Myopia and saliency in renewable resource management

An important challenge in managing renewable resources is to understand why owners and managers sometimes make decisions that deplete resources and future earnings, such as when graziers allow pastures and land condition to be degraded. In this paper, we test two potential reasons for unsustainable management practices, myopia and salience, with each explaining why resource managers may exhibit impatience in harvest decisions. Myopia is associated with decision makers placing lower weight on future outcomes than would be implied by their pure time preference. Salience is associated with overweighting of consumption ‘now’, implying inconsistency in time preferences. To test for these effects on renewable resource management, an incentivised, dynamic field experiment was carried out with rangeland grazing enterprise owners in north‐eastern Australia that related management choices with uncertain rainfall events to both profits and land condition over time. Results demonstrate that respondents exhibiting myopia/salience in their choices tended to achieve lower cumulative scores in the experiment, as well as lower land conditions on their properties as measured with remote sensing data. Our results explain why there may be persistent optimisation failures by resource owners that reduce both profits and environmental outcomes.     

Assessing cost‐effectiveness when environmental benefits are bundled: agricultural water management in Great Barrier Reef catchments

Using economic analysis to prioritise improvements in environmental conditions is particularly difficult when multiple benefits are involved. This includes ‘bundling’ issues in agricultural pollution management, where a change in management action or farming systems generates multiple improvements, such as reductions in more than one pollutant. In this study, we conceptualise and compare two different approaches to analysing cost‐effectiveness when varying bundles of benefits are generated for a single project investment. Each approach requires data to be transformed in some way to allow the analysis to proceed. The index approach requires the transformation on the benefits side so that the effects of multiple pollutant changes can be combined into a measure for each project which can then be compared to costs. By comparison, the disaggregation approach requires the transformation on the costs side where costs for each project have to be apportioned across the different pollutants involved. The paper provides novel insights with an application to agricultural water quality improvements into the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, demonstrating that while both approaches are effective in prioritising projects by cost‐effectiveness, the disaggregation approach provides more insightful results and values that may be relevant for use as upper value guidelines in future project selection.     

Getting closer to whales—passenger expectations and experiences, and the management of swim with dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef

Whale-watching tourism is a growth industry worldwide. In Australia, with whale-watchers approaching one million per annum there has been considerable effort to develop management regimes that protect the whales while enabling the development of a sustainable ecotourism industry. A mixture of National and State laws and regulations have governed the industry (Tourism based on free-ranging marine wildlife: opportunities and responsibilities, Wildlife Tourism Research Report No. 11, Status Assessment of Wildlife Tourism in Australia Series, CRC for Sustainable Tourism, Gold Coast, Queensland) but these have been mainly derived from experiences with humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) whale watching from vessels at sea. In this article we describe the development and nature of new and rapidly growing swim-with-whales operations based on the dwarf minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in the Great Barrier Reef of northern Queensland. The distinctly different quality of these operations raise interesting questions for long-term management (Towards sustainable management of the developing dwarf minke whale tourism industry in northern Queensland, CRC Reef Research Technical Report 27, James Cook University of North Queensland, 30pp (emended version of SC/50/WW1)).In the 1999–2000 seasons, 453 passengers (88.1% of respondents) swam with minke whales. Only 25% of visitors came specifically for the whale interactions and 43% learned of the whales on board the vessel. Passengers thus had low expectations about whales and encounters. A variety of factors, including the diving experience, particular dive sites, a range of wildlife species and socializing contributed to visitor satisfaction. Nonetheless, there was a significant correlation between visitor satisfaction and closeness of approaches by the whales, total number of whales seen and total time spent with whales. We discuss the key issues associated with swim-with-whales programs in the light of our findings. The cooperative engagement of tourism operators, researchers and government management agencies is a feature of this new industry.     

Tourists’ aesthetic assessment of environmental changes,linking conservation planning to sustainable tourism development

Abstract

Tourists often travel to experience the natural beauty of a destination such as the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia. This nature-based destination attracts millions of tourists every year because of its outstanding underwater aesthetics. Recently, parts of the GBR have been degraded by warming sea temperatures and other local anthropogenic influences, threatening the Reef aesthetics and tourism in the region. In order to deal with this topical issue, the current research investigates tourists’ aesthetic assessment of environmental changes in the GBR ecosystem. Research outcomes indicate that tourists’ perceived beauty of the Reef is sensitive to environmental changes. The disappearance of sea animals (colourful fish, turtle), degrading coral and decreasing water quality negatively influence their aesthetic assessment, which can reduce tourist visitation in the long-term. Hence, sustainable tourism development in the GBR regions can only be achieved when government support for environmental management is strengthened. Conservation programs of the GBR should expand beyond coral restoration for controlling water quality, reducing pollution and protecting aesthetically appealing sea animals.     

The governance of the Boscombe Artificial Surf Reef,UK

The Boscombe Artificial Surf Reef (ASR) is the first ASR in Europe and is the flagship project of an ambitious scheme to regenerate Boscombe Spa, a resort-suburb of Bournemouth, UK. The Boscombe ASR therefore presents a unique coastal management challenge in Europe for which there is no precedent and little pre-existing management capacity. Through a multi-stage research process, this paper identifies the likely governance challenges that will face the Boscombe ASR. These were found to include overcrowding, a lack of surf skill and etiquette amongst visitors, conflict between different uses, and localism. Through a consideration of approaches to surf governance elsewhere, suggestions are identified for management interventions that may work in Boscombe. The paper concludes by identifying underlying tensions between the need to attract visitors to support the regeneration of Boscombe, the surf safety issues created by an influx of novice surfers, and the potential for the breakdown of the norms governing the self-regulation of surfing.     

Place Meanings Ascribed to Marine Settings: The Case of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Using data collected from in-depth interviews of recreational visitors to Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, place-related meanings ascribed to a marine environment are described. The usefulness of using symbolic interactionism to understand the creation of these meanings is also assessed. Ten meaning-themes emerged (aesthetic beauty, lack of built infrastructure/pristine environment, abundance and diversity of coral and other wildlife, unique natural resource, facilitation of desired recreation activity, safety and accessibility, curiosity and exploration, sense of connection to the natural world, escape from the everyday, and experiences with family and friends), and evidence supporting the utility of symbolic interactionism was identified. Using these findings, researchers may be better able to identify place meanings and the processes that create them.     

Wildlife tourism as a common pool resource issue: enabling conditions for sustainability governance

Wildlife tourism is potentially a common pool resource (CPR) issue when the following are applicable: it is difficult to exclude tourists; their experiences are affected by others’ activities; and adverse impacts on the wildlife occur. CPRs are typified by non-excludability and subtractability. Relatively few efforts have been made to consider tourism in this way or to use the concept of CPR in tourism management schemes. This paper (1) explores the possibility of wildlife tourism being a CPR issue, (2) derives a list of enabling conditions required for the sustainability of such resources and (3) determines the applicability of the conditions through a case study. Having described the potential for wildlife tourism to be a CPR issue, the enabling conditions explored in the rest of the paper follow: the characteristics of the tourism resource system and its user groups, the associated institutional arrangements and the external environment. The application of CPR thinking to the case study, whale shark tourism in Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia, revealed the contribution of institutional arrangements, particularly those associated with the State Government, to sustainable management. The use of the enabling conditions as a tool for managing wildlife tourism is discussed.     

Last chance tourism and the Great Barrier Reef

The publically documented decline in health of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has led to its labelling, in media and academic literature, as a last chance tourism destination. That is, a place tourists travel to experience before it is gone. While the GBR has been labelled as such, no empirical evidence has identified that this is actually occurring. This article explores if tourists are motivated to visit the GBR to see it before it's gone, and examines the level of concern tourists have about the range of issues that are threatening the GBR. Drawing on 235 questionnaires with on-site tourists, the results indicate that tourists are seeking travel to the GBR in a bid to see the reef before it's too late. These tourists – identified as “seeking a last chance experience” – were also found to be more environmentally conscious, and have a higher level of concern about the overall health of the GBR. In terms of threats to the GBR, respondents indicated that they were mainly concerned about coral bleaching/disease and climate change, with tourism only considered as a moderate to low concern. The implications of this are discussed.     

Climate change and tourism in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Climate change impacts such as coral bleaching are now evident on many coral reefs visited by tourists. This paper reports on climate change workshops and climate change actions implemented by tourism operators and agencies in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, with a focus on eco-efficiency initiatives. The results of a climate change action survey of 82 Great Barrier Reef tourism operators are also presented. Climate change responses by coral reef destinations require a mix of environmental and business strategies.     

Japanese Tourists' Experience of the Natural Environments in North QLD Region— Great Barrier Reef Experience

Summary

The North Queensland (QLD) region has been one of the fastest growing tourist destination for the international travel markets and has been recognized as a significant tourism icon in Australia. Surrounded by World Heritage areas such as the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and Wet Tropical Rainforest, the North QLD region offers a range of unique and distinctive natural tourist attractions. Although the North QLD region is being recognized as one of the fast growing tourist destinations for Japanese tourists, few studies have been conducted in terms of understanding Japanese tourists' experiences towards the natural environment.

With a focus on the GBR trip in the North QLD region this study determined the importance of the GBR in Japanese holiday choice and elicited opinions on some reef-related issues. This study also attempted to compare Japanese visitor activities and behavior with a previous sample of English speaking respondents who took part in a similar survey during 1996.

The results indicated that not only do Japanese Tourists see Australia as a great opportunity to experience a unique and different culture, but they also regard Australia as a stimulating destination where they can get involved in some adventurous activities

Focussing on the GBR as a major drawcard for Japanese visitors, it was found that the ‘Experiencing Nature’ in a very natural, unstructured way, was the most important motivational factor for a GBR trip. There is potential to improve the enjoyment levels of Japanese visitors to the GBR by providing more information on day activities of the reef tours, by providing more education and through improvement of service and facilities on the boats.