.53 1746 2777 164.6 221.80 315.5 370.01 62 1277 62.00 a Perisher Blue Resort was formed by the merger of Perisher-Smiggins and Blue Cow-Guthega Resorts in 1995. b No accommodation, no downhill ski facilities. 140 C. Pickering and W. Hill

type of slope requires much less snow cover grown less since 1991, although the existing to achieve a skiable surface and is the optimal groomed area is 50% (153 ha) larger than in slope for the deposition of artificial snow Victoria (512 ha). In addition, the area of (PBPL, 1997). Generally, resort staff groom groomed slopes in NSW is likely to increase only their most highly used slopes to this stan- if plans to expand and upgrade facilities at dard. Perisher Blue Resort are approved (PBPL, 1997).

Snow grooming Snow harvesting using snow fences Resorts also alter the snow cover in winter, using specialized over-snow vehicles (known A further method used to improve snow cover generically as ‘snow groomers’) to compact and depth is the redistribution of snow that the snow pack and scarify (cut grooves on) the naturally accumulates in sheltered sites. It is surface. The aim is to achieve even snow moved to high-use sites or areas with patchy cover and improve skier safety. Snow natural snow cover (PBPL, 1997). Snow loss groomers work for up to 8 h per night in win- due to wind scour is also reduced by snow ter to achieve the desired cover and finish. fences at some resorts. The snow that builds Smaller, more manoeuvrable machines, such up against the fences is then used on location as ‘snow cats’, are used for steep terrain and or transported to other high-use areas (Keage, cross-country tracks. Grooming compacts the 1990). snow pack, by mechanically altering snow grain structure and removing air from between ice crystals. This increases snow durability, Artificial snow making while decreasing wear on the snow pack and snow loss (Keage, 1990). Artificial snow making allows the ski season Snow grooming is extensively practised at to be extended by 2–3 weeks prior to its ‘nat- all ski resorts (Table 14.1). Depending on the ural’ start, improves snow cover when the prevailing weather conditions, around 50% of natural cover is thin, and extends the end of the total skiable area can be groomed each the season (O’Brien and Shepherd, 1985; night. The downhill skiable area of Victorian PBPL, 1997; König, 1998b). It is expensive, in resorts has almost doubled since 1991, with a terms of both energy and water (NSW NPWS, corresponding increase in the area of groomed 1990; PBPL, 1997; König, 1998b), but is now snow. The skiable area of NSW resorts has extensively used in most resorts. There are two

Table 14.2. Direct physical impacts of snow manipulation. (Australian sources: Keane et al., 1980; Keage, 1990; Green and Osborne, 1994; Cousins, 1998; Green, 1998; Growcock, 1999; McDougall and Appleby, 2000. Overseas sources: Wanek, 1971; Neumann and Merriam, 1972; Masyk, 1973; Rickard and Brown, 1974; Gersper and Challinor, 1975; Keddy et al., 1979; Mosimann, 1985; Price, 1985; Watson, 1985; Tsuyuzaki, 1990; Racine and Ahlstrand, 1991; Felix et al., 1992; Forbes, 1992; Pignatti, 1993; Tsuyuzaki and Hokkaido, 1994; Emers et al., 1995; Kevan et al., 1995; Fahey and Wardle, 1998, 1999a,b; Ruth- Balaganskaya, 2000.) Slope Snow Snow Snow Snow Direct physical effects grooming compaction making harvesting fences Change in snow conditions * * * * * Change in amount of snow * * * * Compaction of snow * * * Reduction in subniveal space * * * Mechanical damage to vegetation * * * Compaction of soil * * * Introduction of contaminates * * * * Ecological Change as a Result of Winter Tourism 141

snow-making systems in use: fixed-air pres- vegetation and soils. Then, basing our predic- surized installations and non-pressurized tions on overseas studies and on the limited mobile fans (snow guns) (Keage, 1990). Both Australian research in this area (see Cousins, systems atomize water pumped from storage 1998; Cole and Hallam, 1999; Growcock, pools. Water is broken into very small droplets 1999), we describe how snow manipulation and cooled. It may be nucleated with a pro- may affect the vegetation and soils of the tein from the bacterium Pseudomonas Australian Alps. syringae. This protein attracts water molecules and facilitates ice-crystal formation (Brown, 1997), thus increasing the efficiency of artifi- cial snow making and reducing the amount of Impacts of ski-slope development and water required (NSW NPWS, 1990). summer slope grooming There has been a major increase in the area covered by artificial snow in the last 10 Environmental degradation as a result of ski- years (Table 14.1). In NSW this has increased slope development has been clearly the skiable area from 7% to 9%, with further demonstrated overseas. Impacts of particular areas proposed. In Victoria the use of artificial concern include soil erosion, changes in plant- snow has increased from 6% to 19%, with the community composition, changes in soil two largest Victorian resorts having 34% (Mt structure, changes in soil biota and hydrology Buller) and 68% (Falls Creek) of their skiable and contamination of ski areas with pathogens area serviced by artificial snow making (Table and weed propagules (Baiderin, 1983; 14.1). Kattelmann, 1985; Mosimann, 1985; Watson, 1985; Tsuyuzaki, 1990, 1991; Tsuyuzaki and Hokkaido, 1994; Urbanska, et al., 1999; Ruth- Impacts of Snow Manipulation Balaganskaya, 2000). There are obvious impacts from the phys- In this review we summarize what is known ical alteration of the terrain during ski-slope about the impacts of snow manipulation on development (see Table 14.2). This alteration

Table 14.3. Likely physical changes and resultant impacts associated with removal of dominant vegetation type as part of slope grooming. (Australian sources: Good, 1995, 1998; Costin et al., 2000; McDougall and Appleby, 2000. Overseas sources: Schrind, 1971; Gersper and Challinor, 1975; Baiderin, 1980, 1983; Hamilton, 1981, cited in Fahey and Wardle, 1998; Illich and Haslett, 1994; Emers et al., 1995; Fahey and Wardle, 1998.) Extent of grooming Change Impact Limited Moderate Total Increased light Increased biomass in understorey * * * Increased soil temperature * * Drier conditions in summer * * Change in winter temperature Range of effects * * * Faster snowmelt Increased frost damage * * * Drier conditions in summer * * * Longer growing season * * * Increased wind speeds Increased evapotranspiration * * Direct damage by wind * * * Indicates increasing effect compared with previous state, e.g. natural to limited, limited to moderate, moderate to total. Limited = removal of trees and large rocks. Moderate = in addition to removal used in limited, shrubs are either removed or slashed, and most rocks removed. Total = removal of all trees and shrubs, physical manipulation of slope shape, importation of new substrate, seeding of area with mix of native and introduced plants. 142 C. Pickering and W. Hill

Table 14.4. Biological impacts as a result of changes in vegetation as part of slope grooming. (Overseas sources: Rickard and Brown, 1974; Keddy et al., 1979; Felix and Raynolds, 1989; Tappeiner and Cernusca, 1989; Tsuyuzaki, 1991; Felix et al., 1992; Forbes, 1992; Holaus and Parti, 1993; Illich and Haslett, 1994; Emers et al., 1995; Fahey and Wardle, 1998.) Extent of grooming Specific biological impacts Limited Moderate Total Change in species composition * * * Reduced native biodiversity * * * Increased weed diversity and abundance * Change in soil biota * * * Change in root zone * * * Change in nutrient cycling * * * Change in native herbivory * * * Change in pest herbivory (rabbits, etc.) * * * Change in insect abundance, diversity and activity * * * * Indicates increasing effect compared with previous state, e.g. natural to limited, limited to moderate, moderate to total. Limited = removal of trees and large rocks. Moderate = in addition to removal used in limited, shrubs are either removed or slashed, and most rocks removed. Total = removal of all trees and shrubs, physical manipulation of slope shape, importation of new substrate, seeding of area with mix of native and introduced plants. includes clearing of vegetation, removal of soil and air temperatures in summer, rocks, installation of drainage systems, impor- decreased temperatures in spring and autumn, tation of soil and seeding of areas. drier conditions in summer, longer growing Environmental-impact statements for Australian seasons and changes in soil biota, including ski resorts list a series of direct impacts of slope mycorrhiza (Mosimann, 1985; Watson, 1985; development and summer slope maintenance. Tables 14.3 and 14.4). Even minimal slope These include changes in natural appearance, grooming that involves trimming and remov- soil compaction, soil erosion, and changes in ing trees can affect the ecology of the plant-species composition and hydrology understorey. For example, decreasing the tree (groundwater and surface-water regimes). The canopy increases the amount of light reaching most severe impacts are found on slopes that the understorey, which in turn influences the have been subjected to the most intensive composition of plant communities (Keane et grooming regimes (Keane et al., 1980; Good al., 1980; Tappeiner and Cernusca, 1989; and Grenier, 1994; Good, 1995). Tables 14.3 and 14.4). A number of secondary negative environ- mental impacts of ski-slope development and use have been identified (Tables 14.3 and Impacts of snow grooming on vegetation 14.4). For example, the removal of natural veg- and soil etation decreases the water-holding capacity of the soil. This can result in more extensive Direct and indirect impacts of over-snow vehi- runoff during rain events and lower soil mois- cles and snow-grooming machines have been ture at other times. Changes in soil moisture documented, with snow grooming found to can dramatically influence vegetation on the cause significant environmental degradation in slope as well as in surrounding areas, such as ski resorts (Fahey and Wardle, 1998). Impacts the valley floors, and this leads to changes in may be considered in two categories: (i) those plant-community composition (Mosimann, resulting from physical damage by vehicles to 1985; Watson, 1985). Other secondary the vegetation and soils; and (ii) those result- impacts include increased growth of the ing from snow compaction and redistribution. understorey (on super-groomed slopes, often a Most studies have examined the impacts mixture of exotic and native plants), increased of over-snow vehicles on vegetation (Watson Ecological Change as a Result of Winter Tourism 143

et al., 1970; Wanek, 1971; Greller et al., 1974; such as shrubs and low trees are among the Baiderin, 1980; Felix and Raynolds, 1989; most susceptible to direct damage from snow Emers et al., 1995; Kevan et al., 1995), with compaction (Felix et al., 1992; Forbes, 1992; damage to vegetation particularly severe when Emers et al., 1995). Herbs and grasses, in con- little or no snow cover is present (i.e. at the trast, commonly die back in winter, with buds beginning or end of the season). When snow often protected at or below the surface (Greller cover is thin, there is increased mechanical et al., 1974). Therefore they are less likely to damage to vegetation, greater compaction of experience direct mechanical damage associ- vegetation and soil and decreased water infil- ated with compaction of snow. tration rates into the soil. These changes can Changes in the snow pack as a result of result in increased bare ground and the risk of snow compaction also cause an array of sec- soil erosion (Watson et al., 1970; Wanek, ondary impacts (Table 14.5). Compaction 1971; Greller et al., 1974; Baiderin, 1980; increases the snow’s thermal conductivity and Felix and Raynolds, 1989). Changes to soil reduces its heat-insulation capacity. This can chemistry have also been found as a result of result in reductions in soil temperatures and use of over-snow vehicles. These include high- increased frost penetration of the soil (Wanek, er soil pH, depleted C, K and P and increased 1971). Such changes in soil temperature can levels of NO3 and NH4 (Kevan et al., 1995). be dramatic. Five- to sevenfold reductions in High levels of disturbance can result in soil temperature and seven- to 11-fold increas- changes in species composition, such as the es in penetration of frost into the soil beneath replacement of mosses with sedges and of compacted snow have been reported prostrate shrubs with grasses. However, even (Baiderin, 1980, 1983). Where flower and veg- low levels of disturbance can result in etative buds occur along branches within the decreased vegetation cover (Emers et al., snow pack, such as in many woody shrubs, 1995). direct damage to the plant tissue can occur as Snow compaction, with increased densi- a result of these lower temperatures in the ty and hardness of the snow pack, is a major compacted snow. Freezing soils and changes objective of snow grooming (e.g. Wanek, in snowmelt patterns in the spring can also 1971; Neumann and Merriam, 1972; Baiderin, adversely affect lower-growing plants such as 1980, 1983; Kattelmann, 1985; Racine and herbs. Secondary impacts of snow compaction Ahlstrand, 1991; Fahey and Wardle, 1999a,b; include a decrease in the rate of decomposi- Table 14.2). This compaction can directly tion of organic material, due to the reduced damage plant species that have tissue in the temperatures (Neumann and Merriam, 1972; snow pack. As a result, woody, erect species Meyer, 1993). There can also be reductions in

Table 14.5. Effect of snow manipulation on snow-pack characteristics. (Australian sources: Growcock, 1999. Overseas sources: Schrind, 1971; Neumann and Merriam, 1972; Baiderin, 1980, 1983; Kattelmann, 1985; Newesely et al., 1993; Fahey and Wardle, 1998, 1999a,b.) Snow Snow Snow Snow Effect on snow pack grooming making harvesting fences Increased snow density and hardness * * * Decreased water-holding capacity * Formation of ice layers at the soil surface * Decreased snow permeability * * Reduced porosity (faster snowmelt) * * Increased thermal energy transfer – so soils * * under snow pack colder, frost penetration into soil deeper Increased snow-pack retention in spring * * * Faster runoff in spring. * Loss/decrease of subniveal space * 144 C. Pickering and W. Hill

the number of soil bacteria and fungi involved changing herbivory and other impacts (Green in nutrient cycling and even oxygen deficien- and Osborne, 1994; Körner, 1999). cy in the soil (Neumann and Merriam, 1972; Meyer, 1993; Newesely et al., 1993). Changes in snow-pack characteristics can Impacts of snow harvesting and artificial result in a later snowmelt in spring, thus snow on vegetation and soil decreasing the length of the growing season (Neumann and Merriam, 1972; Keddy et al., Snow depth is changed by snow harvesting, 1979; Table 14.6). For example, snow reten- i.e. the stockpiling and redistribution of snow tion can delay the onset of flowering, resulting (Table 14.6). This can have a range of impacts in a shortened flowering season for popula- on vegetation. For example, if snow depth is tions (Baiderin, 1983). This can cause changes increased, the amount of light that penetrates in the composition of plant communities, with the snow may be decreased, with resultant the proportions of spring- and summer-flow- delays in seed germination and flowering of ering species declining, while autumn- plants, and growth retardation (Richardson flowering species increase (Baiderin, 1980). and Salisbury, 1977; Körner, 1999). Increased Delayed snowmelt has been shown to change snow depth has been found to delay the onset soil carbon : nitrogen ratios (Walsh et al., of snowmelt. The results of this can include 1997). Changes of this kind differentially affect changes in soil conditions, such as reduced plant growth characteristics and can alter the organic content, water content, nitrogen and composition of plant communities (Neumann phosphorus and increased acidity of soil and Merriam, 1972; Masyk, 1973; Felix et al., (Stanton et al., 1994). Because changes in 1992; Forbes, 1992; Körner, 1999). The com- snow depth differentially affect plant species, paction of snow also eliminates the subniveal the composition of communities may be mod- space (natural space between the soil surface ified (Richardson and Salisbury, 1977; Körner and bottom layer of the snow pack), restrict- 1999). For example, species richness and total ing the movement of small mammals under vegetation cover can be decreased in sites with the snow (Baiderin, 1983). Changes in fauna later snowmelt (Stanton et al., 1994). activity can then affect the vegetation by There have been very few studies on the

Table 14.6. Range of secondary biological impacts likely on vegetation as a result of changes in tim- ing of snowmelt associated with snow manipulation. (Overseas sources: as for Table 14.3. Plus Richardson and Salisbury, 1977; Tappeiner and Cernusca, 1989; Holaus and Parti, 1993; Illich and Haslett, 1994; Stanton et al., 1994; Jones and Devarennes, 1995; Walsh et al., 1997; Fahey and Wardle, 1998; Urbanska et al., 1999.) Physical change and biological Slope Snow Snow Snow effect grooming compression making harvesting Later snowmelta Shorter growing season * * * More water in spring * * * Colder soils in spring * * * Longer protection from frosts * * * Change in soil biota * * * Earlier snowmelta Longer growing season * * Less water in spring * * Warmer soils in spring * * Less insulation from frosts * * Drought in summer * * Change in soil biota * * a Snowmelt might be earlier or later depending on the effect of the change in snow conditions due to snow manipulation. Ecological Change as a Result of Winter Tourism 145

environmental effects of artificial snow on the and water quality in Australia (Good and natural environment. The few such studies, Grenier, 1994; Good, 1995), as far as the however, indicate that artificial snow can authors are aware only one study has specifi- affect vegetation. For example, the chemical cally investigated this activity. Cole and composition of artificial-snow melt water may Hallam (1999) examined some effects of arti- differentially affect growth characteristics of ficial snow, made using the additive ‘Snomax’, ground-cover plants (Holaus and Parti, 1993; on alpine vegetation, soil and water. The study Jones and Devarennes, 1995). Some plant was largely limited to an examination of species have also been observed to be more microbial differences between leaf surfaces abundant adjacent to natural-snow melt water, following cover with natural and artificial while others prefer artificial-snow melt water snow. While the study concluded that no (Holaus and Parti, 1993; Jones and changes in microbial damage to vegetation Devarennes, 1995). occurred, some of the conclusions do not appear to be supported by their data (McDougall, 2000). The authors did not exam- Impacts of slope grooming and snow ine impacts on any other vegetation grooming in Australia characteristics.

There has been little empirical research in Australia examining the effects of snow Predicted Impacts of Snow manipulation on vegetation. In two of the few Manipulation on Flora in the studies in Australia, ski-slope construction, Australian Alps slope grooming and snow grooming at Perisher Valley have been found to have Although there is little Australian research on altered soil structure and composition impacts of snow manipulation, some predic- (Cousins, 1998; Growcock, 1999). The super- tions can be made, based on evidence from groomed, revegetated ski slopes had thin overseas studies on snow manipulation, com- mineral soils with minimal organic content, bined with research on other land-use impacts compared with the deep peat soils found on on vegetation in the Australian Alps. For exam- undeveloped sites. Vegetation on the ski ple, it is likely that groundwater communities slopes was dominated by sedges (Carex sp.) such as bogs, fens and sod-tussock grasslands and introduced plant species, with few areas would be highly susceptible to the changes in of mosses (Sphagnum), in contrast to unde- hydrology associated with snow manipulation veloped sites. The hydrology of the ski slopes in Australia. We have already described how was altered, resulting in increased infiltration slope grooming, snow grooming, artificial rates but lower water-holding capacity snow making and snow harvesting can all (Growcock, 1999). This increased the poten- affect the hydrology of a site. In the Australian tial for erosion during snowmelt on the Alps, changes in drainage patterns associated developed ski slopes (Growcock, 1999). with previous land use have had clear nega- Many indirect impacts of snow grooming tive impacts on these communities, some of do not seem to have been examined in which are still recovering (Wimbush and Australia. This is surprising since grooming Costin, 1985; Good and Grenier, 1994). occurs over large areas of resorts and sec- Australian woody shrubs, such as yellow ondary environmental impacts have adversely bottlebrush (Callistemon sieberi), yellow kun- affected vegetation in ski resorts overseas. zea (Kunzea muelleri), alpine baeckea (Baeckea gunniana) and alpine heaths (Epacris spp.), appear likely to be susceptible to the Impacts of artificial snow making in types of direct physical damage from groomers Australia and over-snow vehicles that have been described in plants with a similar form over- While it has been suggested that snow mak- seas. Other heath species, such as ovate ing will result in unacceptable changes to flora phebalium (Phebalium ovatifolium), the alpine 146 C. Pickering and W. Hill

and royal grevilleas (Grevillea australis and References Grevillea victoriae), alpine orites (Orites lan- cifolia), alpine mint bush (Prostantha cuneata) Baiderin, V.V. (1980) Experimental modelling of and native peas (Hovea spp., Oxylobium spp. ecological consequences of winter recreations. and Bossiaea spp.), are also at risk. These Soviet Journal of Ecology 11, 140–146. shrubs are likely to be directly affected not Baiderin, V.V. (1983) Winter recreation and sub- nivean plant development. Soviet Journal of only by physical damage from snow com- Ecology 13, 287–291. paction, but also by freezing damage to floral Brown, R. (1997) Man made snow. Scientific buds and growing points on the branches American. http://www.sciam.com/0197issue caused by likely changes in the thermal prop- 0197working.html Viewed March 2002. erties of the snow pack. Buckby, M., Burgan, B. and Molloy, J. (1993) The Direct damage caused by snow grooming Economic Significance of the Alpine Resorts. to species with high conservation status, such Centre for South Australian Economic Studies, as old snow gums (E. niphophila) and moun- University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia. tain plum pine (Podocarpus lawrencei), has Buckley, R.C., Pickering, C.M. and Warnken, J. also been recorded (Gen Wright, NPWS, per- (2000) Environmental management for alpine tourism and resorts in Australia. In: Goode, sonal communication; personal observation). P.M., Price, M.F. and Zimmermann, F.M. (eds) Tourism and Development in Mountain Regions. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, Conclusions pp. 27–46. Cole, F.M. and Hallam, N.D. (1999) A Report on Despite the high conservation values of the the Effect of Artificial Snow Making on the receding alpine habitat in and around ski Vegetation, Soil and Water of Thredbo and resorts in Australia and the increased utiliza- Perisher Valley, NSW, 1999–2000. Report to tion of these lands for ‘non-consumptive’ the New South Wales National Parks and activities, such as ecotourism, there are limit- Wildlife Service, Jindabyne. Costin, A.B., Gray, M., Totterdell, C.J. and ed field data directly addressing the impact of Wimbush, D.J. (2000) Kosciuszko Alpine Flora. snow manipulation. This is despite clear evi- Jointly published by the Commonwealth dence from overseas of the significant impact Scientific and Industrial Research Organization of snow manipulation on vegetation and soils. and Collins, Sydney, Australia. In particular, impacts arising from physical Cousins, K. (1998) An assessment of soil disturbance changes, such as compaction of the snow pack in two catchments, located in the region of and variation in its depth and duration, are Kosciuszko National Park, through the identi- well known. The continuing demand for snow fication and comparison of organic horizon manipulation, and in particular increased characteristics. Honours thesis, Australian snow making, makes it vital that research is National University, Canberra, Australia. Digance, J. and Norris, R. (1999) Environmental conducted to help us understand better the impacts of tourism in the Australian Alps: potential impacts of this activity on areas of Thredbo River Valley. Pacific Tourism Review high conservation value in the Australian Alps. 3, 37–48. Emers, M., Jorgenson, J.C. and Raynolds, M.K. (1995) Response of arctic tundra plant com- Acknowledgements munities to winter vehicle disturbance. Canadian Journal of Botany 73, 905–917. Financial support from the Cooperative Fahey, B. and Wardle, K. (1998) Likely Impacts of Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism for Snow Grooming and Related Activities in the this research is gratefully acknowledged. We West Otago Ski Fields. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. thank the two independent anonymous Fahey, B. and Wardle, K. (1999a) Environmental reviewers of this research and Editing Matters effects associated with snow grooming and ski- (Darri Adamson) for comments on the manu- ing at the Treble Cone ski field. Part I. script. Vegetation and soil disturbance. Science for Conservation 120, 1–48. Fahey, B. and Wardle, K. (1999b) Environmental Ecological Change as a Result of Winter Tourism 147

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15

A Method for Calculating Environmental Sensitivity to Walker Trampling in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

Jennie Whinam, Nicole Chilcott, Roger Ling and Phil Wyatt Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, Hobart, Australia

Abstract

A walking-track management strategy has been prepared as a framework to manage the impacts of walk- ers in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Australia. The main components of the strategy include: a system of categorizing tracks, based on the zoning of the area and the level of track infrastruc- ture; an education campaign; monitoring impacts on existing tracks; and research into the impacts of walkers in various environments. This chapter examines how sustainable carrying capacities might be calculated for walking areas in the Tasmanian wilderness, based on walking-track monitoring, walker-impact trampling trials and sensitivity mapping. This information can be used to estimate at what level user quotas may need to be set, or inten- sive management measures applied, to maintain ecological sustainability of specific areas. Experimental trials have been established to examine the effects of different trampling intensities and the effects of spreading walker traffic over different time periods. These trials have been established at sites of varying altitude, slope, aspect, bedrock geology, soils and vegetation communities. The areas represent typ- ical montane and alpine walking environments in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Over a period of 5 years, data have been collected on impacts on vegetation and soils and subsequent recov- ery, to provide an environmental framework for management decisions. From these data it is possible to assess the sensitivity of vegetation communities to trampling impacts, and to extrapolate recovery data for the different plant life-forms present. The geographical information system (GIS) mapping programs MapInfo Professional and Vertical Mapper provide an efficient means of geographically representing likely impacts at various usage levels over large areas.

Introduction reserves in Australia. With a total area of 1.38 million ha, the WHA occupies approximately The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage 20% of the island State of Tasmania. The WHA Area (WHA) is one of the largest conservation contains outstanding geological, biological,

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 151 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 152 J. Whinam et al.

aesthetic and cultural features. The area is also The final focus of the strategy is a detailed highly valued for recreation and tourism based monitoring and research programme to study on its natural and scenic qualities. The man- the impacts of bushwalkers on vegetation, the agement objectives of the WHA are to identify, rate of track development and the measuring protect, conserve and rehabilitate the natural of rates of change in track conditions. Over and cultural values (Parks and Wildlife 500 monitoring sites have been established in Service, 1999). The balance between protect- representative areas to sample impacts on the ing natural and cultural resources in track network. It is from this extensive moni- wilderness recreational areas while providing toring programme that the experimental quality visitor experiences is made more chal- walker-impact trials were initiated, to quantify lenging because of increasing visitation, walker impacts. cumulative resource impacts and shrinking The aim of this chapter is to present two budgets (Wang et al., 2000). examples from Western Tasmania that The Walking Track Management Strategy illustrate how a variety of different data for the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage can be combined to visually display the envi- Area (Parks and Wildlife Service, 1994) was ronmental limitations of an area when prepared as a framework for managing the planning new tracks and campsites or when impacts of recreational walkers in the assessing options in managing recreational Tasmanian Wilderness WHA. The strategy impacts. details the recreational opportunities available, This case study examines how sustainable classifies all tracks into a seven-tiered classifi- carrying capacities (i.e. numbers of walkers cation system, sets priorities for future that can visit an area each year before degra- upgrading and reconstruction and suggests new dation occurs) might be calculated for walking approaches to walking-track management. areas in the Tasmanian wilderness. This study Recommendations for regulation, works, edu- is based on walking-track monitoring, walker- cation, monitoring and research are all detailed impact trampling trials and vegetation and and take into account issues across the entire sensitivity mapping. This information may then WHA. The strategy also recognizes that no sin- be used to estimate at what level quotas for gle technique can manage all impacts and that the number of walkers may need to be set or combinations of techniques will apply in dif- intensive management applied to ensure long- ferent recreational settings. term sustainability of walking tracks. The strategy moves away from intensive To address issues of user demand and user works in small areas to a more holistic, wide- impacts, a series of recreation resource man- area approach to management. This includes agement innovations have been developed, extensive erosion control works, more empha- including the recreation opportunity spectrum sis on investigating and implementing (ROS) planning system and the limits of rerouting of tracks to more resilient areas and acceptable change (LAC) system for wilderness more appropriate grades, closure of some planning (Cole and McCool, 1998; Wang et tracks and upgrading works appropriate for the al., 2000). track classification. Key thresholds in walking-track develop- An intensive education programme, with ment are likely to be at two stages and usage brochures, videos and travelling displays, levels: (i) when untracked areas develop pads, advises walkers of current management prac- i.e. visibly trampled routes with living vegeta- tices and highlights problems with past tion mostly intact; and (ii) when pads turn into management techniques. It also seeks support tracks, i.e. visibly trampled routes with green from the bushwalking community in accept- vegetation removed from the track surface. ing new management initiatives. The pro- Thresholds acceptable to managers and users gramme highlights the need to regulate use in are likely to be influenced by whether the site areas where impacts are high and where other is at the ‘primitive’ or ‘urban’ end of the ROS management techniques may cause displace- (Buist and Hoots, 1982). Research data from ment of walkers and changes to the untracked country on the levels of use at recreational opportunities. which pads and tracks develop can assist in Calculating Environmental Sensitivity to Walker Trampling 153

Fig. 15.1. Location of study sites in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. the development of indicators when setting alpine and montane bushwalking environ- LAC in various recreational settings. ments, as well as the effect of spreading walker In addition to monitoring existing tracks, traffic over different time periods. These trials experimental walker trials have been estab- have been established at sites of varying alti- lished to examine the effect of different tude, slope, aspect, soils, bedrock geology and trampling intensities in typical Tasmanian vegetation communities, to represent typical 154 J. Whinam et al.

Table 15.1. Environmental site data for experimental trampling trial sites and modelling sites. Experimental trampling trial sites Modelling sites Western Arthur Central Plateau Range Tim Shea Anne Range Dennison Range Altitude 1000–1420 300–1160 950–1000 300–1425 400–1280 (m a.s.l.) Rainfall 800–3000 Up to 3000 Up to 2000 2000–2500 2000–2500 (mm per annum) Geology Jurassic dolerite Precambrian Precambrian Precambrian Ordovician and Tertiary quartzite and quartzite and quartzite and conglomerate basalt schist schist Jurassic dolerite and sandstone a.s.l., above sea level.

montane and alpine environments in the Methods Tasmanian Wilderness WHA. Over a period of 5 years, surface profiles and changes in veg- Trampling trials were established in three rep- etation cover at different intensities of resentative vegetation communities, topo- trampling have been recorded. In the Western graphies, geologies and climatic settings, Arthur Range subsequent recovery rates are namely the Western Arthur Range, Tim Shea also being monitored. From these data it is Range and Central Plateau (Fig. 15.1, Table possible to identify the sensitivity of life-forms 15.1). Incorporating data from these trials, the in these vegetation communities to trampling sensitivity of vegetation communities to tram- impacts, and hence to predict sustainable car- pling impact was modelled for two further rying capacities. This information can then be areas, the Anne Range (Fig. 15.2) and the displayed geographically to show likely Denison Range (Fig 15.3). impacts at various usage levels over large areas.

Fig. 15.2. Mt Anne (left) from above Spanner Lake, Anne Range, Tasmania. Photograph: Grant Dixon. Calculating Environmental Sensitivity to Walker Trampling 155

Fig. 15.3. Northern Denison Range from above Lake Rhona. Photograph: Parks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania.

Site descriptions tinuous sheet of Jurassic dolerite, several hun- dred metres thick, with some overlying The Western Arthur Range study area was outcrops of Tertiary and Triassic rocks (Banks, selected for experimental trampling because it 1973). In contrast to the mountain ranges of is typical of many of the quartzitic alpine envi- western Tasmania, the alpine/subalpine ronments in Tasmania in which the main Central Plateau of Tasmania has a history of recreational activity is bushwalking, both on disturbance by human activity. The combina- and off marked tracks. The range is subject to tion of livestock grazing (excluded 1989), prevailing westerly winds, cool to mild tem- burning (prohibited 1989) and burrowing and peratures (mean annual maximum 10ºC), low grazing by introduced rabbits (myxomatosis evaporation and high relative humidity. It is introduced in 1952) has resulted in wide- estimated that peat formation in this environ- spread and severe sheet erosion (Jackson, ment is of the order of 1–2 cm every 1000 1973; Pemberton, 1986; Richley, 1986; Jetson, years (M. Pemberton, personal communica- 1989). The Central Plateau includes the most tion). The subalpine vegetation on the Western severely eroded alpine and subalpine ecosys- Arthur Range comprises bolster heath (various tems in Australia (Cullen, 1995). The subalpine cushion-plant species with some grasses and and alpine plant communities of the Central sedges) and heath to scrub in sheltered depres- Plateau have been described by Jackson sions. Fjaeldmark and bolster heath are typical (1973) and Kirkpatrick (1983, 1986, 1997). in exposed alpine areas. Extensive descriptions The vegetation includes one of the largest of this region can be found in Kirkpatrick remaining tracts of native grasslands in (1980) and Pemberton (1989). Tasmania, and several rare and unreserved The Tim Shea Range is subject to extreme species (Kirkpatrick et al., 1988). Grevillea westerly winds and is typical of the quartzitic australis is dominant in the understorey of the montane buttongrass environments that dom- shrublands. The grasslands are dominated by inate much of montane western Tasmania, tussock grasses (Poa labillardierei, Poa gunnii). where recreational activity is primarily bush- Bolster heath is dominated by the cushion walking, both on and off marked trails. plant, Abrotanella forsteroides. Detailed soil The Central Plateau of Tasmania is a con- and vegetation descriptions of the shrubland, 156 J. Whinam et al.

grassland, fen and bolster heath sites are given WHA (S. Rundle, unpublished data, 1998). in Whinam et al. (1994). Other experimental trampling trials have The Anne Range varies in topography found little or no difference between the from a flat plateau to slopes of up to 30°, and impacts of trampling carried out all at once, there is a dramatic change in vegetation as a as compared with the same amount of tram- response to the boundary between the dolerite pling spread out over a longer period and quartzite areas. As altitude increases, the (Hylgaard and Liddle, 1981; Price, 1985; Cole, open scrub is replaced by open heath and then 1987; Cole and Bayfield, 1993). Treatment bolster moorland and herbfield, with islands levels applied were 0 passes per annum (con- of closed heath. Revegetation and erosion of trol), 30 passes per annum (low intensity), 100 disturbed sites may be hampered by frost passes per annum (medium) and 500 (Western heave (Pemberton, 1989). Arthur Range/Tim Shea) or 700 (Central The Denison Range is dominated by Plateau) passes per annum (high). Sites were prominent ridges and peaks of siliceous retrampled annually at the Western Arthur Ordovician conglomerate and sandstone. Soil Range sites for 3 years, with the exception of formation on higher slopes has been restrict- the 500-pass treatments, which were rested for ed by soil slippage due to steeply dipping the second year due to concerns over contin- bedrock. Slope varies from 5° on crests and uing degradation and erosion. ridges up to 80° on the upper slopes Measurements were recorded prior to and (Pemberton, 1989). The vegetation ranges immediately after trampling, and at 6 weeks, from closed heath and sedgeland on slopes, 6 months and 1 year after trampling. In the crests and ridges to heath and sedgeland on Western Arthur Range, sites were monitored higher slopes (Pemberton, 1989). at this frequency for the first 3 years of the trial and then annually for the following 2 years. Data were collected for change in vege- Experimental trampling tation cover using 50 cm × 50 cm quadrat squares (Whinam and Chilcott, 1999, 2003). Experimental trampling trials were established Species data were aggregated to life-form level in three locations: the Western Arthur and Tim for analysis, because of the low percentage Shea Ranges in south-west Tasmania, and the cover of some species. Soil/vegetation surface Central Plateau. These sites encompass nine profiles (Whinam and Comfort, 1996; Whinam vegetation communities of differing geology, and Chilcott, 1999) were measured at each site soil type, slope and aspect. In the Western to quantify soil and vegetation loss, as well as Arthur and Tim Shea Ranges, trampling treat- compaction and churning resulting from tram- ments were applied in steep, sloping and flat pling. Broken plant material was collected alpine herbfields and sloping montane but- from all trampling lanes following impact. tongrass. On the Central Plateau, treatments Broken material was dried and weighed. were applied in grassland, fen, cushion and Comparisons of results for each life-form were shrubland. The duration of the experimental made to determine the susceptibility of life- periods for these trials ranged from 1 to 5 years. forms to breakage resulting from trampling Trampling was conducted in randomly impact. allocated lanes by volunteers ranging in Vegetation data were analysed for each weight (59–96 kg) and bushwalking experi- set of trampling trials as change in percentage ence. All volunteer walkers carried overnight cover or change in relative vegetation cover packs weighing between 12 and 21 kg. Due (Bayfield, 1979; Cole and Bayfield, 1993). Loss to logistic considerations associated with the of vegetation/soil from surface profiles was remote location of the sites, all trampling was calculated as total loss from treatments or by conducted on a single day (cf. Hylgaard and comparison of medians (McPherson, 1990). Liddle, 1981; Cole, 1987; Cole and Bayfield, Impact and recovery were quantified for all 1993) and midway through the growing sea- sites and treatment levels. son (Cole, 1993) when peak recreational walking occurs in the Tasmanian Wilderness Calculating Environmental Sensitivity to Walker Trampling 157

Sensitivity mapping area was created using the TIN interpolation method (20 m). Vector polygons were then Trampling sensitivity maps were produced for created for each of the slope categories. the Anne and Denison Ranges using data from Vegetation mapping is commonly based the experimental trampling trials in the other on community classification, which may not three sites. Maps were produced using the be easily interpreted in terms of trampling sen- desktop geographical information system (GIS) sitivity. The results of our trampling trials software program MapInfo Professional, support other findings that show that life-form together with a plug-in Vertical Mapper. Map and plant size affect resistance and resilience layers used to build all maps were obtained (Cole and Trull, 1992; Cole, 1993; Sun and from existing files or created using standard Liddle, 1993; Cole and Landres, 1996). GIS techniques. Ecological interpretation of vegetation com- Digital elevation models (DEMs) were first munities for particular areas is required to constructed for the two case-study areas in the categorize trampling sensitivity more accu- Anne and Denison Ranges. These DEMs, rately. For example, tall graminoid tussocks which use a raster-based coverage commonly are much more susceptible to trampling dam- termed a ‘grid’, were constructed from exist- age than small graminoid tussocks. Vegetation ing contour data using Vertical Mapper’s mapping will not necessarily distinguish triangular irregular network (TIN) interpolation between the sizes of the same life-form. Scale method. A cell size of 10 m was chosen. The is again relevant where, for example, sensitive DEM was coloured to distinguish between vegetation is interspersed between boulders lowland, montane and alpine areas using the and rock slabs that are extremely resistant to height histogram, with other vector data, trampling. The vegetation mapping used in this including lakes, creeks, roads and tracks, case study is at a scale of 1 : 25,000. draped on top. Three-dimensional (3D) mod- The classification of plant groups into els were created using Vertical Mapper’s 3D mapping units is based on a structural/floristic viewing and drape function. Parameters such system described by Kirkpatrick (1989), which as vertical exaggeration (1.75), azimuth, view- uses vegetation units known as synusiae. Each ing location, distance from location, location synusia, which is represented by a single sym- of the sun and the angle of viewing were tog- bol, must be recognizable in the field from its gled to produce the final views. These final 3D structure and key species and also on views were then exported to bitmap raster 1 : 25,000 air photos. Each community is files. A more comprehensive digital 3D model described in structural layers (Kirkpatrick, was also constructed for the Anne Range, 1989), with the components of each layer allowing a virtual 360° bird’s-eye view of the specified in order of abundance. This system Anne Range. This is accessible at our website was developed principally for alpine areas, but www.parks.tas.gov.au has been extended to produce synusia-based A number of different approaches are vegetation-mapping data from a broader veg- available for preparing trampling-sensitivity etation-mapping project for the Tasmania models. The method described below was Western Wilderness WHA (Sib Corbett, selected as it was able to overcome spatial unpublished data). The latter was used to pro- inconsistencies in the existing vegetation data vide the base vegetation data for this model. and known limitations of Vertical Mapper’s In this form of vegetation mapping, a synusia analysis of DEM. is used to describe one mappable vegetation In this model, trampling sensitivity was unit with consistent characteristics. Each synu- determined by two parameters: the trampling sia is recognized by one or more species sensitivity of various vegetation communities, which are present consistently. Vegetation based on the results of the trampling trials polygons are described by a string of synusi- described above; and the slope of the land- ae arranged in structural layers, from tallest to scape. Slope was simplified to three shortest; and within each layer in order of categories, ‘gentle’ (< 8°), ‘moderate’ (8°–18°) abundance. For example: and ‘steep’ (> 18°). A slope DEM of the study 158 J. Whinam et al.

Ac-As/C Alpine conifer open canopy over slope categories (gentle, moderate, steep). alpine shrubs with minor cushion Each vegetation polygon (with its attached sen- plants sitivity attributes) was matched with the Ah/Ag/As Alpine herbfield interspersed with generated slope polygons to produce a model alpine grass tussocks and alpine of trampling sensitivity. shrubs Vertical Mapper’s region-to-grid utility enabled the vegetation polygons to be con- The sensitivity assigned to each different verted into a grid for each of the slope vegetation community was determined by categories defined for each polygon. For each allocating a sensitivity class to the dominant vegetation slope grid, further grids were cre- life-form, based on the results of the experi- ated for each trampling class (1, 2, 3 or 4). As mental trampling trials (Whinam and Chilcott, there were three vegetation slope grids and a 1999, 2003) and base vegetation data for the maximum of four classes in each of those area as above. For example, trampling sensi- grids, the maximum number of vegetation tivity class 1 (highest sensitivity) was allocated slope grids for each trampling class was 12. to cushion plants, class 2 to buttongrass and Each of these grids was then converted into alpine heath; class 3 to rocky patches inter- polygons. spersed with alpine rainforest and/or Up to this point all analysis of the vege- graminoid heath, and class 4 to Poa grasslands tation coverage was slope-independent. Each and bare ground. To allow for the environ- of the vegetation-class polygon layers was then mental impacts of slope observed during the matched against the existing slope polygons trampling trials, all ‘steep’ slopes were upgrad- created earlier. Where there was an overlap, ed to the next level of sensitivity except for that part of the vegetation-class polygon was buttongrass communities, which were upgrad- erased (or ‘cookie-cut’) by the appropriate ed one level of sensitivity on moderate slopes slope polygons. Each of the vegetation-class and two levels of sensitivity on steep slopes. layers was shaded and joined with other base Where areas of vegetation contained plant life- layers to form the final maps. forms known to be particularly sensitive to trampling (e.g. Sphagnum moss), then that community was allocated to sensitivity class Results 1. Similarly if the vegetation classification included a particularly resilient vegetation Experimental trampling trials type (e.g. Poa grassland), then the community was allocated to sensitivity class 4. Based on Results from experimental trampling trials in earlier findings on the sensitivity of Tasmania’s Tasmania’s Western Wilderness WHA and cool temperate rainforest to horse trampling Central Plateau indicate the following: (Whinam and Comfort, 1996), and taking into • Vegetation in western Tasmania is more account the particular conservation values of sensitive to trampling impact than that on the conifer forests, vegetation communities the Central Plateau. with Athrotaxis selaginoides and Athrotaxis • Plant death peaked between 6 and 9 cupressoides were classified as sensitivity class months after initial trampling treatment. 1. As trampling trials have not been conduct- • The greatest loss of vegetation cover ed in rainforest or eucalyptus forests, occurred in the third year of trampling, sensitivity codes have not been allocated to after continued trampling impact, at all these vegetation communities. trampling intensities. Vegetation polygons were tagged with • Recovery from trampling impact to pre- their assigned sensitivity classes: class 1 (fewer trampling cover abundance is very slow than 30 passes per annum), class 2 (30–100 in all vegetation communities (i.e. passes per annum), class 3 (100–500 passes between 3 and 5 years), with the excep- per annum) and class 4 (greater than 500 pass- tion of the Central Plateau grasslands, es per annum). Each vegetation polygon had which proved resilient to trampling a separate sensitivity class for each of the three impact. Calculating Environmental Sensitivity to Walker Trampling 159

• Slopes greater than 18° show much In summary, the results of trampling trials greater trampling impacts than gentler in Tasmania indicate that, in general: slopes. • no impacts were visible from trampling • Shrubs, tall tussock graminoids and cush- levels of less than 30 passes per annum; ions are most susceptible to damage. • the formation of pads occurred at 30–100 • Organosoils are much more sensitive to passes per annum; trampling impact than mineral soils. • the development of tracks occurred at • Alpine and subalpine areas adjacent to 100–500 passes per annum; lakes and tarns (representative of many • degradation of developed tracks occurred campsites) are susceptible to damage at at trampling levels greater than 500 pass- more than 200 passes per annum. es per annum, and as low as 250 passes In terms of life-forms, trampling trials have per annum in some situations. demonstrated that immediate impact was greatest in prostrate plants due to breakage (Rogova, 1976; Whinam and Chilcott, 1999, Trampling-sensitivity mapping 2003). Life-forms with delicate leaves were highly susceptible to impact at medium and The 3D model of the Anne Range (Fig. 15.4) high trampling levels. Tall tussock graminoids gives an indication of slope and topography, were also susceptible to more impact than the with current walking tracks and routes super- lower-growing tufted graminoids and grasses. imposed. The highest point on the range is Mt These findings are supported by other tram- Anne at 1425 m. Trampling sensitivity for the pling trials (Cole and Landres, 1996), where Anne Range is shown in Fig. 15.5. This illus- short stature, rosette, creeping or caespitose trates that much of the existing track network growth form, flexible stems and leaves that are and pad formation has developed in areas of small, thick and flexible (able to fold under sensitive vegetation. However, the topography pressure) contributed to trampling resistance. illustrated in the 3D model indicates the prac- It seems that resilience is conferred by life- tical difficulties of avoiding these sensitive forms that protect perennating tissues. areas.

Fig. 15.4. A three-dimensional view of the Anne Range. 160 J. Whinam et al.

Fig. 15.5. Trampling sensitivity for the Anne Range. Calculating Environmental Sensitivity to Walker Trampling 161

Fig. 15.6. A three-dimensional view of the Denison Range.

Figure 15.6 shows the slope and topog- Managers need practical indicators and tech- raphy of the Denison Range with the existing niques for assessing conditions, as well as track network superimposed. Trampling sensi- predicting and monitoring deviation from nat- tivity for the Denison Range is shown in Fig. ural or acceptable conditions (Cole et al., 15.7. The Denison Range is not as high as the 2000). The necessity and difficulty of describ- Anne Range. Reeds Peak is the highest point ing natural or desired conditions at large at 1280 m. Glacial cirques on the Denison spatial and temporal scales have been recog- Range, however, restrict the number of walk- nized (Cole and Landres, 1996). ing routes. The mapping of areas sensitive to tram- pling allows the presentation of complex scientific data in a user-friendly format. Management Applications However, there are several points to bear in mind when looking at the applicability of Recreational use and its management have mapped sensitivity to impacts. A limitation to been identified as one of the most significant its widespread use is the need for a variety of threats to wilderness ecosystems (Cole and data to be available, such as vegetation map- Landres, 1996). As many wilderness areas are ping, electronic cartographic features and data located at high elevations, they are naturally on carrying capacity in untracked country of stressed ecosystems that are not highly resilient the different vegetation types at a relevant (Cole and Landres, 1996). Research is recog- scale. The better and more accurate the qual- nized as critical to meeting the challenge of ity of the data, the more the sensitivity preserving wilderness resources for future gen- mapping will reflect the actual on-ground con- erations, particularly in relation to a better ditions. Whatever data are available, the understanding of natural conditions (Cole and assigning of sensitivity classes must be sup- Landres, 1996; Cole et al., 2000). A crucial ported by ground-testing. management question is how much trampling The scale of the data available will also is tolerable in wilderness (Landres et al., 2000). affect the application of the sensitivity map- 162 J. Whinam et al.

Fig. 15.7. Trampling sensitivity for the Denison Range. Calculating Environmental Sensitivity to Walker Trampling 163

ping, by limiting the degree of resolution for Tasmania. Vegetation data extracted from planning and management decisions. For WHA 1 : 25,000 Mapping Project, Nature example, slope characteristics and vegetation Conservation Branch and GIS Sections, mapping may be based on data on a 1 : 25,000 Resource Management and Conservation, scale, while sections of track may be substan- DPIWE. Michael Pemberton provided infor- tially steeper or flatter than the general mation on geology. Grant Dixon and an landscape and contain vegetation that differs anonymous referee provided helpful com- from the surrounding slopes. Therefore, while ments. This project was supported by the sensitivity mapping on a 1 : 25,000 scale is Tasmanian Wilderness WHA Program. useful for regional planning, a finer resolution (e.g. 1 : 5000) would be more useful for spe- cific area planning. Also, other environmental References parameters that significantly affect local trampling sensitivity, such as drainage, are Banks, M.R. (1973) General Geology. Symposium difficult to superimpose on the sensitivity conducted by the Royal Society of Tasmania, map, because of small-scale variability. Launceston. Conservation values of particular species or Bayfield, N.G. (1979) Recovery of four montane heath communities on Cairngorm, Scotland, communities may also need to be from disturbance by trampling. Biological considered. Conservation 15, 165–179. Generally, areas that receive heavy recre- Buist, J.L. and Hoots, T.A. (1982) Recreational ation use are allocated the most wilderness opportunity spectrum approach to resource management resources (people, time, infor- planning. Journal of Forestry 80, 84–86. mation and money). However, it has been Cole, D.N. (1987) Effects of three seasons of exper- argued (Cole, 1997) that more resources imental trampling on five montane forest should be allocated to lightly used wilderness communities and a grassland in western areas because these are the places that are in Montana, USA. Biological Conservation 40, most natural condition, most vulnerable and 219–244. Cole, D.N. (1993) Experimental trampling of vege- most responsive to management. This view- tation. II. Predictors of resistance and point, combined with the extremely slow resilience. Journal of Applied Ecology 32(1), recovery rates recorded (J. Whinam and N. 215–224. Chilcott, unpublished data, 2002), supports Cole, D.N. (1997) Recreation management priorities the need to plan and manage recreational use are misplaced – allocate more resources to in untracked alpine wilderness areas. low-use wilderness. International Journal of The sensitivity mapping presented could Wilderness 3(4), 4–8. be a useful planning and management tool Cole, D.N. and Bayfield, N.G. (1993) Recreational when assessing the range of options for new trampling of vegetation: standard experimental track and campsite developments on a region- procedures. Biological Conservation 63, 209–215. al level, by highlighting sensitive areas that Cole, D.N. and Landres, P.B. (1996) Threats to would be best avoided. It can contribute to the wilderness ecosystems: impacts and research database from which LAC (Stankey and Wood, needs. Ecological Applications 6(1), 168–183. 1982) can be formulated. However, once pads Cole, D.N. and McCool, S.F. (1998) Limits of develop into tracks in sensitive areas, as the acceptable change and natural resources plan- case studies illustrate, other management ning: when is LAC useful, when is it not? In: options need to be considered, such as track McCool, S.F. and Cole, D.N. (eds) Proceedings hardening or track closure. of Limits of Acceptable Change and Related Planning Processes: Progress and Future Directions, 20–22 May 1997, Missoula, Acknowledgements Montana. General Technical Report INT-GTR- 371, Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Topographic data provided by Land Ogden, Utah. Information Services, Department of Primary Cole, D.N. and Trull, S.J. (1992) Quantifying vege- Industries, Water and Environment (DPIWE), tation response to recreational disturbance in 164 J. Whinam et al.

the North Cascades, Washington. Northwest of Change, Vol. 5, Changing Perspectives and Science 66, 229–236. Future Directions, 23–27 May 1999, Missoula, Cole, D.N., McCool, S.F., Parsons, D.J. and Brown, Montana. Rocky Mountain Research Station, P.J. (2000) Wilderness science in a time of Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, change: a conference. In: Cole, D.N., McCool, Ogden, Utah. S.F., Freimeund, W.A. and O’Laughlin, J. (eds) McPherson, G. (1990) Statistics in Scientific Proceedings of Wilderness Science in a Time Investigation: Its Basis, Application and of Change, Vol. 1, Changing Perspectives and Interpretation. Springer-Verlag, New York, Future Directions, 23–27 May 1999, Missoula, 666 pp. Montana. Rocky Mountain Research Station, Parks and Wildlife Service (1994) Walking Track Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, Management Strategy for the Tasmanian Ogden, Utah. Wilderness World Heritage Area. Tasmanian Cullen, P. (1995) Land Degradation on the Central Parks and Wildlife Service, Hobart. Plateau, Tasmania: the Legacy of 170 Years of Parks and Wildlife Service (1999) Tasmanian Exploitation. Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Wilderness World Heritage Area Management Service, Hobart. Plan. Parks and Wildlife Service, Hobart. Hylgaard, T. and Liddle, M.J. (1981) The effect of Pemberton, M. (1986) Land Systems of Tasmania human trampling on a sand dune ecosystem Region 5 – Central Plateau. Department of dominated by Empetrum nigrum. Journal of Agriculture, Hobart. Applied Ecology 18, 559–569. Pemberton, M. (1989) Land Systems of Tasmania Jackson, W.D. (1973) Vegetation. Symposium con- Region 7 – South West. Department of ducted by the Royal Society of Tasmania, Foot Agriculture, Hobart. and Playstead, Launceston. Price, M.F. (1985) A Review of Research into the Jetson, T. (1989) The Roof of Tasmania: a History of Impacts of Recreation on Alpine Vegetation in the Central Plateau. Pelion Press, Launceston. Western North America. In: Bayfeild, N.G. and Kirkpatrick, J.B. (1980) Tasmanian high mountain Barrow, G.C. (eds) The Impacts of Outdoor vegetation. I. A reconnaissance survey of the Recreation on Mountain Areas in Europe and Eastern Arthur Range and Mt. Picton. Papers North America. Recreation Ecology Research and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Group Report No. 9. Tasmania 114, 1–20. Richley, L.R. (1986) Report on the Degradation of Kirkpatrick, J.B. (1983) Treeless plant communities Crown Land Used for Grazing on the Central of the Tasmanian High Country. Proceedings Plateau. Department of Agriculture, Tasmania. of the Ecological Society of Australia 12, Rogova, T.V. (1976) Influence of trampling on veg- 61–77. etation of forest meadow and whortle- Kirkpatrick, J.B. (1986) Conservation of plant berry-moss pine forest cenoses. Soviet Journal species, alliances and associations of the tree- of Ecology 7, 356–359. less high country of Tasmania, Australia. Stankey, G.H. and Wood, J. (1982) The recreation Biological Conservation 37, 43–57. opportunity spectrum: an introduction. Kirkpatrick, J.B. (1989) A synusia-based vegetation Australian Parks and Recreation February, mapping system for the conservation manage- 6–15. ment of natural vegetation, with an example Sun, D. and Liddle, M.J. (1993) Plant morphologi- from Tasmania, Australia. Biological cal characteristics and resistance to simulated Conservation 32, 613–629. trampling. Environmental Management 17, Kirkpatrick, J.B. (1997) Alpine Tasmania: an 511–521. Illustrated Field Guide to the Flora and Wang, T.L., Anderson, D.H. and Lime, D.W. (2000) Vegetation. Oxford University Press, Protecting resources and visitor opportunities: Melbourne, 196 pp. a decision process to help managers maintain Kirkpatrick, J.B., Gilfedder, L. and Fensham, R. the quality of park resources and visitor expe- (1988) City Parks and Cemeteries, Tasmania’s riences. Park Science 20(2), 23–27. Remnant Grasslands and Grassy Woodlands. Whinam, J. and Chilcott, N. (1999) Impacts of tram- Tasmanian Conservation Trust, Hobart. pling on alpine environments in central Landres, P.B., Brunson, M.W., Merigliano, L., Tasmania. Journal of Environmental Manage- Sydoriak, C. and Morton, S. (2000) Naturalness ment 57(3), 205–220. and wildness: the dilemma and irony of man- Whinam, J. and Chilcott, N. (2003) Impacts after aging wilderness. In: Cole, D.N., McCool, S.F., four years of experimental trampling on alpine Freimeund, W.A. and O’Laughlin, J. (eds) In: environments in western Tasmania. Journal of Proceedings of Wilderness Science in a Time Environmental Management (in press). Calculating Environmental Sensitivity to Walker Trampling 165

Whinam, J. and Comfort, M. (1996) The impact of Comfort, M. (1994) Studies on the potential commercial horse riding on sub-alpine envi- impact of recreational horseriding on some ronments at Cradle Mountain, Tasmania, alpine environments of the Central Plateau, Australia. Journal of Environmental Manage- Tasmania. Journal of Environmental Manage- ment 47, 61–70. ment 40, 103–117. Whinam, J., Cannell, E.J., Kirkpatrick, J.B. and

16

Modelling Potential for Nature-based Tourism

Colin Arrowsmith Department of Geospatial Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Abstract

A spatial tourism-potential model has been developed that combines the outputs from an environmental- resiliency model developed using multivariate analysis, with a tourism-attractiveness model, using geographical information systems (GIS). The model is tested and applied to a popular conservation reserve, Grampians National Park (GNP) in the south-east of Australia. Currently tourism is heavily concentrated in the northern Grampians. This has resulted in adverse impacts on the environment, which could potential- ly diminish the overall tourism experience of the region. It is anticipated that using the tourism-potential model will help to identify new opportunities for tourism growth in the region, particularly in the south of the park. The model has particular application in planning for nature-based tourism and will assist in iden- tifying locations that are attractive, environmentally resilient and can form part of an interesting and diverse series of nature-based tourist attractions in close proximity to each other.

Introduction frequent fires. These range from subalpine to eucalyptus scrubs and woodlands and wetland Grampians National Park (GNP) lies 260 km communities. north-west of Melbourne in the State of An environmental-resiliency model for Victoria in south-eastern Australia. With a the GNP has been developed previously by total area of 167,000 ha, it is known particu- Arrowsmith and Inbakaran (2001). In this larly for granite mountain ranges and spring chapter we describe an extension of that wildflowers and is a popular tourist destina- model to include tourism access and attrac- tion. It supports a high diversity of birds, tiveness, so as to yield a tourism-potential including threatened species, such as power- model. ful owl, over 40 native mammal species and Using principal-components analysis, the 800 indigenous plant species, of which 20 are environmental-resiliency model shows that, locally endemic. There are eight vegetation for the study area, susceptibility to environ- communities within the park, many subject to mental damage decreases with increasing

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 167 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 168 C. Arrowsmith

Fig. 16.1 Resiliency polygons for part of the study area.

elevation (Fig. 16.1). In general, walking tracks sensitivity to human influence . . . [and] . . . through the region commence at lower alti- human activities must be dispersed, low in tudes and tend to traverse erodible sandy soils intensity, and inversely proportional to the before climbing on to more resilient rocky out- sensitivity of each landscape element. crops, with typically scenic outlooks. In Tourism is a social activity that is highly addition, most of the current tourism activity subjective. The scope of this chapter prevents is concentrated in a limited area. Arrowsmith an in-depth assessment of the myriad cogni- and Inbakaran (2001) concluded that there are tive processes that lead to differential opportunities to accommodate increasing appreciation of tourism attractions (for exam- tourist numbers via multi-path tracks through ple, see Lowenthal and Prince, 1965). The less resilient areas and by seeking tourism approach adopted here is to seek individual potential in currently less popular areas. preferences, aggregate these and then deter- In addition to outputs from the environ- mine an average or ‘collective’ preference for mental-resiliency model, the tourism-potential the various tourist attractions throughout the model described here also incorporates study area. Tourists usually visit particular indices of tourism attractiveness, based on locations because of some attraction. This tourism features, their relative attractiveness chapter sets out a method for determining and and importance and their accessibility, as well quantifying what tourists collectively perceive as the diversity of attractions within a speci- as attractive and therefore consider worth- fied geographical area. while visiting. To determine levels of This model provides a basis for future perceived attractiveness, a questionnaire was tourism planning. It provides opportunities to administered to 120 tourists and visitors to the identify locations for dissipation of tourism region. From the evaluation of the question- activity. Forman and Godron (1986, p. 500) naires, measures of attractiveness throughout note that: the region were then determined as part of the If the management objective is to maintain or developed tourism-attractiveness index dis- restore the natural landscape, the survey of cussed below. landscape elements must focus on their Using a geographical information system Modelling Potential for Nature-based Tourism 169

(GIS), attractiveness indices are derived across Tourism Attraction the study area and converted into attractive- ness polygons. These polygons are then Attractiveness is subjective and may vary spatially intersected with the environmental- according to an individual’s gender, cultural resiliency polygons derived from the and ethnic background, socio-economic sta- environmental-resiliency model (Arrowsmith tus, educational level, family situation, health, and Inbakaran, 2001). The result is a com- disability and age. In a study by Abello and bined spatial model (that is, a map) of tourism Bernaldez (1986), for example, findings con- attractiveness and environmental resiliency. firmed previous studies that a correlation exists Against this map, a diversity index is also gen- between personality and landscape prefer- erated, based on the range of different ence. DeLucio and Mugica (1994), in tourist-attraction types found in close proxim- assessing landscape preferences and behav- ity to each other. So that comparisons between iour of visitors to Spanish national parks, noted subregions within the study area could be that different visitor types exhibit differing made, the study area is spatially segmented degrees of interest, knowledge and dedication approximating the 1 : 25,000 topographic to their visits. Tourist attractions are the basic map-sheet boundaries. This resulted in 116 elements on which tourism is developed (Lew, quadrats or map sheets, each 5 km by 6 km. 1987). In their study, Mackay and Fesenmaier Initial results showed high attractiveness and (1997) use principal-component analysis in an diversity in the northern sector. However, in investigation into image formation. The first the central southern and central western sec- component (or factor) Mackay and Fesenmaier tors of the GNP, there was also evidence of (1997) labelled ‘attractiveness’. Variables such highly attractive and diverse locations that as excitement, fun, ‘lots to do’ and enjoyable, could be found on highly resilient topography. are highly correlated with this component. Tourists are unlikely to consider individual They recognized this component as an activ- attractions in their own right, but rather a col- ity dimension where interaction with the lection of attractions. For example, in an environment is occurring. This chapter con- analysis of waterfalls as a recreational and centrates on the human impact on fragile tourism resource, Hudson (1998) notes that environments and therefore all potential visi- visitors come mainly for other reasons than the tation nodes must be considered as tourist attraction of waterfalls. Those areas where a attractions. Tourist attractions encourage visi- diversity of attraction types are greatest would tation and therefore act as nodes for potential presumably be more attractive for tourist visi- environmental impact. tation, and the 5 km by 6 km map sheets could Tourist attractions primarily fall into one be expected to be reasonably managed on a of two categories. Nature-based attractions 1-day excursion. include rivers, scenic vistas, waterfalls, flora It is recognized at the outset that working and fauna and interesting geomorphology. by map sheet to determine tourism potential Historic sites, important buildings and enter- has its limitations. Summation of resilient and tainment centres could be considered as attractive areas by map sheet limits geograph- cultural attractions. Recreational attractions, ical location only to the map-sheet boundary however, may fall within either category. For rather than to specific geographical sites. In example, golf-courses, tennis-courts, boating addition, arbitrary delineation of map-sheet facilities, picnic and barbecue areas, as well boundaries may result in segmentation of clus- as scenic lookouts, could all be considered tered diverse and attractive tourist locations. cultural as they have involved human inter- However, keeping these limitations in mind, vention in their establishment, whereas future opportunities for dispersing tourism beaches and rock climbing are recreational throughout the GNP can be based on relative attractions relating to the natural environment. attractiveness, diversity and spatial distribu- The infrastructure that supports these attrac- tion, as well as biophysical environmental tions must also be seen as a tourist attraction resilience. The resultant model has been in its own right. Lew (1987, p. 557) regards termed the ‘tourism-potential model’. these attractions as the ‘nature–human inter- 170 C. Arrowsmith

face’ attractions. Toilets, shops and kiosks, GIS on the basis of each attraction’s spatial information centres, walking tracks and picnic shape and areal coverage. and camping grounds, for example, could be Point feature attractions for this study considered infrastructure supporting primary included those attractions that take up an area tourist attractions. While in themselves they of less than one grid cell of 100 m × 100 m may not act as attractions, they will neverthe- (that is, 1 ha) in the GIS. The majority of tourist less encourage human visitation and, attractions fall under this feature type. They therefore, potential environmental impact and include: scenic lookouts, picnic spots, camp- hence are considered in this study as attrac- ing sites, waterfalls, geological formations, tions. rock-climbing sites, boating facilities (jetties, etc.), European historic sites, Aboriginal his- toric sites, tourist-information centres, key Quantifying Attractiveness accommodation centres, caves, mines and monuments. Tourist preferences for attractions in the GNP According to Wall (1997), point attrac- were obtained using a questionnaire adminis- tions serve to concentrate tourism activity in a tered to visitors over a 2-week period. As well small area. While catering for tourists can be as questionnaires being filled in in situ, ques- efficiently conducted, it does result in dangers tionnaires were left at five key tourist- associated with ‘congestion, over-commer- information centres located within the vicini- cialisation, reduction in the quality of visitor ty of the national park. A total of 120 experience, and occasional destruction of the completed questionnaires were received. resource’ (Wall, 1997, p. 241). This can be Key findings from the responses were as seen, for example, in the closure of a stand- follows: ing platform at one site in GNP, because of vandalism and overuse of the holding rails. • Most respondents visit the GNP for its nat- Lineal attractions comprised walking ural beauty and see this as its greatest tracks and rivers and streams. It should be attraction. noted that, while a number of geomorpholog- • Of the natural attractions, scenic views, ical features could be considered as lineal waterfalls, walking tracks and geological features, for example escarpments, these were formations are the most important. considered to comprise point attractions for • Infrastructure such as information centres lookouts and lineal attractions for walking and public facilities are not considered to tracks. be important attractions. Areal attractions cover a wider area than • Specialized tourist pursuits, such as rock point-feature-type attractions. Vegetation was climbing and boating, are not considered considered an areal feature. Using pho- to be important by most visitors to the tographs of each of the ecological vegetation region. classes in the analysis, respondents were asked • Many tourists, particularly interstate and to identify those communities of greatest or international visitors, were unfamiliar least attractiveness. Riverside, swamp scrub with attractions except in the most heav- and subalpine were ranked with highest attrac- ily visited areas. tiveness, open forest, stringbark forest and • While tourist infrastructure is not recog- heathland intermediate and heath woodland nized as an important attraction in its own and rocky woodland as least attractive. right, it does add to the comfort and there- It should be noted that, while the inten- fore the experience of the tourist. tion was to measure response to vegetation Wall (1997) identifies three feature-type class alone, ranks given may also be affected tourist attractions, each with varying capaci- by the actual situation or setting of the ques- ties to withstand large numbers of tourists. tionnaire and/or photograph, the objects found Using this as a basis for categorizing tourist within each photograph and external factors, attractions, they were broken down into areal, such as weather conditions and camera set- lineal or point feature types for input into the tings. Approaches using simulated environ- Modelling Potential for Nature-based Tourism 171

ments (Bishop et al., 2001; Johnson et al., Miller et al., 1994) in landscape evaluation Chapter 9, this volume) are also available but and measurement of attractiveness of land- were not used in this instance. scapes from viewpoints. In this study, the The Land Conservation Council of relative attractiveness of scenic views was Victoria (LCC) has produced a report that lists defined by the size of the viewshed. the historic and cultural features for south-west To determine the scenic-view catchment Victoria, including the GNP (LCC, 1997). In areas or viewsheds, a visibility analysis was the report, recommendations are made regard- conducted on key lookout locations across the ing site preservation and/or changes to existing study area. Rock outcrops, tree-canopy heights land use. The report acknowledges the tourism and curvature and refraction corrections were potential of the many and varied historic made to the ground digital elevation model. places throughout the region. Each site is grad- Output consisted of a grid showing areal ed according to its level of significance. extents of what could and could not be seen Category A places are assessed to be of State from each viewpoint. Each scenic viewshed significance, while categories B and C have was then intersected with topographical fea- regional and local significance, respectively. tures, such as water bodies, vegetation types All places identified in this report for the study and elevation and slopes, factors deemed area have been included in the tourism-poten- important in discriminating good and poor tial model. views (Hull and Buhyoff, 1983; Hammitt et al., The 1 : 25,000 topographic map sheets 1994; Bishop, 1996; Nova Scotia Museum of published by the former Division of Survey Natural History, 1996). On the basis of scenic- and Mapping in 1985 provided a number of view composition and area within the cultural and historic site locations (including viewshed, an attractiveness level was then old ruins, Aboriginal sites, hotels and motels assigned to each scenic viewpoint. and camping and picnic grounds). As well as The second step was to assign each attrac- cultural and historic features, natural features, tion an accessibility weighting, ACi, according including geomorphological structures, water- to distance from access points, such as roads falls, rock outcrops, rivers and streams, access and walking tracks. These weights ranged from roads and walking trails, could be located on 1 (easiest access) through to 4 (impossible to these map sheets. Additional information was reach). The third step was to assign preference acquired from publications by Thomas (1995), ranks, Pi, based on the visitor questionnaires Tourism Victoria (undated, c. 1995), the described earlier. Respondents were asked to National Parks Service (1996) and Parks assign a rank from 1 to 14 to a range of tourist Victoria (1997, 1998a,b) and from field attractions. Averaged ranks ranged from 2.49 assessments. for scenic views to 12.33 for boating facilities.

For each attraction, a weighted rank, Wi, was calculated as Wi = ATi/ACi and an over- all attractiveness index, AIi = Wi/Pi. These Constructing a Tourism-potential became the fourth and fifth steps, respectively.

Model These attractiveness indices, AIi, apply to indi- vidual attractions. In many instances, however, Constructing the tourism-potential model there are several independent attractions at a involves nine steps, as follows. Each attraction single location. For each 100 m × 100 m cell was first assigned an attractiveness ranking, across the study area, therefore, an aggregate

ATi, from 1 (least attractive) to 4 (most attrac- spatial attractiveness index was calculated by tive). For example, major waterfalls and adding the indices for individual attractions lookouts were ranked 4, whereas minor within that cell. Aggregate indices ranged from unnamed waterfalls were ranked 2. 0.1 to 2.0. These were reclassified, as part of Scenic views present a particular problem step six, into four standardized ranks, with in determining relative attractiveness. There ranks of 1 (low), 2 (medium) and 3 (high attrac- has been considerable research (for example, tiveness) assigned for aggregate indices of Hull and Buhyoff, 1983; Hammitt et al., 1994; 0.1–0.3, 0.4–0.6 and 0.7–1.0, respectively, and 172 C. Arrowsmith

rank 4 (very high attractiveness) for aggregate restrictions. indices more than 1.0. To assist in the analysis, 116 map sheets, In the seventh step, these tourist-attrac- each 5 km wide (east–west) and 6 km long tiveness ranks (1–4) were then combined with (north–south), covering the entire study area environmental-resiliency ranks (1–5) from the (Fig. 16.2) were superimposed over the resul- model of Arrowsmith and Inbarakan (2001) to tant tourism-appropriateness polygons. This yield an index of tourism appropriateness. became step eight in the development of the Areas with low or medium attractiveness tourism-potential model. It was also consid- (ranks 1 or 2) were assigned a low appropri- ered that a visitor could reasonably traverse a ateness index, irrespective of resiliency. Areas 5 km by 6 km area within a single day visit. of high and very high attractiveness (ranks 3 Areas of environmental resiliency, attractive- and 4) and low resiliency (ranks 1–3) were ness and tourism potential were summed for assigned moderate appropriateness, and those each map sheet. Map sheets were then ranked with high to very high attractiveness and high into quartiles according to the amount of resiliency (ranks 4 or 5) were assigned high summed area classified by environmental tourism appropriateness. Note that, in ascer- resiliency, attractiveness and tourism poten- taining tourism appropriateness, attractiveness tial. This resulted in the ability to spatially was determined as being a function of both locate concentrations of tourism potential. attractiveness and accessibility. This model Because diversity of attractions is consid- therefore assesses tourism potential in the light ered important, a diversity index was of current accessibility, without further devel- generated for each of the 116 map sheets. For opment. In some instances (for example, each map sheet (Fig. 16.2), a diversity index certain lookouts and caves), access is current- was calculated such that: DIi = ni /N, where ly almost impossible due to severe DIi = diversity index for the ith map sheet, ni topographical and physical accessibility = number of different attraction types for the

Fig. 16.2. Map-sheet numbers for the study area. Modelling Potential for Nature-based Tourism 173

Fig. 16.3. Map showing high-attractiveness areas only by map sheet.

ith mapsheet, and N = total number of differ- shaded dark grey, down to the lowest 25% ent attraction types across the study area. The shaded light grey. final result yields the tourism-potential model. Figure 16.4 combines high-resiliency map The final, ninth, step was to generate a sheets with attractiveness. This shows shaded series of three maps showing map sheets map sheets according to summed areas of ranked by quartile. These are shown in Figs highly attractive and highly resilient areas. 16.3, 16.4 and 16.5. Figure 16.3 shows map Again, the top 25% of map sheets with the sheets shaded according to total summed areas highest summed areas are shaded dark grey. of highly attractive polygons – that is, those Diversity within each map sheet is polygons where attractiveness levels are 3 or shown in Fig. 16.5, again by quartile. The top 4. Shading is based on quartiles, where the top 25% of map sheets containing the highest 25% of the number of map sheets with the diversity of tourist attractions are shaded dark highest total areas of high attractiveness are grey. 174 C. Arrowsmith

Fig. 16.4. Map showing high-attractiveness areas and high-resiliency areas by map sheet.

Using attractions across the GNP as a its map sheets ranked as highly attractive, the mechanism for dispersing tourism southern sector has less than 3% (one of the 36 map sheets), with the northern sector at just For descriptive purposes, divisions have been over 17%. made separating the northern, central and Concentrations of highly attractive areas southern sections of the park. These are shown can be seen throughout the central region, in Fig. 16.3 and tabulated according to the where there is a distinct division between the proportion of map sheets falling within quar- central east (map-sheet numbers 29–31, tile classifications in Table 16.1. 40–42, 51, 52, 61, 62 and 72) and the cen- From Fig. 16.3 and Table 16.1 it can be tral west (map sheets 37, 47, 48, 56–58, seen that there are marked differences 66–68, 74, 75 and 82) (Fig. 16.2). between the northern, central and southern If we include environmental resilience sectors in terms of attractiveness. For example, into the analysis, it can be seen from Fig. 16.4 while the central sector has more than 47% of that the total number of map sheets ranked as Modelling Potential for Nature-based Tourism 175

Fig. 16.5. Map showing diversity of tourism attractions. highly attractive is reduced. There is still a cen- Diversity concentration can be found tral-sector tendency for highly attractive throughout the north, central east and locations, and the divide between the central central west sectors and in one map sheet east and central west can still be seen. surrounding the township of Dunkeld to the However, the region in the extreme south south. around the township of Dunkeld (map-sheet Further examination of spatial relation- number 104) shows high attractiveness on ships and configurations of individual map resilient ground. Where the central sector had sheets can be undertaken using spatial associ- more than 47% of its map sheets ranked ation or fragmentation within each quartile as highly attractive, this drops to slightly classification. Measures of spatial autocorrela- less than 24%, while the northern sector tion, using ‘normalized join counts’ where the actually increases from 17.64% to 20.59% actual number of similarly classified joined (or when environmental resiliency is taken into adjacent) map sheets can be compared with account. what might be expected by chance, can be 176 C. Arrowsmith

Table 16.1. Counts of map sheets by quartile rank. Quartile Number in Percentage in Number in Percentage in Number in Percentage in rank northern sector northern sector central sector central sector southern sector southern sector

Fig. 16.3. High-attractiveness (only) areas 5 4 20 Low /34 14.71 /46 8.70 /36 55.55 10 8 11 Medium low /34 29.41 /46 17.39 /36 30.56 13 12 4 Medium high /34 38.24 /46 26.09 /36 11.11 6 22 1 High /34 17.64 /46 47.82 /36 2.78 Fig. 16.4. High-attractiveness and high-resiliency areas 11 19 27 Low /34 32.35 /46 41.30 /36 75.00 8 8 4 Medium low /34 23.53 /46 17.39 /36 11.11 8 8 4 Medium high /34 23.53 /46 17.39 /36 11.11 7 11 1 High /34 20.59 /46 23.92 /36 2.78 Fig. 16.5. Diversity of attractions 8 9 22 Low /34 23.53 /46 19.57 /36 61.11 11 15 10 Medium low /34 32.35 /46 32.61 /36 27.78 7 16 3 Medium high /34 20.59 /46 34.78 /36 8.33 8 6 1 High /34 23.53 /46 13.04 /36 2.78 undertaken. This approach is well document- Analysis and Discussion ed by Unwin (1981). Spatial correlations between highly attrac- Map sheets categorized both highly attractive tive, environmentally resilient and diverse and resilient are spatially autocorrelated. tourist-attraction map sheets will yield loca- Rather than attractive and resilient areas being tions that could offer potential tourism sites. scattered throughout the study area, they are Table 16.2 combines Figs 16.4 and 16.5, found close together. Diversity of attractions is yielding tourism potential. This is shown also spatially autocorrelated and there are con- in Fig. 16.6. It should be noted that no centrations of diversity of tourist attractions attempt has been made to combine both throughout the study area. attractiveness and diversity into one index, but Figure 16.6 shows that, for a number of rather these two components are looked at map sheets ranked highly as tourist attractions, individually. there are significant areas of environmentally resilient ground that offer a diversity of attrac-

Table 16.2. Tourism potential by map sheet for the Grampians National Park. Tourism potential Categories Map-sheet number Excellent High attractiveness, high resiliency 23, 30, 31, 40, 41, 51, 52, 57, 58, 104 and high diversity Very good High attractiveness, high resiliency 26, 50, 62, 66, 67, 72 and medium high diversity Good High attractiveness, high resiliency 2, 6, 28 and medium low or low diversity Very good Medium high attractiveness, high 21, 33, 42 resiliency and high diversity Good Medium high attractiveness, high 16, 20, 48, 98 resiliency and medium high diversity Worth considering Medium high attractiveness, high 1, 5, 7, 32, 43, 53, 60, 61, 64, 80, 81, 82, resiliency and medium low or low 110 diversity Modelling Potential for Nature-based Tourism 177

Fig. 16.6. Map showing tourism potential by map sheet. The ‘tourism-potential model’.

tions. These are considered as offering excel- 66 and 67 all offer very good to excellent lent tourism potential (refer to Table 16.2). tourism potential. We need to examine these Map sheets exhibiting the most tourism map-sheet locations in more detail to identify potential, not surprisingly, dominate the pop- particular opportunities. However, the bene- ular regions around Halls Gap in the north-east fits from supporting tourism identified in these sector (map-sheet 31). The township supports alternative locations are fivefold: the largest number of accommodation centres and acts as the ‘hub’ of tourist activity in the • by offering potential recreational oppor- park. However, the tourism-potential model tunities in environmentally resilient enables new opportunities, in particular to the locations; west and south, for the more popular tourist • by offering a diverse range of attractions sites to be examined for tourism potential. map to sustain the interest of potential tourists; sheet 104 in the south and map-sheets 57, 58, • by offering a range of attractions that 178 C. Arrowsmith

could be feasibly explored in one-half to as a potential location. Finally, the entire one day; process has been predicated on responses to • by offering the opportunity for tourists to questionnaires administered to a sample set of get away from heavily concentrated visitors to the region. Attractiveness is subjec- tourist spots, enabling social carrying tive. Preferences for the various vegetation capacities to be maintained and yet types were based on ecological vegetation increasing overall numbers to the region; classes and were ascertained using pho- • by offering potential economic benefits to tographs within the questionnaire. While an the townships of Dunkeld in the south and attempt has been made to measure response Cavendish in the south-west without hav- to vegetation class alone, the actual situation ing to develop accommodation centres or setting of the questionnaire and/or photo- inside the park boundaries. New-five star graph, the objects found within each accommodation has already been built in photograph, as well as external factors, such Dunkeld. as weather conditions, camera settings, etc., could all influence the ranks given. It was noted that adopting a simulated environment, Conclusions used by Bishop et al. (2001), would enable external factors to be controlled. In addition, This chapter has demonstrated a spatial model there has been no attempt to accommodate or developed using GIS to assess relative sub- analyse responses from people with varying areas within a tourist destination for tourism gender, cultural and ethnic background, socio- potential and appropriateness. This model has economic status, educational level, family been founded upon, first, one of the principles situation, health, disability and age. This must of environmental sustainability, namely mini- form part of future research. mizing environmental degradation, and, secondly, maximizing the tourist satisfaction experience based on tourist dissipation and diversity of high-appeal attractions. While the References approach is a positivist one, using a predefined questionnaire administered to visitors, it does Abello, R. and Bernaldez, F. (1986) Landscape pref- offer an objective and repeatable assessment. erence and personality. Landscape and Urban Planning 13, 19–28. Tourism planners and park managers can use Arrowsmith, C.A. and Inbakaran, R. (2001) the developed tourism-potential model to take Estimating environmental resiliency for the proactive measures to control nature-based Grampians National Park. Tourism Manage- tourism in environmentally fragile tourist des- ment 23(3), 295–309. tinations. Bishop, I. (1996) Comparing regression and neural However, there are a number of limita- net based approaches to modelling of scenic tions with this approach to determining beauty. Landscape and Urban Planning 34(2), tourism potential. First, it will be necessary to 125–134. investigate more carefully the actual tourist Bishop, I.J., Wherrett, J.R. and Millar, D. (2001) sites on each map sheet to ascertain how envi- Assessment of path choices on a country walk using a virtual environment. Landscape and ronmentally resilient actual tourist point Urban Planning 52, 227–239. features are. The model will give only summed DeLucio, J.V. and Mugica, M. (1994) Landscape areas that have been found environmentally preferences and behaviour of visitors to resilient and attractive. In reality it might be Spanish national parks. Landscape and Urban that the actual tourist site is vulnerable to Planning 29, 145–160. tourism impact. Secondly, the arbitrary delin- Forman, R. and Godron, M. (1986) Landscape eation of map-sheet boundaries may cut across Ecology. John Wiley & Sons, New York. highly diverse and attractive tourist locations. Hammitt, W.E., Patterson, M.E. and Noe, F.P. (1994) The result is that each map sheet may then Identifying and predicting visual preference of incorporate only a small section of what is a southern Appalachian forest recreation vistas. Landscape and Urban Planning 29, 171–183. larger potential tourist site and be overlooked Modelling Potential for Nature-based Tourism 179

Hudson, B.J. (1998) Waterfalls: resources for Park: Touring Guide. Department of Natural tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 25(4), Resources and Environment, East Melbourne, 958–973. 39 pp. Hull, R.B. and Buhyoff, G.J. (1983) Distance and Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History (1996) scenic beauty. Environment and Behavior Introduction to the Natural History of Nova 15(1), 77–91. Scotia. http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/ Land Conservation Council of Victoria (LCC) (1997) nhns/index.htm Accessed on 6 June 2001. Historic Places Special Investigation South- Halifax, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Museum of western Victoria Final Recommendations. Land Natural History. Conservation Council of Victoria, Melbourne. Parks Victoria (1997) Northern Grampians Walks. Lew, A. (1987) A framework of attraction research. Parks Victoria, Melbourne. Annals of Tourism Research 14, 553–575. Parks Victoria (1998a) Wonderland Walks. Parks Lowenthal, D. and Prince, H.C. (1965) English land- Victoria, Melbourne. scape tastes. Geographical Review 55, Parks Victoria (1998b) Southern Grampians Walks. 186–222. Parks Victoria, Melbourne. Mackay, K. and Fesenmaier, D. (1997) Pictorial ele- Thomas, T. (1995) Fifty Walks in the Grampians: ment of destination in image formation. Annals with Outdoor Tourist Attractions. Hill of of Tourism Research 24(3), 537–565. Content Publishing Company, Melbourne. Miller, D.R., Morrice, J.G., Horne, P.L. and Aspinall, Tourism Victoria (undated, c. 1995) The Grampians, R.J. (1994) Use of GIS for analysis of scenery Victoria, Australia. Tourism Victoria, in the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland. In: Melbourne, 58 pp. Price, M.F. and Heywood, D.I. (eds) Mountain Unwin, D. (1981) Introductory Spatial Analysis. Environments and Geographic Information Methuen, London. Systems. Taylor and Francis, London, pp. Wall, G. (1997) Tourism attractions: points, lines 119–132. and areas. Annals of Tourism Research 24(1), National Parks Service (1996) Grampians National 240–243.

17

Contributions of Non-consumptive Wildlife Tourism to Conservation

Karen Higginbottom,1 Andrew Tribe2 and Rosemary Booth2 1School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia; 2School of Animal Studies, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia

Abstract

Wildlife tourism has the potential to contribute to conservation through a variety of mechanisms. This chap- ter presents a preliminary assessment of the extent to which this potential is currently being realised, comparing tourism based on viewing of animals in captive settings (with a focus on federated zoos) with that in free-ranging situations (wildlife watching). The key mechanisms involved are: direct wildlife man- agement and research; use of income derived from wildlife tourism to fund conservation; education of visitors to behave in a more conservation-friendly manner; political lobbying in support of conservation; and provision of a socio-economic incentive for conservation. All of these occur in at least some zoos and wildlife-watching situations, and collectively the contribution of non-consumptive wildlife tourism to con- servation is significant, though impossible to quantify. The key strengths of the zoo sector in this regard are its inputs into captive breeding and its potential to educate large numbers of people. In contrast, wildlife watching provides significant socio-economic incentives for conservation of natural habitats. There seem to be significant opportunities for expanding the role of non-consumptive wildlife tourism in conservation.

Introduction nature-based or wildlife tourism should create a mutualistic relationship between tourism and Tourism can have positive, neutral or negative nature conservation (e.g. WZO, 1993; effects on the natural environment (Budowski, Commonwealth Department of Tourism, 1976). In wildlife tourism, encounters with 1994; Young et al., 1996; van Oosterzee, wild (non-domesticated) animals are a focus 2000; Ecotourism Association of Australia, of the visitor experience. It is thus crucial, not 2001). only to the conservation of the animals but to The net effects of wildlife tourism on the sustainability of the tourism businesses wildlife are a result of the balance between concerned, that the net effects of tourism on any negative impacts of the tourism-related wildlife are neutral or preferably positive. activities on the animals and any – generally Moreover, there is increasing consensus that indirect – positive contributions to their con-

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 181 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 182 K. Higginbottom et al.

servation. While the potential negative effects cern for conservation issues, which in turn have been reviewed in detail elsewhere (e.g. translates into enhanced funding and political Liddle, 1997; Green and Higginbottom, 2001), support, particularly through political pres- there has been little attempt to systematically sure. Education can also lead to enhanced review the positive effects. Given a lack of funding through facilitation of voluntary dona- adequate quantitative data, objective quantifi- tions. Some tourism operators may be cation of contributions of wildlife tourism to motivated to contribute to conservation conservation is not yet possible, but this because of their personal ethics and/or review represents a first step in this direction because tourism is linked to activities that and provides a framework for future research. were set up with conservation objectives in It is important to bear in mind, however, that mind. Even where this is not the case, engag- a balanced assessment requires simultaneous ing in wildlife tourism can provide a political consideration of both negative and positive or economic incentive for engaging in con- effects. servation-enhancing behaviour. This review focuses on so-called ‘non- Thus we can classify the ways in which consumptive’ wildlife tourism (i.e. excluding wildlife tourism is potentially associated with hunting and fishing). While many of the issues conservation benefits into the following cate- covered in this chapter are also applicable to gories: consumptive wildlife tourism, the latter raises 1. Direct wildlife management and support- some additional issues that are beyond the ing research. scope of the present review. This chapter pro- 2. Providing funding for conservation. vides a new perspective by comparing the 3. Providing education about conservation. contributions of two sectors of non-consump- 4. Political lobbying in support of conserva- tive wildlife tourism: captive wildlife tourism tion. (carried out by institutions that are henceforth 5. Providing socio-economic incentives for described as ‘zoos’) and non-consumptive conservation. wildlife tourism based on free-ranging animals (referred to henceforth as ‘wildlife watching’). In this chapter we review what is known Nowadays there is a continuum ranging from of the nature, magnitude and effectiveness of situations where the animals are confined in each of these contributions for each sector, small cages through to those where they are pointing out gaps in existing knowledge. We able to range freely without any barriers to then use this information to draw general con- movement. However, in practice, the distinc- clusions about the scope and magnitude of tion remains useful, as the types of contributions to conservation by non-con- organizations, the associated literature and the sumptive wildlife tourism; compare the philosophies that have arisen around the two situation for captive and non-captive sectors; sectors remain largely distinct. and propose key steps that should be taken to Ultimately, conservation of wildlife enhance contributions to conservation. To involves what people do (or do not do) to wild provide the necessary context, we begin by animals or their habitats that directly increas- introducing the zoo and wildlife-watching sec- es the chances of long-term persistence of wild tors, providing a brief overview of each sector populations. For convenience we refer to and its approach to conservation. deliberate manipulations of wild animals or Given a lack of systematic research aimed their habitats to achieve conservation goals as at quantifying such contributions, our review ‘direct wildlife management’. Such manage- is necessarily mainly qualitative. While our ment in turn nearly always requires funding scope is international, the review is applica- and political support. The behaviour of the ble especially to more developed countries public sometimes directly influences animal than to less developed countries, especially in populations and can be modified by educa- the case of zoos. Where available, we use tion. However, the main way in which Australian examples to illustrate our points education is likely to lead to enhanced wildlife and, whenever not stated otherwise, the management is through increasing public con- wildlife-tourism sites or activities we refer to Contributions of Non-consumptive Wildlife Tourism to Conservation 183

are in Australia. The present chapter draws because of associated economic incentives heavily on a report by Higginbottom et al. and education. Further, in policy statements (2001a), which provides further details on and in popular terminology, wildlife watching some of the issues covered in this chapter. is often seen as a form of ecotourism. According to some definitions of the latter term, this necessarily means that the tourism Zoos and their role in conservation is associated with conservation-related educa- tion and other localized conservation benefits Zoos can be defined as institutions that con- (Weaver, 2001). Promotion of this concept of fine, manage and exhibit collections of living ecotourism by governments and industry asso- wild animals. The World Zoo Conservation ciations in more developed countries, such as Strategy (WZO, 1993) estimates that there may Australia and the USA, has helped to provide be well over 10,000 zoos worldwide, of which an impetus to attempts to maximize the con- approximately 1000 participate in national or servation benefits of wildlife watching. international zoo federations. This report focuses on these federated zoos, because membership requires a commitment to work Methods together towards joint conservation goals. Zoos today see themselves as important Information for this review was obtained from conservators of nature. Despite their claims, the following main sources: they are still seen by some as being superfi- cial, expensive and ineffective (ANZFAS, • A review of the relevant literature, both 1996; Hewitt, 2001). Consequently, as published and unpublished. Larcombe (1995a) explains, zoos must not • Semi-structured telephone interviews with only contribute to conservation but must also key staff of Australian conservation agen- be seen to be doing so. As Bartos and Kelly cies. (1998) argue, ‘a summary of measurable con- • Informal conversations with selected tributions by zoos in the areas of education, wildlife-watching tour operators. conservation, research and tourism is of criti- • A review of the conservation objectives cal importance in demonstrating their and achievements of zoos, through face- contribution to the whole community’. to-face interviews with key individuals and stakeholders at a selection of zoos and through their relevant professional Wildlife watching and its role in associations. These concentrated on the conservation UK and Australia, which were chosen as being representative of federated zoos Wildlife watching is a subset of nature-based throughout the world. tourism and comprises a diversity of forms, based on tours, attractions or accommodation. Although called ‘watching’ here for conve- Direct Wildlife Management and nience, this form of tourism can also involve Supporting Research listening, photography, feeding, live-trapping or any other form of interaction that does not Zoos kill the animal. Further information on the scope of activities involved is given by The involvement of zoos in conservation is Higginbottom et al. (2001b). chiefly ex situ (outside the natural habitat), but There have been a number of claims that recently some zoos have also become wildlife watching, like nature-based tourism in involved with in situ (inside the natural habi- general, can be good for conservation (e.g. tat) conservation initiatives. Roe et al., 1997; National Watchable Wildlife The desire of zoos to contribute to wildlife Program, 2001; International Association of conservation is demonstrated in the way they Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 2002), especially manage their collections. Nowadays, this is 184 K. Higginbottom et al.

via cooperative species-management pro- collected in the field can enhance captive grammes, in which the genetic diversity, breeding. Ryder and Feistner (1995) have population size and origin of the founders are reviewed new research initiatives being under- all accounted for. This greatly enhances the taken by zoos and found that reproductive and reintroduction potential of captive-bred popu- genetic technologies have particular signifi- lations (Mitchell, 1991). Such genetic cance for conservation of threatened species. management is facilitated regionally through They conclude that this role needs to be the zoo federations and globally through the expanded and developed as wildlife popula- International Species Inventory System (ISIS), tions and biological diversity continue to with the aim of having self-sustaining captive decline. collections as insurance for wild populations. An increasing number of zoos now rec- ISIS data indicate that 92% of zoo mammals ognize the importance of promoting the and 71% of birds are now captive-bred. interface between captive breeding and in- Zoos are also involved in captive breed- country conservation efforts (Durrell and ing for reintroduction. For instance, Australian Mallinson, 1998; Mallinson, 1998). For zoos participate in at least 35 such pro- instance, in 1992 fewer than 325 in situ con- grammes (de Koff, 1998) and, over the past 10 servation projects were being supported by years, have refined their captive management American Zoological Association zoos, while to cooperate with government authorities in by 1999 the number had increased to over 650 the process of recovering threatened species. (Conway, 1999a). Similarly, federated zoos in Consequently, Craig et al. (1999) claim that the UK supported 177 in situ projects in 2000, Australian zoos now have a well-defined role an increase of 61% since 1995 (Federation of in the conservation of endangered wildlife. Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Nevertheless, captive breeding of endan- Ireland, 2001). If this trend continues, Conway gered species is limited for two main reasons: (1999a) believes that zoos could become the the lack of captive space available (Seal, 1991; primary non-government field-conservation Bartos and Kelly, 1998; Conway, 1999a) and organizations. the high cost of producing animals. For In Australia, zoos have traditionally been instance, in Australia each native animal pro- more involved with captive breeding pro- duced for reintroduction costs on average grammes for native species, but recently some Aus$6546 (Perth Zoo, 2000). Similarly, have established partnerships to support in situ Alibhai and Jewell (1994) estimate that it is 16 projects. Examples of such work are Adelaide times more expensive to maintain a black rhi- Zoo’s participation in the rescue and health noceros in captivity than to protect enough screening of the endangered Seychelles mag- wild habitat to support it. Thus Dixon and pie robin (Adelaide Zoo, 2000), Melbourne Travers (1994) and Hewitt (2001) argue that Zoo’s contribution to the restoration of the zoos are not the best targets for limited con- Calperum Biosphere Reserve (Melbourne Zoo, servation funds. 2000) and the establishment of a 150 ha Many zoos actively cooperate with predator-free sanctuary by Western Plains Zoo research organizations. Zoo-based collabora- (David Blyde, Manager, Life Sciences, Western tive research is usually concerned ex situ with Plains Zoo, Dubbo, New South Wales, 6 improving captive management through stud- February 2002, personal communication). ies of nutrition, growth, infectious disease, environmental toxins, reproduction, reintro- duction biology, stress and behaviour Wildlife watching (Mitchell, 1991). However, zoo research can also have an In contrast to zoos, direct wildlife management important role in linking in situ and ex situ associated with wildlife watching is nearly conservation activities. There is a flow of always in situ, and covers a wider range of information from zoo researchers to field sci- activities, such as reintroduction, control of entists that can assist in species reintroduction exotic predators, patrolling for poachers, tree and management, while, reciprocally, data planting and weed control. There has been Contributions of Non-consumptive Wildlife Tourism to Conservation 185

very little research to indicate the effectiveness Island Penguin Reserve (Australia) has funded of any of these initiatives in contributing to research and monitoring that has greatly conservation. Whether a wildlife-watching increased knowledge of the biology of the lit- operation is involved in conservation appears tle penguin, other fauna of the region, and to be very much dependent on the philosophy related conservation management issues and objectives of the individual operator, in (Rowley, 1992; Phillip Island Nature Park contrast to the more institutionalized approach Board of Management, 1998; Ray Leivers, of the larger zoos. One exception – at least in General Manager, Phillip Island Nature Park, principle – is operators who have obtained Cowes, Phillip Island, Victoria, 25 September certification from a marketing programme that 2001, personal communication). A number of recognizes contributions to conservation, with smaller Australian operators, listed by Australia’s Nature and Ecotourism Higginbottom et al. (2001a), combine com- Accreditation Program (NEAP II) as a leading mercial objectives with participation in example (NEAPWG, 2000). conservation research. Wildlife-watching operators who partici- In the wildlife-watching sector, in contrast pate in conservation-related wildlife man- to zoos, tourists as well as operators are some- agement include government organizations times involved in direct wildlife management (e.g. Landscope Expeditions, Western or research. There are small but growing num- Australia), non-profit organizations set up bers of organizations internationally that mainly for conservation reasons (e.g. specialize in activities where tourists assist in Australian Koala Foundation) and commercial conservation-related field research, monitoring tourism operators. Even the latter make signif- or conservation work (IRG, 1992; Preece and icant contributions to conservation in some van Oosterzee, 1997). Major examples of such cases. Operators of private game reserves in organizations operating in Australia are South Africa have reintroduced a range of ani- Landscope Expeditions, Earthwatch, Conserva- mal species that had become locally tion Volunteers Australia and Operation extirpated, including some that are endan- Raleigh (see Higginbottom et al., 2001a, for gered (James and Goodman, 2000). Earth further details). Sanctuaries Ltd is a publicly listed Australian company established with a conservation mis- sion, but with the explicit intention of using Providing Funding for Conservation tourism to help achieve this mission (Earth Sanctuaries, 2002). The company undertakes Zoos its own captive breeding, combined with acquisition of animals from elsewhere, and Zoos invest considerable amounts of money in carries out reintroductions into a network of pursuit of their conservation objectives. For private reserves. instance, in 1995 UK federated zoos con- In addition to deliberately undertaking tributed approximately Aus$4.5 million to in activities that assist conservation, wildlife tour situ conservation and more than Aus$15 mil- operators in some cases contribute indirectly lion in 2000. In addition, specific campaigns by acting as deterrents to the disturbance or since 1996 have raised a further Aus$1 mil- killing of wildlife by people. The Zaire Gorilla lion (Federation of Zoological Gardens of Conservation Project provided surveillance for Great Britain and Ireland, 2001). a large area of a park inhabited by endangered Unfortunately, in most cases it is not pos- mountain gorillas, with four of the largest fam- sible to calculate the amount spent specifically ilies being monitored daily. This has been on conservation, because the costs involved demonstrated to have helped reduce poaching are bound up with the running expenses of the of gorillas (Aveling and Aveling, 1989; zoo. This is particularly true for ex situ pro- McNeilage, 1996). jects, where staff time, equipment and facilities Some larger wildlife-watching attractions come out of routine operational budgets. Thus, make a significant contribution to wildlife in Australia, while the total income derived research. Tourism income derived from Phillip from the zoo industry was Aus$142 million in 186 K. Higginbottom et al.

1996/97 (ABS, 1998), it is not known how big-game hunting. One of the few published much was used to fund conservation. As an cases involving wildlife watching is tourism indication, Perth Zoo, in their 1998/99 annu- based on mountain gorillas in East Africa. al report, calculated the total cost of producing Income from tourism has been used to pay for seven threatened species for reintroduction as habitat conservation and anti-poaching mea- Aus$1,066,951, representing 18% of its gross sures, which have apparently been crucial to income (Perth Zoo, 1999). conservation of this endangered species Most zoos have difficulty finding enough (McNeilage, 1996; Butynski and Kalina, resources to become involved in conservation 1998). Although application of the ‘user-pays’ (Mitchell, 1994). As Larcombe (1995b) principle is becoming increasingly widespread explains, they must strike balances between (Goodwin et al., 1998; IUCN, 2000), there are the allocation of scarce resources for exhibits various philosophical, political and practical and the demands of conservation. He main- constraints on the use of this mechanism to tains that the costs of maintaining Melbourne fund conservation (e.g. Butynski and Kalina, Zoo’s collection doubled during the period 1998; Buckley, 2000a; IUCN, 2000; Lindberg, from 1992 to 1995 due to their greater 2001). involvement in conservation. Some developed attractions based on wildlife watching provide significant revenue for conservation. Net income to the Phillip Wildlife watching Island Penguin Reserve in Victoria in 1992/93 was estimated to be Aus$690,000 (Meek et al., There is a range of government charges on 1994). Revenue generated from turtle-viewing commercial nature-based tourism operators tourism at Mon Repos Conservation Park in and tourists that are intended to contribute to Queensland, Australia, is invested in sea-tur- the costs of management associated with tle research, patrolling nesting beaches and tourism activities. Most of these fees relate to predator-control measures (Tisdell and the use of protected areas (where most wildlife Wilson, 2000). Many authors suggest that the watching probably occurs). Less common is revenue-generating potential of some nature- the practice of requiring permits (with associ- based tourism products (both private and ated fees) for tourism operators who offer close public) is not being realized, particularly encounters with particular species of wildlife where the funds are seen to contribute to con- that are of conservation concern, even if out- servation (Lindberg, 1991; Pearce, 1995; side protected areas. For instance, in Western Laarman and Gregersen, 1996). A recent study Australia (WA), operators who provide at Mon Repos Conservation Park (Australia) encounters with whale sharks must pay for a indicated that tourists would be willing to pay special interaction licence (Doug Coughran, more than double the existing fee (Tisdell and Supervising Wildlife Officer, Department of Wilson, 2000). Recent in-house research at Conservation and Land Management, WA, 25 Phillip Island Penguin Reserve similarly estab- September 2001, personal communication). lished that entrance prices could be raised well Although revenues from parks around the above their levels at the time (Ray Leivers, world are generally not sufficient to fully off- General Manager, Phillip Island Nature Park, set their operating costs (Goodwin et al., Cowes, Phillip Island, 25 September 2001, 1998), let alone to provide net funding for con- personal communication). It is important to servation, there are some exceptions. User fees caution, however, that such indications of at some parks or in some regions provide rev- willingness do not necessarily translate into enues that not only support their own action. operations but provide funding for conserva- Like zoos, some wildlife-watching enter- tion measures (Lindberg et al., 1996; FPTF, prises donate at least some of their profits to 2000; IUCN, 2000; GBRMPA, 2001). Most of conservation initiatives or provide opportuni- the cases reported in the literature where gov- ties for their guests to make financial ernment charges relating to wildlife tourism contributions to conservation through dona- have raised funding for conservation involve tions or sponsorships (see examples in Contributions of Non-consumptive Wildlife Tourism to Conservation 187

Lindberg, 1991; IRG, 1992; Higginbottom et instance, in a review of zoo education in the al., 2001a). Earth Sanctuaries Ltd explicitly UK and Ireland, Woollard (1999) found that uses tourism as a source of revenue for its con- 71% of zoos had an education department and servation and education programmes. There 73% taught visiting school pupils, with more seems to be scope for expanded use of dona- than 750,000 pupils visiting these zoos. In tions by visitors (Lindberg, 1991; IUCN, 2000; Australia, many zoos also have a significant Higginbottom et al., 2001a). commitment to formal education. The Melbourne Zoo Education Service, for instance, has 12 full-time teachers, with more Providing Education about than 120,000 children utilizing the service Conservation each year (Melbourne Zoo, 1999). Most zoos also attempt to communicate Overview a conservation message through the informal education of their visitors. However, assessing It is often stated that visitors, as part of these activities is difficult (Bartos and Kelly, their wildlife- or nature-based tourism experi- 1998), and critics suggest that their effective- ence, can be educated to increase their ness is unclear (Ollason, 1993; Jamieson, conservation awareness and to behave in ways 1995; Scott, 2001). On the one hand, several that have positive consequences for wildlife studies have found that exposure to captive and/or their habitats (e.g. Duff, 1993; NBTAC, wildlife in combination with some form of 1994; Parks and Wildlife Commission interpretation was associated with increased Northern Territory, n.d.). Education of wildlife support for conservation (Broad, 1996; Tarrant tourists can occur through changes in attitudes et al., 1997; Moscardo et al., 2001). On the and/or increased knowledge, which in turn other hand, Mazur (1995) has questioned this may promote: effectiveness by concluding that, while visitors exhibit an awareness of endangered species • more responsible behaviour towards and habitat destruction, it is not clear that they wildlife and the natural environment, have gained this from their zoo experience. both in terms of minimizing negative She maintains that for zoos to fulfil their edu- effects in the area where tourism occurs cation potential, they should critically evaluate and more broadly; their current activities and provide more tan- • subsequent involvement in wildlife con- gible information about conservation threats servation or research; and measures used to combat them. • increased donations of money towards conservation; • increased political pressure on govern- Wildlife watching ments to achieve conservation objectives; • more satisfied customers and therefore Many wildlife- and nature-based tourism oper- more successful businesses. ators, whether from the private or the public sector, incorporate environmental interpreta- Zoos tion and education components. For many non-profit organizations involved in wildlife The development of zoos as educational estab- tourism, raising public awareness of environ- lishments has mirrored their change from mental issues is the primary purpose (IRG, menageries to conservation parks. Contemp- 1992; see Australian examples in orary zoos strive to display their animals as Higginbottom et al., 2001a). Government con- part of the overall environment and to utilize servation agencies around the world also make them in a variety of both formal and informal varying levels of commitment to providing educational roles (Woollard, 1998). environmental interpretation, mainly in pro- Formal education involves structured pro- tected areas. For most commercial operators, grammes for schools and an increasing commitment to education is a personal or involvement in tertiary education. For business decision of the individual operator. 188 K. Higginbottom et al.

However, operators accredited under Australia, and President, Australasian Regional Australia’s NEAP II (NEAPWG, 2000) are Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria required to ensure that customers have access (ARAZPA), 12 October 2001, personal com- to well-planned interpretation, accurate infor- munication). mation and trained staff that have an understanding of nature and conservation issues. The recent development of a related Wildlife watching accreditation system for nature guides (Crabtree and Black, 2000), initiated by the There are a number of situations in which Ecotourism Association of Australia, is a fur- wildlife-watching operators have lobbied for ther step to facilitate improvement of the conservation of the natural resources on which standard of interpretation in nature-based they depend financially. In Tasmania, many tourism products in Australia. wildlife-tourism operators lobbied the govern- There is little published research on the ment in opposition to both the proposed effectiveness of wildlife interpretation in free- damming of the Franklin River and the process ranging settings, in contrast to the situation in of clearfell logging in areas where wildlife zoos. Two Australian studies of visitors’ operations occur (Nick Mooney, Wildlife responses in relation to sea-turtle viewing at Management Officer, Tasmanian Department Mon Repos Conservation Park showed that of Environment and Land Management, exposure to interpretation resulted in attitudes Tasmania, 31 March 2000, personal commu- indicating increased support for conservation nication). Purportedly as a result of lobbying of these turtles (Howard, 1999; Tisdell and from Great Barrier Reef tourism operators, the Wilson, 2000). Other positive effects on con- Australian government recently allocated servation-related attitudes have been noted for additional funds into research on the crown- the dolphin interpretation programme at of-thorns starfish, which is detrimentally Tangalooma, Australia (Orams, 1995). A num- affecting the Reef. However, a number of ber of key informants interviewed by authors (e.g. Buckley, 2000a; van Oosterzee, Moscardo et al. (2001) and Higginbottom et 2000) have noted that, unlike other commer- al. (2001a) felt that the quality of wildlife inter- cial interest groups that depend on natural pretation available in Australia needs to be resources, the tourism industry generally improved in order to realize much of its edu- seems to lack awareness of its dependence on cational potential, and this situation is natural resources and could be doing much probably common worldwide. more to lobby for conservation.

Political Lobbying in Support of Providing Socio-economic Incentives Conservation for Conservation

Zoos Zoos

Apart from their role in conservation educa- Contemporary zoos not only have a self- tion, zoos are rarely involved in lobbying for imposed commitment to conservation, but conservation and, where this has occurred, it they are subject to a sociopolitical imperative has usually been through their federations. For to contribute to conservation, enforced by the instance, the European Association of Zoos relevant zoo legislation. For instance, the and Aquaria has recently launched a substan- Secretary of State’s revised Standards of tial public campaign against the bushmeat Modern Zoo Practice in the UK and the trade in Africa (EAZA, 2000). This lack of European Union’s Zoos Directive both state involvement apparently stems from both a that in future zoos will have to satisfy conser- belief that this is not a core role of zoos and vation requirements to be relicensed a reluctance to be seen as being political (Ed (Department of Environment, Transport and MacAllister, Director, Adelaide Zoo, South the Regions, 2000). Similar legislative require- Contributions of Non-consumptive Wildlife Tourism to Conservation 189

ments have been introduced in Australia al., 1998). In many cases, the principal attrac- (Department of Natural Resources and tion involved is wildlife (see EWG, 1995; Environment, Victoria, 1998). These require- Isaacs, 2000; Higginbottom et al., 2001a). In ments reflect a view of society that keeping the USA, a major increase in participation in animals in captivity must be justified on con- non-consumptive wildlife recreation is report- servation grounds (Conway, 1999b; Tribe, ed to have helped motivate interest in the 2000). protection of natural areas for the benefit of In general, however, zoos do not appear tourism (Vickerman, 1988). to view the need to attract customers as an There are also several published examples economic incentive for conservation. Indeed, of wildlife tourism creating an economic there is little information about the expecta- incentive for conservation of private lands (see tion or satisfaction of visitors with the role of also Higginbottom et al., 2001a). In a survey zoos in conservation (Ed MacAllister, Director, of 27 private game-reserve managers in South Adelaide Zoo, South Australia, and President, Africa, 48% said that if [wildlife] tourism had ARAZPA, 12 October 2001, personal com- not been a commercial option, they would munication). In the absence of evidence, some have continued to farm cattle (which is gen- zoos seem reluctant to fully embrace their erally considered to be a less sustainable land conservation potential, apparently believing use in such areas) (James and Goodman, that money spent on conservation will not be 2000). Across South Africa more generally, compensated for by increased visitor revenue successful reintroduction programmes on hun- (Ed MacAllister, Director, Adelaide Zoo, South dreds of private game reserves and small state Australia, and President, ARAZPA, 12 October reserves are reported to have been motivated 2001, personal communication, cf. Cherfas, largely by the economic incentive provided by 1984). In so doing, such zoos may in fact be wildlife tourism, especially wildlife watching missing out on important marketing and fund- (Stuart Pimm, Professor, University of raising opportunities. Gipps (1993) suggests Tenessee, Knoxville, USA, 10 July 2001, per- that the problem with zoo management is its sonal communication). lack of awareness that ‘conservation can sell The introduction of wildlife tourism may tickets’, and, if zoos are to attract visitors and also provide an economic incentive leading to financial support, then they will have to work conservation-orientated changes in wildlife- harder at promoting their conservation activi- management practices. This is likely to be of ties. For an industry committed to supporting most conservation significance in cases where wildlife conservation, it is clear that more the wildlife are hunted or taken for live trade information is needed about the role that con- for subsistence or commercial purposes. The servation can play in supporting the industry. mountain gorilla is a classic case of a highly endangered species, threatened by poaching, for which it is widely thought that the intro- Wildlife watching duction of tourism has allowed continued survival, largely because of a socio-economic Since wildlife watching, unlike zoos, is depen- incentive (McNeilage, 1996; Vieta, 1999). A dent directly on the existence of natural similar argument may apply in more devel- populations of wildlife, the existence of this oped countries, where it is most likely to apply form of tourism can provide operators and/or to species normally considered to be pests, host communities who benefit from this particularly to agriculture (e.g. Brooke, 1996). tourism with a vital incentive for conservation Several international examples (mostly (cf. Buckley 2000b; van Oosterzee, 2000). from less developed countries) illustrate links In many countries, expected revenue from between the implementation of wildlife nature-based tourism has been reported to tourism and increased support for wildlife con- have provided an economic and political servation from local communities, who benefit incentive for the creation of government- through income and/or employment. These owned protected areas (Young et al., 1996; include political support for a ban on hunting Preece and van Oosterzee, 1997; Goodwin et (Parsler, 1997) and apparent increased support 190 K. Higginbottom et al.

for the protection of wildlife (Groom et al., tourism is mostly of poor quality (see 1991; Shackley, 1995; Gillingham and Lee, Higginbottom et al., 2001a, for more details). 1999; Higginbottom et al., 2001a). Despite As for zoos, a final socio-economic incen- numerous anecdotes, evidence for changes in tive for wildlife-tourism operators to contribute local attitudes as a result of nature-based to conservation is that this may assist them in

Table 17.1. Summary of contributions of non-consumptive wildlife tourism to conservation. Wildlife watching Zoos (captive wildlife in federated Type of contribution (free-ranging wildlife) zoos) Direct wildlife management and research: in situ • Significant numbers of mostly • Minority of operators with mostly small-scale contributions, • small-scale contributions, but though minority of operators • growing ex situ • Very rare; a few cases involving • A major formal objective and the captive breeding and • primary way in which zoos reintroduction • contribute to conservation; occurs • in all cases

Providing funding for • Government charges provide • Government charges do not conservation • contributions in a minority of • provide contributions • cases • All operators provide contributions • Significant numbers, though a • Donations provided by tourists minority, of operators provide • in all cases contributions • Contributions are generally to ex • Donations provided by tourists • situ conservation, within the zoo in a minority of cases; probable unmet potential • Contributions are generally to in situ conservation, often by other organizations

Providing education about • Highly variable in quantity and • A major formal objective; conservation • quality between operators • significant efforts in all cases • Potential to reach large • Potential to reach very large numbers of people, limited mainly • numbers of people; far from fully to interpretative displays and • realized signs in protected areas

Political lobbying in support • Small minority of cases • Small minority of cases of conservation

Providing socio-economic • Major contribution in terms of • Possible incentive associated incentives for conservation • protected-area creation, • with marketing, but little • especially in less developed • recognized • countries • Strong sociopolitical incentive for • Significant contribution in terms • conservation in some countries of private land conservation, though opportunities for increase in some regions • Minor but growing incentive associated with marketing • No strong sociopolitical imperative for conservation Contributions of Non-consumptive Wildlife Tourism to Conservation 191

attracting tourists. Some commercial nature- that applies to federated zoos should also help based tourism operators who make facilitate more efficient channelling of conser- contributions to conservation are at least par- vation efforts than generally occurs in the tially motivated to do so by their perception free-ranging sector. Efforts by governments and that this will help them to attract environ- industry associations (such as Australia’s mentally aware clients, and they incorporate NEAP) to achieve greater coordination with this into their advertising (EWG, 1995; and between nature-based tourism operators Higginbottom et al., 2001a). Accreditation should be encouraged, although this is diffi- schemes like Australia’s NEAP II (NEAPWG, cult since operators are diverse, numerous and 2000) are based on the premise that operators typically small. There is considerable common will be able to use accreditation (which, at the ground between the two sectors in feasible advanced level, signifies that the operator mechanisms for contributing to conservation, makes contributions to conservation) to help suggesting that there may be benefits in zoos market themselves. However, there has been collaborating with wildlife-watching operators no convincing research confirming the validi- to learn from each others’ experience and ty of this assumption. achieve greater efficiencies in achieving joint conservation objectives. While there may be potential for increas- Conclusions ing the contributions of non-consumptive wildlife tourism to conservation, there are a There is clearly a wide range of mechanisms number of serious constraints on this potential. through which non-consumptive wildlife The most obvious is the limited capacity of tourism currently contributes to conservation, tourists and operators to divert finances and as summarized in Table 17.1. It is not possi- time into conservation. Significant increases in ble to quantify these contributions, although contributions thus depend to a large extent on an indication of their probable scale is given. increasing the tourism income obtained by Further quantitative research is recommended wildlife-tourism operators and using the exist- in order to refine the conclusions and recom- ing potential more effectively. However, this mendations given here. It is, however, clear will still be constrained by the primarily com- that, within each sector and collectively, the mercial orientation of some wildlife-watching contributions of non-consumptive wildlife operators. Another major constraint is the lack tourism to conservation are significant and of research in this area, particularly in terms of probably growing. There also seems to be con- assessing effectiveness of existing mechanisms siderable unrealized potential. (especially education) in making a real differ- The key strength in relation to conserva- ence to conservation and in determining the tion potential that is particular to wildlife relationship between participation of operators watching is the economic incentive that this in conservation and their ability to attract cus- can create for the conservation of natural envi- tomers. Specific actions that can be taken to ronments. Such links could be strengthened by enhance the contributions of wildlife tourism wider quantification and publicizing of the to conservation are given by Tribe (2000) and financial benefits derived from protected areas Higginbottom et al. (2001a). These should and from an increase in government support occur in the context of a strategic and coordi- to private landowners considering implemen- nated approach, involving cooperation tation of nature-based tourism. The key between different types of wildlife-tourism strengths of zoos lie in their contributions to operators and other conservation stakeholders. ex situ wildlife management and to intensive Such an approach should allow wildlife education of large numbers of people. tourism to more fully realize its apparently sub- However, the extent to which these mecha- stantial potential to contribute to conservation. nisms are effective is yet to be established, and it has been argued that the former is an inef- ficient use of conservation funding. The coordinated approach to conservation efforts 192 K. Higginbottom et al.

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18

Balancing Conservation and Visitation in Protected Areas

Robyn Bushell School of Environment and Agriculture, University of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

Many protected-area managers are encountering difficulties balancing the demands of conservation and visitors. An essential component for sound management planning is having objective data on appropriate use, visitor-use impacts and visitor needs. Visitor-impact management in protected areas poses several dif- ficulties because systems of management and control are not equipped to predict or monitor often complex, subtle and cumulative impacts on biological diversity or cultural heritage in either the short or long term; and different stakeholders have diverse views on what constitutes appropriate use. Additionally, the envi- ronmental costs of tourism development are typically externalized by tourism operators and visitors wanting access to the resource, often placing unreasonable expectations on natural-resource management agencies which have very limited funding.

Introduction ly in the past 30 years. In 1996 there were 30,361 parks in 225 countries, with a total Nature-based recreation and tourism are area of 13.2 million km2 or 8.84% of the total directly dependent on natural resources in a land area of the planet (Green and Paine, relatively undeveloped state. These often focus 1997). The establishment, maintenance and on parks and other protected areas, and the support for a worldwide system of protected levels of visitation to these biologically valu- areas mark a long history of changing attitudes able sites are growing dramatically. Successful towards nature (Halvorson, 1996). nature-based tourism depends on high levels In many parts of the world, protected of environmental quality and suitable levels of areas are nevertheless seen by governments as consumer service, though the latter leads to marginal to other areas of policy, such as eco- issues of appropriate use and questions of nomic development. Tourism is increasingly resource allocation (Eagles, 1999; Bushell et viewed as a source of revenue that can replace al., 2002). public funding. Protected-area managers are Globally, the land area dedicated as parks therefore encountering increased difficulties in and protected areas has increased significant- balancing the demands of conservation work

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 197 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 198 R. Bushell

and visitor management. The World over the previous year. Eighty-four per cent of Commission for Protected Areas (WCPA) iden- the nature-tourism market in NSW, which tified effective management of visitor use in includes visitation to protected areas, crown- protected areas as a key future challenge land, public beaches and natural areas on (Sheppard, 1999). private land, consists of domestic visitors. Australia, for example, contributed some Some 30% of all domestic visitors to NSW in 60 million ha or 7.9% of its terrestrial land- 1999 took part in nature-tourism activities mass and 3.5% of its marine ‘exclusive (Missing Link, 2001), while 50% of interna- economic zone’ to the global conservation tional visitors to Australia in 1995 went to a estate in 1999 (Worboys et al., 2001). In the national park during their stay (Blamey, 1995). State of New South Wales (NSW), the pro- Most of these come for recreational activities, tected-area system covers nearly 5.5 million including bushwalking, camping, cycling, pic- ha or nearly 6.7% of the State. This includes nicking, scenic drives, community and family some 607 protected areas, 500 within the gatherings, swimming and other water sports, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service adventure activities such as abseiling, and (NPWS) system. Of these, 29 are within the photography, painting and meditation. Sydney region (Brown, 2001; B. Gilligan and Increasing numbers arrive as part of commer- C. Allen, 2001, unpublished), which also has cial tours or school excursions or for guided Australia’s largest urban population and is the walks (Peter Kennedy, NSW NPWS, 2001, State’s premier tourist destination and gateway personal communication). for international visitors. As the shortfalls in government support for The Australian situation is important protected-area conservation become increas- because Australia is the only developed-coun- ingly severe, support from non-government try member of the world’s 12 megadiverse sources, such as local communities, private nations which together support 75% of the landowners, land-users and non-governmental earth’s biodiversity (Mott and Bridgewater, organizations (NGOs), becomes more impor- 1999). Australia therefore, has a particularly tant (McNeely, 1994). Key to this is identifying significant responsibility to ensure that its nat- and communicating the many values and ben- ural environment is well managed and efits that protected areas offer society (D. protected. At the same time, the country’s Sheppard, 1999, unpublished). The relation- national and state tourism authorities are mar- ship between tourism and protected areas can keting Australia very actively as a nature-based be useful in this process. tourism destination, with special emphasis on the nation’s many national parks and its 14 World Heritage Areas (WHAs). Visitor Impacts and Appropriate Use

Many residents of urban regions are increas- Visitation to Natural Areas ingly alienated from nature. Consequently, the quality of their lives is diminished, they have Increasing visitation to protected areas is a little understanding of the benefits of natural global phenomenon. Worldwide, parks are areas and they may be less likely to provide being identified as major attractions for visi- political support for conservation. Many are tors, both domestic and international. In the afraid of wildlife and wilderness (Finger, USA, between 10 and 24% of all visitation in 1993). Appreciation of nature is more likely to 1995 was directly related to protected areas be achieved through outdoor recreation than (TWAC, 1996). Protected areas throughout through classroom environmental education. Australia receive more than 60 million visitors Without direct experience of nature, teaching per year, making national parks the country’s environmental issues can even breed cynicism single largest category of tourist attraction about the environment (Trzyna, 2001). (Worboys et al., 2001). In NSW, some 26.5 Visitation to protected areas may hence be million people visited national parks, reserves valuable, not only in a direct economic sense, and state forests in 1999, an increase of 1.9% but also to foster environmental awareness and Balancing Conservation and Visitation in Protected Areas 199

a conservation ethic. However, visitation itself some support from conservation groups, as an generates environmental impacts and issues, acceptable alternative employment strategy, in so tourism and visitor use must be planned the battle against the extractive industries of carefully if they are not to destroy the natural mining and logging; and as an incentive for resource on which they depend. rural and indigenous communities to conserve Visitor-impact management in many pro- rather than exploit their natural resources. A tected areas poses particular difficulties report of the Australian Tourist Commission because: (i) systems of management and con- confirmed that the natural environment was trol are not equipped or resourced to predict the main attraction of Australia for internat- and monitor complex, subtle and cumulative ional visitors. The subsequent commitment of impacts on biological diversity or cultural her- Aus$10 million for a National Ecotourism itage, in either the short or long term; and (ii) Strategy and the following state-based strate- different stakeholders may have highly diverse gies for eco- and nature-based tourism views on what constitutes appropriate use. encouraged the tourism industry to demand Additionally, the environmental costs of increasing access to protected areas. tourism development are commonly external- Concurrent reductions in federal-government ized by operators and visitors wanting access budget allocations to conservation led to to the resource, and in consequence they increased dependence on external sources of place unreasonable expectations on natural- funding. Hence governments and natural- resource management agencies that have very resource management agencies have limited funding (Bushell, 1999a). increasingly looked to tourism to generate While there are plenty of examples of funds through entry fees, licences, conces- good practice, there are many examples sions, levies and development rights (see around the world of excessive or inappropri- Buckley et al., Chapter 7, this volume). This ate tourist use of protected areas, coupled with in turn creates pressure for higher visitation poor planning, which have caused significant and the granting of more concessions and environmental impact (D. Sheppard, 1999, licences. unpublished). Tourism as a complex global An Australian International Union for the activity requires planning and management, Conservation of Nature (IUCN) review of a few with consideration for ecological impacts as years ago (Figgis, 1999) drew attention to two well as the economic, political and social real- concerns: the increasing commercialization of ities of the host destination and its source nature and culture; and the increasing distor- markets. Ensuring sufficient protection for the tion of protected-area management, with the natural environment, even in protected areas, needs of tourism, visitors and economic ratio- can prove to be very difficult in the face of nalist thinking (tourism-centred planning) such factors (Robertson, cited in Figgis, 1999, taking precedence over conservation priorities p. 13). Successful planning requires far greater (nature-centred planning). Figgis and other research into the needs of protected-area sys- prominent conservationists see the trend for tems, their managers and their visitors, with commercial tourism developments in protect- increased dialogue and cooperation between ed areas as one of the major threats of resource-management agencies and the ecotourism. They see the ecotourism label as tourism industry. The building of broader con- a ‘cloak of green’ with ecological, aesthetic stituencies for protected areas is seen as a and cultural impacts ignored due to econom- priority by many conservation agencies. ic benefits (Figgis, 1999). Leadership and firm policies are needed to The major sources of environmental ensure that the tourism industry recognizes impacts associated with visitors in national and respects the primacy of the conservation parks differ according to the features of the site role of protected areas. and prevailing conditions, as well as the types According to Figgis (1999) a combination of activity. Buckley and Pannell (1990) broad- of various motivations in the 1980s saw ly summarized the types of impacts as: damage changes to Australian community attitudes to to tracks and off-road due to vehicles; tram- protected-area management. Tourism gained pling; damage to river-banks; firewood 200 R. Bushell

collection; water pollution and depletion; in Peterson, 1996). There is no question that human waste; litter; noise; disturbance to natural-resource management is now inher- wildlife; vandalism; and visual impact due to ently a social science, heavily influenced not visitor infrastructure. Additional impacts relate only by scientific knowledge but by political to: soil compaction and erosion; damage to priorities, policy settings and social values flora and habitat; removal of plants and seed (Lockie et al., 2001). Managers also need sources; introduction of exotic species, weeds effective communications and partnerships and pests; and loss of biodiversity (see also with the wider community. Buckley and King, Chapter 10, this volume). So, while many conservationists are con- Many authors, including Brandon et al. cerned about the significant increases in (1998), Figgis (1999) and Honey (1999), have visitation and the potential for visitor needs to raised concern at the eagerness of govern- compromise conservation priorities, it must ments and the tourism industry worldwide to also be noted that many visitors are locals. As confer environmental awards on high-impact well as benefiting from its parks, the local developments within and around national community also often makes contributions to parks. Such awards set precedents for similar its local national park and supports the park developments elsewhere. The trend towards service in many other ways. For example, the commercial development in Australia is the Lane Cove National Park in Sydney is only 600 opposite of that in the USA, where some 50% ha but has a perimeter of 70 km and over 2000 of parks are ‘regreening’ after years of com- neighbours. It receives over 1 million visitors mercial development, by closing down roads each year, making it one of the most popular and food and lodging facilities (Figgis, 1999). national parks in Australia. Most visitors arrive The USA, it seems, has recognized the high by car. The critical issues for such a site are impacts such infrastructure and facilities com- mostly off-site and include water and air qual- monly have on conservation in parks. ity, exotic species and use of adjacent land. Similarly, in the UK a 1995 parliamentary Following severe bushfires in 1994, the NSW inquiry (UK, House of Commons, 1995) rec- NPWS received a grant of Aus$330,000 to ognized damage due to overvisitation in support the ‘Friends of Lane Cove National England’s national parks and recommended: Park’, a community-based bush-regeneration the closure of certain roads and vehicle-access programme. In 3 years the ‘Friends’ have con- points; limiting car-parking spaces and tributed over 10,000 hours of labour and the introducing restrictive car-park pricing mech- prospect of a sound future for the park by tap- anisms; levying a charge for entry to sensitive ping into the local community to convey sites; and increased investment in visitor man- conservation messages. The partnership has agement. Australia, it seems, has not yet learnt led to much greater appreciation of the values these lessons. The UK report points to the and vulnerability of ‘their’ park, in turn lead- paradox that the better the protection and ing to positive behaviour, such as restraining conservation, the more attractive the site pets, not dumping garden waste, controlling becomes; but the more visitors it receives, the invasive garden plants and refraining from the more impacts continue to increase (Evans, use of fertilizers. The community support also 2001). influences local governance policy. In this case, local councils are donating additional adjoining lands (Brown, 2001). New Approaches and Attitudes to Park Management Reconciling Conservation Values ‘Gone are the days of the Forstmeister, when and Broader Social and Cultural local resource managers dictated management Values activities according to straightforward guide- lines. Natural resource issues are increasingly While the involvement of a broad range of complex from administrative, political, legal stakeholders in planning for sustainable use is and social perspectives’ (Harmon, 1994, cited commendable, and examples such as ‘The Balancing Conservation and Visitation in Protected Areas 201

Friends of Lane Cove National Park’ demon- ership. The rights of indigenous people form a strate a very productive partnership, working difficult and complex area, particularly for col- with multiple stakeholders is anything but onized peoples who have been dislocated and straightforward. Processes of consultation have contested identity, relationships and allowing for a wide cross-section of groups rights within their own communities. The and interests and encouraging participation issues of indigenous people are often over- are recognized as necessary. Consultation with simplified and romanticized. Debates over local-community and other stakeholders, how- appropriate use of protected areas and mod- ever, is rarely simple or cheap, nor is it els of management have been linked to efforts guaranteed to achieve sustainable-use objec- to restore and address the land rights of tives. Indeed, some of the most vocal lobby indigenous peoples. Now recognized as groups, especially those which champion extremely important, indigenous knowledge is human use over nature conservation, have tied to concepts of sustainable land use. The quite specific agendas. These include indus- 1992 IUCN Caracas declaration called upon tries, such as mining and logging, and governments and appropriate organizations to: recreational groups, such as hunting and off- ‘Support the development of national protect- road vehicle enthusiasts, who demand access ed area policies which are sensitive to customs to exploit resources in parks purely for human and traditions [and] safeguard the interests of profit or enjoyment. Some of these believe indigenous people’ (Kempf, 1993). strongly that all areas should be available for Consideration of the rights of indigenous unconstrained human activity (Figgis, 1999). peoples to ‘protected areas’ reinforces the con- Such groups are often highly organized polit- cept of ‘nature’ as a social construct. ‘The idea ically and can dominate attempts to include of wilderness as untamed land is mostly a view public participation in decision-making and of urbanised people, far removed from their planning processes. Such issues add to the natural environment’ (Gomez-Pompa and challenge of protected-area management, Kaus, 1992, p. 273). Even the concept of especially since the social sciences are not the ‘wilderness’ is contested. ‘The vision of empty usual province of natural-resource managers. bushland is both baffling and insulting’ to Land managers now need to understand indigenous people who have lived as a part of cultural as well as biophysical landscapes. these landscapes for centuries (Strang, 1996). Cultural landscape is a term used to integrate A vast ‘undisturbed’ scenic area is the typical the cultural and natural values of a place (Lee, popular image associated with protected 2000). It was first used in heritage conserva- areas, but these same places represent differ- tion to describe places where the sociocultural ent values to different people. What may be context, i.e. the cultural, symbolic, spiritual regarded by a conservationist as important and physical interrelationships in the land- habitat or by a botanist as having exceptional scape, is more significant to the people living scientific merit may be seen by a forester as in those landscapes than any single cultural having high economic value, by a hunter as a icon or monument (Taylor and Tallents, 1996). perfect place for shooting (Gomez-Pompa and A variety of cultural and ethical issues sur- Kaus, 1992) or by a tourism entrepreneur as round the identification, evaluation and an ideal site for an ‘ecolodge’. management of cultural landscapes, particu- Protected areas are social spaces, con- larly those associated with the history of ceived by people as deserving preservation indigenous people and the associated issues of (Ghimire and Pimbert, 1997, p. 5). This con- territory, dislocation, secret knowledge, lost struction of nature varies in time across language and sacredness. In Australia, the cultural, political and social beliefs and eco- focus of heritage-conservation efforts on nomic status. This influences what values are precontact sites, relics and history has meant placed on nature; what are regarded as prior- that contemporary indigenous social values ities for protection; and what is considered as have been neglected or devalued (English, acceptable use (Bushell, 1999b; Figgis, 1999; 2000). This includes issues of traditional use Staiff et al., 2002). of biological resources, land rights and own- Appreciating how different groups of peo- 202 R. Bushell

ple value nature is essential to managing vis- ment. From an ethical position the local peo- itor use. Tourism and recreation are seen as a ple, who are among the poorest in the world, priority objective of the IUCN protected-area are not compensated for the opportunity cost management categories – II (national parks), III of the sanctuary (including restricted access to (natural monuments) and V (protected land- scarce arable land) or for the tourism activity scape/seascapes) (IUCN, 1994). However, that increasingly diminishes their available visitor use must be compatible with other uses fuel and water and has many different impacts and with the social, cultural, legal, institutional on their quality of life and normal routine. and geographical context. Compatibility External travel businesses and national bureau- among users is important to financial success cracies receive the majority of the economic and effective management of protected areas. benefit (Andrade, 2000). The attitude of the Incompatible user groups can lead to conflict, local people to this sacred site presumably loss of support and wasted investment (FPATF, remains reverent. Their attitude is one of con- 2000). Overuse can lead to destruction of the siderable resentment and confusion towards asset. the system that declared it ‘protected’, The designation of certain areas as being removed them from their land and then ‘of outstanding natural beauty and heritage’ encouraged hundreds of thousands of visitors, aims to preserve their distinctive character generating vast income, while the asset is while providing opportunities for their enjoy- degraded, both spiritually and ecologically, ment. ‘In reality this relationship between and they experience loss of basic necessities conservation and recreation has proved some- of food and water. what conflicting, and the popularity of national parks, as a visitor resource, is cur- rently threatening the continuing protection of Nature-based Tourism as a their unique qualities’ (Evans, 2001, p. 77). Mechanism to Fund Conservation One of the social realities is the economic value placed on nature. Tourism based on pro- The challenge is to derive economic benefit tected areas is increasingly important because without the degradation of other values. The of its economic potential, but this is not with- impetus to achieve this is considerable out problems. For example, Machu Picchu because the economic benefits of park-based World Heritage Site has outstanding cultural tourism can far exceed government expendi- and agrarian values as a 500-year-old Inca ture to manage these sites (Driml and city. For many it is a sacred site. It is also the Common, 1995; Taskforce on Economic most visited site in Peru and one of the most Benefits, 1998), yielding substantial net sup- important tourist destinations in Latin America. port for national economies. The Wet Tropics The number of visitors rose from 55,000 per WHA of Australia currently has over 200 com- annum in the early 1990s to over 400,000 per mercial operators utilizing some 200 annum by 1999, with a 30% increase between designated visitor sites within the WHA and 1998 and 1999 and doubling by 2002. These over 4 million visitors per annum. A study in visitors bring in some US$5 million for the 1997 estimated that tourism in the WHA con- sanctuary, plus other large-scale economic tributed over Aus$170 million directly to the activities associated with the site, including regional economy (R. Watkinson, 2000, rail, bus and helicopter transport, accommo- unpublished). However, unless the activity is dation and the souvenir trade. But, along with managed for minimal impact and unless a sig- economic success, the high rate of visitation nificant proportion of the economic benefits is has generated an environmental and social cri- captured to protect the resource, the scenario sis. There are approximately 1600 urban and is exploitative and non-sustainable. Economic 1000 rural inhabitants in the area. Problems benefit should also support local people, so include ecosystem degradation and loss of bio- that the local people continue to support con- diversity, due to the presence of both locals servation and the protected area. and visitors, from uncontrolled development In the State of NSW, Australia, the NSW of tourism infrastructure and waste manage- NPWS has completed a number of studies on Balancing Conservation and Visitation in Protected Areas 203

socio-economic issues surrounding nature eficiaries and whether they are public or pri- conservation, designed to foster better rela- vate in nature or hybrid. A public good can tionships with local government, community be any good or service for which provision is groups, other agencies and individuals to non-excludable and non-divisible: that is, ensure the well-being of rural and regional once provided, it is available to the general areas. In assessing the economic benefits of public. A private good, on the other hand, is protected areas to regional economies, excludable and divisible. Once provided for input–output analyses have been used to mea- someone, it is not available to others. In rela- sure the contribution of protected areas to tion to protected areas, watershed services and gross regional output (business turnover), gross carbon sequestering provide examples of pub- regional product (value-added activity), house- lic goods, while private goods include fishing hold income and employment. The economic and camping. Once a fish is caught or a camp- contribution from national parks to these dif- ing permit allocated, they are no longer ferent elements occurs in two main ways. First, available to anyone else. Certain private the park-management agency itself contributes goods, such as controlled entry to protected directly: by employing local residents; by buy- areas, may be excludable but not divisible. ing local goods and services, which stimulates These are termed ‘toll goods’. There are also local businesses and trade; and through con- ‘common pool goods’, which are divisible but sumer spending by park staff and their families. not excludable. For these, access is open to Secondly, the national park acts as a magnet anyone, but the goods can only be used once. to attract visitors to a region. The flow-on An example is picking flowers in a forest effect of these visitors is through the purchas- (FPATF, 2000). ing of accommodation, food and beverages, The public-good aspects of protected transport, motor-vehicle services, shopping areas usually require grant funding, from gov- and other related activities within communi- ernment or overseas development or ties surrounding the park (Conner, 1999). foundation support. Private aspects and ‘toll Local people must have some equity in these goods’ from protected areas are more easily businesses if they are to receive financial ben- commercialized and can be funded by private efits, though there are other multiplier effects sources of finance, such as tourism charges, and locals need to be made aware of such gate fees or licence fees. Commercial cus- benefits. In Budderoo National Park on the tomers of a protected area are those who southern coast of NSW, for example, the con- derive direct use (economic) benefits from the struction of visitor facilities increased visitor area, such as tour operators. Innovation is numbers from 72,000 in 1992 to 140,000 in often required to capture the values that these 1995. Regional economic benefits from these customers derive from the protected area. Gate visitors have been estimated at Aus$1.4 mil- fees and user fees are two of the more tradi- lion (US$0.7 million) in additional household tional means. Donation boxes, equipment income and Aus$4.1 million (US$2.1 million) hire, specialized tours and provision of park in additional regional economic product guides are among alternative ways of captur- (Gillespie, 1997; Conner, 1999). ing visitor-generated funds (FPATF, 2000). If protected areas are to be valued and managed for their economic potential, pro- tected-area managers need to service both Visitation Supporting Conservation? their public and private customers and to receive a fair return from both through appro- Most of the world’s individual protected areas priate financial mechanisms. As noted in the currently charge low or zero entry and user WCPA guidelines on Financing Protected fees. Many of the opportunities to capture Areas (FPATF, 2000), protected areas supply a funds, however, are at the individual site level, range of goods and services providing both use as people are more motivated to pay or donate and non-use benefits. To capture economic when they see either a tangible return or ben- return from use benefits, it is necessary to efit. Often this is a user fee. ‘User fees’ cover determine the nature of the uses and the ben- several possible services including: entry fees; 204 R. Bushell

admission fees for special attractions or fea- The more protected-area managers have tures; parking and camping fees; fees for picnic to rely on visitor-based funding, the more like- facilities, such as gas barbecues; fees from ly is it that compromises will favour tourism concessionaires who profit from operating rather than conservation priorities (Figgis, lodging, food and beverage, guiding or other 1999). Parks often supply the most important operations within the protected area; and boat- component of a nature-based tourism experi- ing fees. User fees can be collected by ence, but frequently capture little of the protected-area staff or by concessionaires, economic return (Driml and Common, 1995; who pay for the right to run their business. The Wells, 1997; Van Sickle and Eagles, 1998). In benefit of collecting fees directly is that rev- the past 6 years the NSW protected-area estate enue is more likely to stay on site and benefit has increased by 35%, while state government the site. However, many fee-generating activ- expenditure has more than doubled, from ities also involve costs and may require Aus$15 to 35 (US$8 to 18) per ha. The great- specialist services and skills, so they can be est proportion of this is spent on providing more efficiently and effectively run by private visitor facilities and services. Implementing profit-based businesses (FPATF, 2000). The user-pays policies while maintaining equity of challenge is to ensure that tourism becomes a access is an increasingly important challenge tool of conservation management rather than (B. Gilligan and C. Allen, 2001, unpublished). national parks simply being used as sites of Setting appropriate fees is a complex task. Low tourism business (Bushell, 1999b). entry and use fees are often the result of many In most parks, these various fees cover factors, both social and political. These only a small portion of the cost of protecting include: the existence of centralized budget- and providing the features on which park vis- allocation processes; issues of equity and itation depends (Van Sickle and Eagles, 1998; access for all; political concern about increas- Eagles, 1999). Many pricing policies for pro- es in park fees upsetting local constituencies; tected areas were developed when the ‘public issues relating to the continued belief that soci- good’ of protecting nature was considered a ety generally should pay for protected areas; benefit to society and therefore paid for by pressure from conservation groups to keep vis- society through public taxes (Eagles, 1999). itation low; lack of planning for levels of Increasingly, however, private operators are visitation; lack of research into appropriate making their businesses out of guided trips to methods of determining reasonable pricing parks and governments worldwide are with- policies; lack of partnerships between private drawing from public funding and looking to operators and parks agencies; and varying lev- greater cost recovery, forcing parks to use vis- els of visitor services and infrastructure (Eagles, itors as a source of conservation revenue 1999). Additionally, the emergence of private- (Eagles, 1995; Staiff et al., 2002). In Australia sector conservation enterprises that utilize the practice of charging fees varies consider- visitation to fund their conservation efforts, ably. Buckley et al. (2001) identified the such as Conservation Corporation Africa variation that occurs from park to park (Carlisle, Chapter 4, this volume) or Earth between and within the States, depending on Sanctuaries in Australia, raises other equity size, type and access at different parks. For issues, such as competitive neutrality (B. example, in NSW entrance fees apply to only Gilligan and C. Allen, 2001, unpublished). 44 of some 500 parks and reserves. Visitors may purchase a single entry, a day pass or an annual pass. Fees are charged per vehicle and Access and Equity are also charged for boat trailers and camp- ing. There are also variations in method of Associated with park fees is the issue of equi- payment, including prepaid passes, staffed ty. In a study by Gurran (2001) in two rural entry stations, honour collection boxes and towns in northern NSW, the nearby parks were pay-and-display ticket-vending machines; and identified as very important to local people. in revenue-distribution mechanisms and rates Both towns are adjacent to national parks that of retention (Buckley et al., 2001). enjoy high levels of visitation; the local com- Balancing Conservation and Visitation in Protected Areas 205

munities are regular visitors and consider the clean water; contributions to watershed pro- neighbouring park to be an important place tection; assistance with natural resources and for social gatherings, especially to take visitors water-supply management; assistance with for walks and picnics. Some 70% of the peo- storm protection and reduction in natural dis- ple interviewed from both towns understood aster damage; the provision of a major asset the conservation value of parks. These resident for the tourism industry and consequent eco- groups strongly identified with and valued the nomic regional and local development; protected area. Aesthetic beauty and access contribution to a local amenity that supports were the highest valued benefits. Economic local government in the provision of healthy benefits were regarded as very important to environments; and open spaces and recre- 21% of respondents in one of the two towns, ational opportunity. All contribute to quality who saw flow-on benefits to business from of life and public health through spiritual, park visitors. Only 2% of respondents in both mental and physical well-being. The provision towns cited visitor-related impacts as a disad- of forest products supports forestry, local com- vantage of living near a national park. munities and economic development. Soil However, they all expressed strong vocal conservation assists agriculture and natural- opposition to park-user fees. resource management. The provision of large Should local taxpayers pay an entrance areas for carbon sequestration contributes to fee? If they pay, should it be the same as vis- energy policy and foreign affairs. The provi- itors from elsewhere? This is a contentious sion of research and education facilities and issue, especially when a park or reserve has field stations contributes to the advancement only recently been gazetted as a protected area of science, knowledge and education at all and locals may already feel alienated from levels. The maintenance of cultural values land that either traditionally or historically had contributes to community health, well-being been considered a freely available communi- and sense of place (adapted from Phillips, ty resource. Local communities frequently put 1998, in D. Sheppard, 1999, unpublished, political pressure on policy makers to oppose FPATF, 2000). recommendations when either the introduc- Protected areas also assist with an ethical tion of fees or increases in park fees are responsibility to respect nature and create otherwise justified. The equity issue of entry opportunities for the wider community to learn fees has numerous aspects. A large differential about nature and the environment (Lee, 2000). between fees charged for locals and visitors The principles of the Caracas Declaration can create tensions for local tour operators. remind us that nature has intrinsic worth and Arguments can also be made that parks warrants respect regardless of its usefulness to increase the land values for neighbours, espe- society (Lucas, 1992). cially in urban areas, and that such real estate Another aspect of equity is ensuring that is much sought after. Woven into the equity everyone is able to enjoy regular access to nat- issue is the belief that society generally and ural areas. As with other areas of public policy, not just users should pay for protected areas such as health and education, there are many since everyone derives many benefits. issues about the user-pays approach, which Modern economic studies of the value of can deny access to many in lower socio-eco- natural areas and ecosystems emphasize the nomic groups. In order to address equity issues importance of total economic valuation, mov- for a wide range of user groups, such as locals, ing beyond just direct use benefits and tangible senior citizens, pensioners, schoolchildren, benefits. However, controversy surrounds the family groups and members of parks associa- estimation of these different values (Tisdell, tions, some parks services have established 1999). The value of protected areas to society such complex pricing structures that parks staff can be summarized as a contribution to bio- find it unmanageable. These and other factors diversity conservation and from this a flow of mean that park fees continue to be kept below ecosystem services that benefits nature con- the level that would enable management servation, health, agriculture, industry and agencies to meet visitor demands for infra- foreign affairs. These include: the provision of structure, or even to maintain existing 206 R. Bushell

infrastructure, such as wooden walkways, arise or as they are perceived. This is unlike- paths, signs, seating and toilets. This makes the ly to result in optimal conservation outcomes task of visitor-impact management even more or visitor satisfaction (Bushell, 1999a). demanding (Peter Kennedy, NSW NPWS, Experience throughout the world tends to 2001, personal communication). indicate that negative impacts of tourism on park resources are influenced more by inade- quate visitor planning, management and The Need to Better Understand staffing than by actual visitor numbers. Visitor Management Concern also stems from a lack of visitor-man- agement skills among parks staff. The majority To improve economic return and manage vis- of parks agencies are strong in scientific nat- itation effectively involves understanding both ural-resource management. Most are weaker the patterns of visitation and the nature of the in tourism and visitor-related competencies impacts. It is also important to understand that and learn these skills on the job. The concept visitor impacts are dynamic, as is nature. of ‘carrying capacity’, despite never being Strategic approaches must have both a short- operationalized successfully, has tended to and a long-term focus, with a view to man- spawn the belief that there is a direct rela- aging over time, using a wide range of tionship between numbers and impacts. performance indicators (Gilligan and Allen, However, parks that are competently managed 2001). NSW NPWS management, for exam- and properly resourced with suitable infra- ple, acknowledges that information on structure have been shown to be capable of visitation is currently lacking. Issues requiring creating high levels of economic return with research include: the role and effectiveness of minimal environmental impact (Eagles, 1999). conservation education and interpretation, Many parks-service staff remain divided including multicultural dimensions; compre- on the concept of allowing a site manager to hensive information on visitor numbers, operate under commercially competitive con- source markets and demography; visitation ditions. Conservation organizations, generally, patterns, including repeat visitation and length are also very cautious about the effects of of stay; and visitor satisfaction and motivations encouraging natural-resource managers to (B. Gilligan and C. Allen, 2001, unpublished). think like business people. However, research Visitor satisfaction and service quality can shows that, by using the concept of total eco- suffer when financial return from visitors is not nomic value, it is possible to identify the goods tied directly to financial operation of a park. and services or ‘products’ protected areas Market pricing and a competitive environment offer, which are suitable for raising revenue for are considered important, not only for creat- the conservation of protected areas. With ing a more commercially viable operation and proper management the ‘products’ can be sold releasing funds for non-commercial conserva- repeatedly without diminishing the value of tion, but also for providing managers and other the protected area. Managers need to have stakeholders with incentives to improve their business plans for assessing and realizing the performance and that of the park as a whole potential benefits to ensure the long-term (Taskforce on Economic Benefits, 1998). financial sustainability of protected areas in Central budgeting also denies park managers their care (Taskforce on Economic Benefits, flexibility to manage and run the operation as 1998; FPATF, 2000). a business and to be commercially competi- Sound planning needs reliable informa- tive. Lack of data on the economic tion and appropriate methods to determine contributions of protected areas and conser- pricing policies and social carrying capacity vation leads to severe under-representation of and to monitor ecological impacts and the its importance relative to other economic effectiveness of various interpretation strate- activities, such as forestry (Eagles, 1999). gies and approaches. If one primary purpose Instead of proactively determining appropriate of increasing visitation to parks is to encour- use and levels of visitation, the process is reac- age the development of a robust conservation tive, responding to problems and issues as they constituency within society at large, then it is Balancing Conservation and Visitation in Protected Areas 207

imperative to evaluate the effects of conserva- Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal. tion messages on park users. To date, Bushell, R. (1999b) Global issues for protected areas considerable research has been conducted to and nature-based tourism: case studies of part- determine the most effective types of sign and nerships in Australia addressing some of these the most utilitarian approach in reaching audi- issues. Representing the Task Force on Tourism and Protected Areas of WCPA, IUCN, at the ences of different ages, but little effort has been International Expert Workshop Sustainable Use devoted to understanding the different ways in of Biodiversity – the Example of Tourism, which people construct and relate to nature 11–14 November, Federal Agency for Nature and how this understanding could inform Conservation, Isle of Vilm, Germany. approaches to interpretation and education Bushell, R., Staiff, R. and Conner, N. (2002) The role programmes (Staiff et al., 2002). of nature-based tourism in the contribution of protected areas to quality of life in rural and regional communities in Australia. Journal of Conclusion Hospitality and Tourism Management 9(1), 24–36. Conner, N. (1999) The Contribution of National Protected-area managers are encountering dif- Parks to Sustainable Rural and Regional ficulties in balancing the demands of Development. NSW NPWS Environmental conservation work and visitor management. Economic Series, NSW National Parks and Essential components for sound management Wildlife Service, Sydney. planning include more objective data on vis- Driml, S. and Common, M. (1995) Economic and itor use, impacts and needs; and the ability to financial benefits of tourism in major protect- undertake informed longitudinal cost/benefit ed areas. Australian Journal of Environmental analyses so as to make sound long- and short- Management 2(2), 19–39. term management decisions. Eagles, P.F.J. (1995) Tourism and Canadian parks: fiscal relationships. Managing Leisure 1(1), 16–27. Eagles, P.F.J. (1999) International trends in park References tourism and ecotourism. Background paper for the Mediterranean Protected Areas: Status, Andrade, G.I. (2000) The non-material values of Adequacy, Management and Training Needs Machu Picchu World Heritage Site, from Workshop, Cilento, Italy. acknowledgement to action. Parks 10(2), English, A. (2000) An emu in the hole: exploring the 49–62. link between biodiversity and Aboriginal cul- Blamey, R. (1995) The Nature of Ecotourism. BTR tural heritage in NSW, Australia. Parks 10(2), Occasional Paper No. 21, Bureau of Tourism 13–25. Research, Canberra. Evans, S. (2001) Community forestry: countering Brandon, K., Redford, K.H. and Sanderson, S.E. excess visitor demands in England’s national (1998) Parks in Peril. Island Press, Washington. parks. In: McCool, S.E. and Moisey, R.N. (eds) Brown, I.R. (2001) Lane Cove: national park in a Tourism, Recreation and Sustainability, CAB city. Parks 11(3), 21–27. International, Wallingford, pp. 77–90. Buckley, R. and Pannell, J. (1990) Environmental Figgis, P.J. (1999) Australia’s National Parks and impacts of tourism and recreation in national Protected Areas: Future Directions Occasional parks and conservation reserves. Journal of Paper No. 8, Australian Committee for IUCN, Tourism Studies 1(1), 24–32. Sydney. Buckley, R., Witting, N. and Guest, M. (2001) Financing Protected Areas Task Force (FPATF) of the Managing People in Australian Parks. 1. Visitor World Commission for Protected Areas in Entrance and Camping Fees. CRC Sustainable Collaboration with the Economics Unit of Tourism, Australia. IUCN (2000) Financing Protected Areas. IUCN, Bushell, R. (1999a) Development of Approaches and Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge. Practice for Sustainable Use of Biological Finger, M. (1993) Environmental Adult Learning in Resources – Tourism. Policy Recommendation Switzerland. Centre for Adult Learning for the International Union for the Teachers College, Columbia University, New Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for the Fourth York. Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Ghimire, K.B. and Pimbert, M.P. (eds) (1997) Social Technical and Technological Advice, Change and Conservation. Earthscan, UK. 208 R. Bushell

Gillespie, R. (1997) Economic Value and Regional Peterson, D.L. (1996) Research in parks and pro- Economic Impact of Minnamurra Rainforest tected areas: forging the links between science Centre, Budderoo National Park. NSW and management. In: Wright, R.G. (ed.) National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney. National Parks and Protected Areas: Their Role Gomez-Pompa, A. and Kaus, A. (1992) Taming the in Environmental Protection. Blackwell wilderness myth. Bioscience 42(4), 271–279. Science, Massachusetts. Green, M.J.B. and Paine, J. (1997) State of the Staiff, R., Bushell, R. and Kennedy, P. (2002) world’s protected areas at the end of the 20th Interpretation in national parks: some critical century. Paper presented to the World questions. Journal of Sustainable Tourism Commission for Protected Areas Symposium, 10(2), 97–113. Protected Areas in the 21st Century: From Strang, V. (1996) Sustaining tourism in far north Islands to Networks, Albany, Western Queensland. In: Price, M. (ed.) People and Australia. Tourism in Fragile Environments. Royal Gurran, N. (2001) Planning for Park Communities. Geographical Society and John Wiley & Sons, Interim Report No. 3. Department of Chichester. Architecture, Planning and Allied Arts, Taskforce on Economic Benefits of Protected Areas University of Sydney, Sydney. of the World Commission on Protected Areas Halvorson, W.L. (1996) Changes in landscape val- of IUCN, in collaboration with the Economic ues and expectations: what do we want? And Service Unit of IUCN (1998) Economic Values how do we measure it? In: Wright, R.G. (ed.) of Protected Areas: Guidelines for Protected National Parks and Protected Areas: their Role Area Managers. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, in Environmental Protection. Blackwell and Cambridge. Science, Massachusetts, pp. 15–30 Taylor, K. and Tallents, C. (1996) Cultural land- Honey, M. (1999) Ecotourism and Sustainable scapes protection in Australia. International Development: Who Owns Paradise? Island Journal of Heritage Studies 2(3), 133–144. Press, Washington. Tisdell, C. (1999) Biodiversity, Conservation and International Union for the Conservation of Nature Sustainable Development: New Horizons in (IUCN) (1994) Guidelines for Protected Area Environmental Economics. Edward Elgar, Management Categories. IUCN, Gland, Cheltenham. Switzerland. Tourism Works for America Council (TWAC) (1996) Kempf, E. (ed.) (1993) The Law of the Mother: Annual Report. TWAC, Washington, DC. Protecting Indigenous People in Protected Trzyna, T. (2001) California’s protected areas: Areas. Sierra Book Club, San Francisco. progress despite daunting pressure. Parks Lee, E. (2000) Cultural connections to the land – a 11(3), 4–15. Canadian example. Parks 10(2), 3–12. UK, House of Commons (1995) The Environmental Lockie, S., Higgins, V. and Lawrence, G. (2001) Impact of Leisure Activities. Environment What’s social about natural resources and why Committee, House of Commons, London. do we need to theorise it? In: Lawrence, G., Van Sickle, K. and Eagles, P.F.J. (1998) User fees Higgins, V. and Lockie, S. (eds) Environment, and pricing policies in Canadian senior park Society and Natural Resource Management: agencies. Tourism Management 19(3), Theoretical Perspectives from Australasia and 225–235. the Americas. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham. Wells, M.P. (1997) Economic Perspectives on Lucas, B. (1992) The Caracas Declaration. Parks Nature Tourism, Conservation and 3(2), 7–8. Development. Paper No. 55, Environment McNeely, J.A. (1994) Protected areas for the twen- Department, Pollution and Environment ty first century: working to provide benefits to Economics Division, World Bank, Washington, society. Unasylva 176(46), 3–8. DC. Missing Link (2001) NSW Nature Tourism Worboys, G., Lockwood, M. and De Lacy, T. (2001) Discussion Paper. Tourism NSW, Sydney. Protected Area Management: Principles and Mott, J.J. and Bridgewater, P.B. (1999) Biodiversity, Practice. Oxford University Press, South conservation and ecologically sustainable Melbourne. development. Search 23(9), 284–287. 19

Conclusions

Ralf Buckley International Centre for Ecotourism Research, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

This book was compiled and edited dur- ation and tourism; quotas and other regulato- ing the International Year of Ecotourism (IYE) ry restrictions in particular areas; or marketing and completed in December 2002 as IYE drew and demarketing. to a close. During 2002, public and govern- The second is to reduce the per capita ment attention focused on many of the issues impacts of visitors through site hardening, reg- addressed in these chapters and contributions. ulations (including zoning) or education. In The significance of ecotourism as a tool in particular, concentrating visitors in hardened poverty alleviation has been recognized at the front-country sacrifice areas, as commonly World Summit on Sustainable Development. occurs with large-scale tourism in parks, can In the short term, private-sector tour oper- reduce the per capita impacts of those visitors; ators and government tourism-promotion but it can also increase impacts by: increasing agencies are currently most concerned about total visitor numbers; attracting higher-impact the influence of terrorism and commercial visitors to parks; and displacing wilderness vis- weaknesses in the airline industry. In the itors into back country areas. longer term, however, the links between Scientific knowledge of tourist and visitor nature tourism and land management, impacts in protected areas and other relative- addressed in this volume and summarized ly undisturbed natural areas in most countries below, are likely to assume increasing impor- is rather poor, and land-management deci- tance for both. sions are commonly made in the absence of Nature tourism is a major management good science. Ecological studies need ecolog- component for protected areas, heritage sites ical expertise, and there are rather few and other public and private lands worldwide recreation ecologists worldwide. and is continuing to increase in scale. There is a continuing tension between Protected-area management agencies in managing parks for conservation and manag- particular face a ‘triple pinch’: more visitors, ing them for recreation. Visitor management is less wilderness, less money. There are two a major component of protected-area man- main management approaches to the triple agement. In most countries, however, the pinch. The first is to move visitors to different general public does not think that parks should areas, by: making new land available for recre- be run as tourism businesses. Public partici-

© CAB International 2003. Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management 209 (eds R. Buckley, C. Pickering and D.B. Weaver) 210 R. Buckley

pation in visitor and tourist planning, man- cies can regulate the use of parks materials, agement and infrastructure is hence a valuable including both images and information, by pri- approach. vate tour operators. Parks agencies worldwide face similar The commodification of recreation and issues in regard to user fees and permits, even promotion of adventure lifestyles are leading though specific fee structures are very differ- to increased demand for high-impact recre- ent. There could be advantages in improved ational opportunities, especially those using coordination. motorized recreational vehicles and water- Parks and forests agencies can raise rev- craft. These, however, may require sacrificial enue from tourism and recreation in a variety sites and should generally not be in higher- of ways, including: (i) through ‘pay-to-play’ order protected areas such as national parks. user fees; (ii) by conducting commercial Likewise, visitor facilities do not have to be tourism operations themselves; (iii) by forming inside parks, even if built by the parks agency commercial partnerships with individual for public use: the agency can lease or buy tourism businesses; (iv) by forming political adjacent land. partnerships with tourism portfolios to lobby Public forests contribute more to most for increased government funding; (v) poten- economies through tourism and recreation tially, by buying and selling land around park than through timber production, and tourism boundaries; and (vi) potentially, by trading facilities developed in public forests by forestry land within their overall estate: e.g. by selling agencies can generate significant revenues. some of the lands allocated by public process- Private land can be profitable for tourism es and buying private land of higher and conservation if landowners can provide conservation value. exclusive access to a tourism attraction, such Partnerships between tourism interests as wildlife or scenery – for example, through and parks agencies can be valuable in some individual ownership of wildlife. circumstances – for example, where parks Private land adjacent to publicly owned agencies have historic buildings or other heav- national parks is particularly valuable. Indeed, ily visited natural or cultural visitor attractions in some regions, tourism in parks is a transi- to manage. Such partnerships will generally tional phase. Once parks become well known, only be applicable for small areas and for amenity migration and real-estate develop- management of visitors and facilities rather ment around park margins become far more than natural resources and environment. significant than tourism, both economically Tourism operators in parks should provide a and socially. These external forces must be significant return for the parks agency, reflect- taken into account in protected-area planning ing all components of management costs for and management, as they can subsequently areas used by tourists. exercise a significant influence over the abili- Parks agencies can use marketing and ty of protected areas to sustain a healthy demarketing tools as well as regulations. natural environment and to provide high-qual- Marketing costs money, however, and has to ity visitor experiences. have clear goals to be effective. Parks agen- Index

adventure tourism 2, 9, 137–138 National Park; Tasmanian Wilderness Africa 1, 17–18, 19, 188 World Heritage Area; Wet Tropics see also Botswana; Kenya; South Africa; World Heritage Area; Yarra Ranges Zimbabwe National Park Alpine tourism 123–135, 137–149 Australian Alps 95–96, 126, 137–149 Australia 3, 4, 8, 67, 104, 184, 198, 199 snow manipulation 9, 138–141 environmental impacts of visitation artificial snow making 140–141 89–99 environmental impacts 141–146 dieback disease 93–94 ski resorts 138, 139 off-road vehicles 93 ski-slope grooming 138, 139, 140 water quality 90–91, 94 see also Mount Kosciuszko Alpine weeds 90–91 Area wildlife 91, 94–96 liability 8, 35–50 duty of care 36–44 boat-based recreation 9, 101–109, 111–121 road accidents 44–47 impacts 101–107, 112–113, 117–118 national park user fees 8, 51–59, 204 copper 102–103, 105 camping fees 55 nutrients 104 entrance fees 54–55 pathogens and indicator bacteria 104, tour operator permits 8, 55–56, 58 106 park assets 56–57 sewage 103, 105 risk management in parks 57 tributyltin 102 tour-boat industry 111–121 Botswana 17 environmental performance 118 Budderoo National Park 203 questionnaire difficulties 115–118 self-regulation 118–119 see also Australian Alps; Budderoo Canada 112 National Park; Grampians National Conservation Corporation Africa (CCA) 8, Park; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park; 17–23, 204 Katherine Hotsprings; Lane Cove conservation strategy 18–19 National Park; Monkey Mia; Mount Phinda Mountain Lodge 20–22 Kosciuszko Alpine Area; National community involvement 21–23 Forest Policy Statement; Nature and wildlife 20–21 Ecotourism Accreditation Program (NEAP); New South Wales native forests; Phillip Island Penguin environmental-impact assessment 2–3, 90, Reserve; Rottnest Island; Springbrook 105

211 212 Index

Galapagos Islands 3 management approaches and attitudes geographical information systems (GIS) 66, 200 84–85, 157, 168–169, 178 nature-based tourism as funding Grampians National Park 10, 167–179 mechanism 202–204 tourism attractiveness 170–171 visitor impacts 198–200 tourism-potential model 167–169, see also Australia, Budderoo National 171–178 Park; Conservation Corporation limitations 178 Africa (CCA); Galapagos Islands; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park 113 Grampians National Park; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park; Lane Cove National Park; Machu Picchu World indigenous people 201 Heritage Site; Monteverde Cloud International Year of Ecotourism (IYE) 15, 209 Forest Reserve; Mount Kosciuszko Alpine Area; New South Wales native forests; Phillip Island Penguin Katherine Hotsprings 37, 40 Reserve; Rottnest Island; Springbrook Kenya 19, 55 National Park; Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area; Wet Tropics World Heritage Area; Yarra Ranges Lane Cove National Park 200 National Park; Yellowstone region limits of acceptable change (LAC) model 152–153 recreation opportunity spectrum (ROS) model 152–153 Machu Picchu World Heritage Site 202 Rio Earth Summit 7, 11, 12 marketing 4, 8, 25–33 Agenda 21 14 Monkey Mia 112 Rottnest Island 36, 42, 47 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 55 Mount Kosciuszko Alpine Area 9, 123–135 environmental impacts of visitation 125, social responsibility 30 127–131 South Africa 3, 19, 189 management response to impacts 131–132 see also Conservation Corporation tourist activities 126–127 Africa (CCA) visitation trends 126–127 Springbrook National Park 39, 43 sustainable tourism 7–9, 11–16, 18

National Forest Policy Statement 61, 62 Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Tanzania 19 Program (NEAP) 8, 56, 187, 190–191 Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area New South Wales native forests 61–76 9–10, 151–165 benefits 61–64 environmental impacts of visitation economic value of recreational demand 154–163 65–67, 68–70 experimental trampling 156–163 logging revenues 67–68 management strategy 152–154 optimization model 71–73 tourism attractiveness 169–170 global arrivals 1, 13 Phillip Island Penguin Reserve 186 industry 80, 91 protected areas 1–2, 3–5, 8, 52, 197–208, 209–210 access 204–206 USA 3, 4, 31, 57 magnitude, global 197 boat registration 101 Index 213

inbound tourism trends 26 190, 191 outdoor recreation trends 25–26, 198 direct wildlife management 183–184 park ‘regreening’ 200 education about conservation 187 population growth 77–78 funding for conservation 185–186 public purpose marketing 8, 25–33 political lobbying in support of conser- relational marketing 28–29 vation 188 see also Yellowstone region role in conservation 183 user fees 52–54 socio-economic incentives for conser- vation 188–189 World Tourism Organization (WTO) Wet Tropics World Heritage Area 202 13–16 wildlife tourism 181–195 wildlife watching 95, 183, 184–185, 186, 187–188, 189–190, 191 Yarra Ranges National Park 42 direct wildlife management 184–185 Yellowstone National Park 95 education about conservation Yellowstone region 9, 77–88 187–188 amenity migration 2, 3, 9, 77–78, funding for conservation 186 80–83, 86–87 political lobbying in support of conser- impacts 81–83 vation 188 land-use change 83–86 role in conservation 183 see also Yellowstone National Park socio-economic incentives for conser- vation 189–190 zoos 183–184, 185–186, 187, 188–89, Zimbabwe 3