Carol Warren

World Heritage listing has become a focus for those concerned with balancing tourism growth with the protection of the agricultural sector and cultural values in Bali. Aiming to marry sustainable development and heritage protection, the Cultural Landscape of Bali was officially listed as World Heritage in 2012, encompassing several sites associated with the subak irrigation networks that are at the heart of Balinese agrarian culture. The nomination paradoxically brings to a head decades of debate over cultural preservation and environmental protection. It raises numerous questions about the place of tangible and intangible heritage for a living culture, and ultimately for Balinese, how it could be possible to reconcile contradictions between the intrinsic value of cultural heritage and its commodification under globalizing capitalism.

The publicly owned eucalypt forests of south west Western Australia have been the focus of lively discussions over the last decade or two. The discussions have become polarised between those who want to stop logging and those who consider logging and regeneration are legitimate uses of publicly owned forests. But there is much more to a forest than logging and regeneration. A preliminary survey using open ended interviews, together with a detailed questionnaire incorporating a Likert scale, explored the individual expectations of those interviewed relating to 176 activities, products and other things associated with publicly owned forests. Over 40 people were interviewed covering a range of ages and occupations and included some aboriginal people and some young people. Preliminary findings suggest that tranquillity is a major desirable feature of forests. And there are many other expectations including rejuvenation and renewal as well as logging and regeneration. What does this mean for forest managers, for the community, for the environment and for the economy?