R. J. S. Beeton

Sustainable tourism: an overview of the concept and its position in relation to conceptualisations of tourism.

Reference to sustainable tourism is now made in most strategic tourism planning documents. Yet, despite its common use, definitional arguments exist over its meaning and subsequent operationalisation. In addition to this, literature on sustainable tourism rarely discusses its development prior to the publication of Our Common Future (World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), 1987) and its relevance to current conceptualisations of tourism. This paper analyses the context within which sustainable tourism was developed and has recently been conceptualised. It does this by assessing the development of sustainable tourism (with an Australian focus) and proposing a model which incorporates the development of sustainable tourism into tourism. The paper argues that sustainable tourism has traditionally given more focus to aspects related to the environment and economic development and that more focus should be given to community involvement.

Sustainable tourism or maintainable tourism: managing resources for more than average outcomes.

This article explores the concept of sustainable tourism and in particular the nexus between maintainable tourism and sustainable tourism. It argues that the nexus involves an understanding of stakeholder perceptions, and applies this to the Daintree region of Far North Queensland, Australia, to determine whether tourism in the region is operating in a sustainable or maintainable manner. In order to do this, an iterative approach was taken and local people, operators, regulators and tourists were interviewed, and content analysis applied to management and strategic documents for the region. The results illustrate the importance of understanding stakeholder perceptions in facilitating sustainable tourism.

A model of cultural change and tourism.

Tourism is recognised as an agent of social and cultural change, especially for indigenous communities. In many cases, tourism has been identified as both a force for cultural enrichment or rejuvenation and the loss of cultural integrity. Description, after the effect, typifies the literature, with few attempts to be predictive of the impact tourism might have. This paper presents a model of cultural change derived inductively from interactions with communities of the Asia Pacific region. It identifies that cultural expressions, the ‘physical’ manifestation of culture, are often a ‘product’ for tourism. Many host communities trade cultural expressions for benefits that tourism can provide. As such, cultural expressions are a direct link between a host culture and the tourist. The model proposes that cultural expressions are linked and that a change in one affects others. The magnitude of change to a cultural expression, and flow-on effect, depends on the significance of the cultural expression to the culture, the number of links and the strength of these links, determined by practice and its contribution to maintaining social structure and providing physical benefits to the individual and community. The model of the change process in expressions is presented as a heuristic device as well as a prognostic tool for cultural impact assessment. The paper identifies how the model can be used to provide insight to the likely changes that tourism might bring to an indigenous community considering developing tourism.

Sustainability from a Chinese cultural perspective: the implications of harmonious development in environmental management

AbstractSustainable development has broad consensus in environmental science and policy discourse, but its implications differ in specific cultural contexts. This article articulates sustainable development from a Chinese cultural perspective by tracing ideas from Chinese traditional culture and exploring China’s concept of harmonious development with emphasis on environmental management. Ideas that resemble sustainable development are not new to Chinese culture, but have roots in ancient Chinese thoughts, which in turn influence current governance and policies. Notably, Chinese traditional philosophies such as Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, and Yin–Yang contain philosophies fundamental to sustainable development. As a distinct local discourse, such concepts were well interpreted and understood in the ancient meaning of harmony, giving China unique sustainability perspectives with institutional implications for policies of harmonious development and environmental management. Currently, China is driven to create a new national identity of harmonious development that involves Chinese traditional philosophies and values in its modern administration. The slogans “harmonious society” and “Chinese dream” reflect this new way of responding to the world with the aspiration to achieve cleaner growth, personal prosperity, and social stability. The Chinese and Western roots of sustainable development are conceptually, ideologically, and historically different, and this paper articulates how the convergence of the two underlies contemporary international debates.

What faecal pellet surveys can and can’t reveal about the ecology of koalas Phascolarctos cinereus

Previous approaches to indirect detection of koala presence have been proposed, however, the present paper identifies issues of bias, pellet detectability and over-analysis of information inherent in those prior techniques. We recommend an approach that reduces bias, can be consistently applied and enables information on presence of koalas Phascolarctos cinereus to be used to inform larger survey programs, ‘ground-truth’ predictive habitat mapping, etc. We describe a rapid assessment methodology based on indirect signs that provides a reproducible, statistically valid, time-efficient and resource-efficient protocol for determining the presence of this species. The application, advantages and limitations of this ‘koala rapid assessment method’ (KRAM) are discussed with reference to its role in the design of detailed and landscape scale P. cinereus surveys.

Integrating stakeholder perceptions of environmental risk into conventional management frameworks: coal seam gas development in Queensland

Social opposition to coal seam gas development in Queensland, Australia, reflects a broad and complex array of value-based issues, many of which are poorly represented in the regulatory decision-making process. The Queensland Governments adaptive policy framework for managing coal seam gas development has targeted risks identified through conventional risk management methodologies based solely on technical assessment. This study presents a novel approach to identifying risks during policy development. Socially perceived risks and policy gaps identified in news media are compared against existing policy using a three-phase mixed methodology. Three leverage points for strengthening the current management framework are proposed: (1) integration of policies to address cumulative and overlapping risks; (2) adoption of a prescribed development plan, allowing proactive data collection and impact assessment; and (3) establishment of a detailed, systematic approach for formulating and implementing adaptive policy measures.

SUCCESS ATTRIBUTES OF REGIONAL NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The complexity of natural resource management (NRM), which is socially an evolving ‘discipline of disciplines’, creates challenges for society. With the continual degradation of the natural resource base it can be hypothesised that the past and present approaches to NRM in Australia have failed. NRM is recognised in the 21st century as having assumed importance as a development strategy because of the claims that it can contribute towards sustainable livelihoods; thus NRM has two facets: the natural resource base and the institutional arrangements required to maintain this base. Australia is presently going through a transformation with the evolution of a regional NRM systems approach. This paper reports a hypothesised model of a sustainable regional NRM system for Australia.

A systems thinking approach for enhancing adaptive capacity in small- and medium-sized enterprises: causal mapping of factors influencing environmental adaptation in Vietnam’s textile and garment industry

This paper aims to develop a conceptual model for enhancing SMEs’ adaptive capacity in response to environmental requirements in Vietnam. We apply a systems thinking approach and suggest that interventions at three levels: personal development, organizational development, and institutional development should be made. Results from 46 interviews with government officials, experts from non-government organizations, and enterprise managers are used for interventions modelling. We conclude that the sector needs to undertake profound changes, including the alteration of visions, missions, goals, and objectives, the changes in organizational culture, the creation of green operations and products, and the institutionalization of environmental initiatives at all levels.

Environmental Adaptation by Small and Medium Sized Textile and Garment Companies in Vietnam—Is Governance an Issue?

Institutional theory emphasizes the social context in which firms operate and explains the role of institutions in shaping organizational responses. Following this theory, if a firm fails to conform to institutionalized norms, its legitimacy and survival is threatened. This chapter uses institutional theory as a tool to understand the influence of current institutional mechanisms on the adaptive capacity of textiles and garment small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam in response to national and international environmental requirements. Field work undertaken in Vietnam in 2013 enabled 21 interviews with policymakers, experts, and textiles and garment enterprises. The interviews revealed a number of problems with the current environmental legislation as well as the governance system in Vietnam. These problems are considered as barriers for the environmental adaptation process at textiles and garment SMEs in Vietnam.

Arresting the decline, stabilising the residual, and creating the restored: where science meets politics and the law

The article offers information on the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act No 91 of 1999 in Australia. The Act offered effect to the Convention on Biological Diversity and offered mechanisms to implement several regulatory rights held by the Commonwealth. The listed matters of National Environmental Significance and operational significance is indicated in the objectives of the Act.