Rosemary Black

Locating Communities in Natural Resource Management

Abstract In recent decades, natural resource management (NRM) has embraced community participation and engagement. Despite considerable literature addressing community participation, the tasks of negotiating and integrating diverse community interests, values, goals and boundaries remains a challenge for practitioners. Our view is that NRM discourse is hamstrung by a multitude of overlapping terms and excessive focus on place-based communities. In this paper, we critically review existing strands of community theory and draw on stakeholder analysis and actor-network theory to identify a more effective approach to decisions about who should be involved and how they might participate. We then offer a typology as a conceptual tool for understanding, organizing, mapping and analyzing communities. Examples from NRM in Australias Murray–Darling Basin are provided to illustrate the potentially multi-scalar nature of communities and their significance in addressing environmental change. As part of our discussion, we highlight the need for further research into the inter-relationships of power and environmental agency. These inter-relationships can assist in uncovering how differing actors hold variable capacity to exercise power, authority and influence while attempting to implement environmental change within a network of interactions.

Ecotour Guide Training in Less Developed Countries: Some Preliminary Research Findings

Ecotourism is increasing throughout the world, especially in less developed countries, where it is often promoted in association with protected areas (Weaver, 1998). Guides have important roles to perform in the ecotourism experience, such as ensuring the safety of the visitor, providing accurate and compelling interpretation of sites, and modelling appropriate environmental and cultural behaviour. To be able to serve this wide range of interests, guides need training that provides them with necessary knowledge and skills. A literature review together with a small pilot study were carried out to identify the types of ecotour guide training currently being delivered in less developed countries, and to highlight some key issues and research priorities for ecotour guide training in the next decade. The results suggest the need for further research in this area.

Patterns, Drivers and Implications of Demographic Change in Rural Landscapes

The movement of people to reside in new locations – a key aspect of demographic change – is a phenomenon Australia shares with the rest of the world. While most of Australia’s population lives in an urban environment, the dimensions of demographic change are more complex than a steady leakage of rural people to the cities. There is a simultaneous migration of rural people to other rural and regional areas, and urban people to new coastal, rural and regional areas to fulfil the apparent opportunities of a better life. In many respects, the appeal and limitation of rural areas is temporally, socially and spatially specific. This chapter provides an overview of the principal patterns, drivers and implications of demographic change for rural communities and landscapes. While drawing on international experiences, this chapter is framed by the Australian context and outlines the more substantive discussion that follows in subsequent chapters.

Exploring the Digital Divide in an Australian Regional City: a case study of Albury

Abstract The ‘digital divide’ is generally considered to be the gap between people who have access to information and communication technologies (ICT) and those who do not, and an issue of significant social justice. This paper presents findings from research that explored the digital divide within the regional city of Albury. The study focused on assessing whether there was a digital divide; identifying strategies to address any divide; and developing a methodology that could be used to explore the digital divide in other contexts. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and a telephone survey of city residents. Findings demonstrated that a digital divide existed in that there were differences in computer access in relation to income and different locations within the city, and for access to the Internet by age, education and income levels. Overall, the patterns indicated that those with lower education and income and the elderly reported lower levels of access to ICT. Drawing on the research findings we suggest some practical ways of addressing the digital divide that could be applied to other similar locations where a digital divide exists, such as providing technical support and training, improved access to and awareness of ICT services, and facilitating access to ICT services such as the provision of appropriate hardware and software for disadvantaged groups. Our view is that the mixed-method approach we employed provided helpful, reliable information at reasonable cost and could be considered by other researchers and local governments.

Transhumant agro-pastoralism in Bhutan: Exploring contemporary practices and socio-cultural traditions

This paper presents research findings on the contemporary practices and socio-cultural traditions of transhumant agro-pastoralism (TAP) in Bhutan. Despite the widespread practice of TAP in Bhutan, there has been limited research on the nature of the practice and associated socio-cultural traditions. Qualitative research methods were used to interview 24 migrating households and nine relevant agency staff in 2010. A structured survey of 75 TAP households gathered background quantitative data.Migration takes place in April/May and September/October, and may take four days to over a month. The main reasons for migration include (1) avoiding production reduction and mortality of animals from cold, (2) shortage of forage, (3) off-farm income opportunities, (4) avoiding parasite infestation in the south and (5) vacating grazing areas for yaks in winter. Additionally, the study revealed that there are several other factors and indicators that herders consider in planning their seasonal transhumant movement.We conclude that TAP is an important part of the living cultural heritage in Bhutan. TAP herders have not only adapted their livelihoods to ecological niches at different altitudinal levels but also used resources sustainably while synchronizing their socio-cultural activities with seasonality of the transhumant practice. However, the system is under increasing pressure. Today, TAP communities are faced with family labour shortages due to the increasing participation of children and adults in education and alternative livelihood options. They also face policy and climate change issues making their TAP practice more difficult. Strategies are needed that will allow herders to make informed choices about their futures.

Ecotourism implementation in the Kakum Conservation Area, Ghana: administrative framework and local community experiences

In principle ecotourism should support environmental conservation and local development; however, achieving success in delivering on frequently competing objectives of conservation and development has often proven difficult in many ecotourism destinations in Africa. This paper focuses on the implementation of ecotourism in the Kakum Conservation Area (KCA), the most popular ecotourism destination in Ghana. It examines the current administrative framework for implementing ecotourism, and the involvement and experiences of ecotourism by communities around the KCA. A case study research method was adopted using in-depth interviews with local residents and relevant park and non-governmental organisation agency staff. Findings indicate that the implementation of ecotourism is not recognised by the park officials as a process requiring negotiation between stakeholders with different agendas. Thus, the current ecotourism administrative framework does not acknowledge community involvement and participation as relevant to the implementation of ecotourism in the KCA which has generated mixed experiences among the local residents.

The changing face of the tour guide: one-way communicator to choreographer to co-creator of the tourist experience

Thirty years after Cohens seminal work on tour guiding, the role(s) played by and skills required of tour guides continue to evolve. As ‘experience’ has come to be considered central to tourism, research on the guide as communicator and experience-broker has expanded. Guides broker experience in at least four domains – physical access, understanding, encounters and empathy. This conceptual paper examines, via the literature particularly on the mediatory and brokering roles of the tour guide and its intersections with social, economic and political trends, how and why the guides role is changing. Together these bodies of literature on guiding and on societal trends are used to underpin a typology of future guided tour experiences distinguished by the target market, style of guiding and use of communication, with varying outcomes for the tourist. To meet the needs and expectations of twenty-first century tourists and the challenges of the global communication environment, tour guides need to become more highly skilled experience-brokers, including embracing technology to choreograph memorable experiences. To satisfy tourists in search of personalized and meaningful experiences, guides in some cases need to actively engage tourists in the co-creation of their own guided tour experiences. The typology provides a management and research framework for examining these relationships and their consequences.

Factors facilitating and inhibiting the use of research to inform interpretation practice: a case study of Australian protected area management agencies

ABSTRACT Interpretation research can be and is used to inform and improve interpretation policymaking and planning undertaken by practitioners such as those who work for Australian protected area management (PAM) agencies. This study explores perceptions of the extent to which interpretation research is undertaken and used by these agencies, and the facilitators and constraints to doing so. In-depth telephone interviews were conducted with senior interpretation planners and managers in all Australian PAM agencies. The findings indicate that interpretation research is usually prompted by a crisis or a short-term need such as a specific project and that most research is site-specific and content-focused, while respondents see a need for more longitudinal and evaluation-focused research. Two-thirds of the respondents reported that their agency made poor or no use of research findings for improving interpretation practice. Stated barriers to undertaking and using research included lack of funding, lack of time and that research was not considered an agency priority. Underpinning these were perceptions consistent with diffusion of innovation theory (e.g., that doing or using research is perceived as being too complex, not compatible with agency goals or not offering relative advantage). Strategies for removing these perceptual barriers to undertaking and using interpretation research and research findings are presented.

Local attitudes towards tourism and conservation in rural Botswana and Rwanda

The establishment of protected areas is an accepted means of achieving biodiversity conservation and associated tourism development; yet, there is limited evidence of the relationship between the two and how this influences local communities’ attitudes to conservation and tourism. Joint venture models are one way to achieve these two outcomes. The African Wildlife Foundation conservation enterprise model aims to improve the quality of life of local communities and encourage positive local attitudes to conservation; yet, this has not been tested. This research adopted one-on-one structured questionnaire interviews to examine community and tourism lodge staff’s attitudes towards conservation of, and tourism in, protected areas in two case-study sites in rural Botswana and Rwanda. Findings indicate that at both case-study sites lodge staff and the local community were generally supportive of conservation, and had positive attitudes towards conservation and tourism.

The challenges of interpreting fragmented landscapes in a regional context: a case study of the Victorian Box-Ironbark forests, Australia

Recently established protected areas in Victoria, Australia, include networks of fragmented land units, rather than the traditional model of contiguous landscapes or ecosystem types. This trend presents management challenges including the development of new approaches to interpretation. A review of Australian protected area management agency documents backed by qualitative interviews found six best practice approaches. Their validity was tested using a case study of the Box-Ironbark forest protected area in central Victoria to identify potential approaches to interpreting the natural values of the forest, which is highly fragmented and widespread, comprising a network of degraded and recovering forest patches. Twenty in-depth qualitative interviews with forest stakeholders were completed. Seven key points emerged including the need to involve all stakeholders in discussion, coordinate approaches across relevant agencies, a unified approach and brand creation, creation of common themes and story lines, the value of partnerships, the role of interpretation in assisting managers to achieve their objectives and the value of linking interpretation with tourism marketing and resident involvement. The study findings contribute to the practice of interpretation by identifying the lessons above and to sustainable tourism development in complex protected areas, with special relevance to ecosystems tourism and interpretation.