David Newsome

This paper refers to adventure racing which occurs in protected areas and research questions arising from this. Adventure racing generally comprises a combination of outdoor activities such as rogaining/orienteering, mountain biking, running, abseiling, rock climbing and canoe (white water) racing. Adventure races typically extend over long distances and take place over a number of days. Participants are usually required to master a range of – outdoor activities and also manage the transport of food, water and equipment. Contestants are at risk of illness and injury as they compete in unfamiliar and isolated areas and may be required to perform with minimal sleep in multiple day events (see Kay and Laberge, 2002). Adventure racing is well established in New Zealand, USA, Australia, Morocco, Argentina, Borneo, and Fiji. Events that take place in these countries range in size and sometimes involve thousands of people including support crew, spectators and organizers, sometimes media and film crews and are an increasingly profitable commercial enterprise.

Mountain biking has grown rapidly as a leisure activity over the last 10 years and is undertaken in a range of outdoor settings and protected areas. Participants can be related to a spectrum of activity that needs to be understood for effective management. At one end of the spectrum lies the family group who are seeking to enjoy exercise in an outdoor setting where cycling speeds are likely to be low to moderate. At the other end are those that seek physically demanding rides and technical challenge as part of the riding experience. Interlinked with this group is a casual user group who are adrenaline junkies and thrill seekers who disregard park regulations, codes of conduct and environmental values. Environmental impacts include loosened track surfaces, soil displacement and liner rut development. Long narrow channels tend to form on trails where tyres depress the soil in wet and damp conditions. The most significant environmental impacts, however, are the development of user created trails and the construction of technical trail features. Such impacts’re of major management concern when mountain bike activity takes the form of adventure racing and competitive events. All forms of mountain biking in protected areas need to be understood, monitored and proactively managed. Furthermore, because of the implications for managers and other more passive users competition racing should not be permitted in the vast majority of national parks and protected areas.

Sandy soils occupy a large proportion of the Cambodian landscape, and improved understanding of these soils is critically important to support agricultural development. This study aims to identify variability in soil particle size distributions and acidity among sandy soils from different parts of southern and eastern Cambodia. Soil samples were collected from different layers at 8 sites within 4 study provinces and analysed for particle size distribution, soil pH and exchangeable Al. Clay and silt were minor fractions and comprised similar amounts at most sites. Clay fractions generally increased at about 1 m depth. Soils at a site close to the beach and sites nearby coarse grained granite mountains contained very high percentages of coarse sand (up to 87 %). At other sites, fine sands were dominant fractions. Very low pHCaCl2 values (< 4) in whole profiles were found at 2 sites in the coastal area, close to the beach and sandstone mountain and at one site in eastern Cambodia. Highest whole profile exchangeable Al (0.44-1.13 cmol/kg) were seen at a site close to sandstone mountain and a site in eastern area.

Geotourism is a specialised form of tourism where the focus of attention is the geosite. A geosite can be a landscape, group of landforms. a single landform. a rock outcrop, a fossil bed or assemblage of crystals. Many such sites and features are exposed in coastal environments and those countries with extensive coastlines provide much scope for geotourism. Examples of existing geotourism locations are described and the case of enhancing the tourism product along the coastline of Kalbarri National Park in Western Australia via geosite interpretation is described. Materials that can be used to assist in interpreting geosites include, information panels, brochures, books, displays, video, slide shows, interactive touch panels, models, specimens, computer animations and activities. In addition an essential part of presenting geotourism to the visitor is the role of the tour guide, a trained interpreter who can deliver the information and inspire the geotourist. Any coastal landscape has geotourism potential. Developing geotourism requires recognition of resources (resource inventory) and a tourism strategy that incorporates education/interpretation and on-site visitor management.

Shore-based turtle tourism is emerging as a popular activity for independent travellers during the summer months in the Ningaloo Marine Park, yet little is known about the spatial extent of human-turtle interactions and their impact on nesting marine turtle species in the area. Aerial survey techniques in conjunction with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can provide useful tools for identifying potential 'interaction hotspots' where management of human-turtle interactions is required. This paper explores the application of aerial surveys that quantify both tourist activity and turtle nesting activity along the Ningaloo Marine Park coast in Western Australia.

Recreational mountain biking in natural areas can cause physical degradation to the environment through informal trail development, informal modification of existing trail systems, erosion and disturbance to native vegetation. Although previous studies have tried to quantify the impacts of mountain bikes in natural areas, using general trail assessment methods to measure the physical degradation of trails, many impacts of mountain biking have not been included sufficiently in the research. Following a review of the literature and field testing it was determined that general trail assessment methods had limitations in interpreting the specific impacts of mountain biking in natural areas. Such methods determine the general condition of a trail but do not adequately quantify the impacts of mountain bike specific impacts such as informal trail development and trail modifications. Managers require a tool by which they can quantify impacts specific to mountain in natural areas in order to protect these environments through targeted management. A rapid assessment tool, using GPS and GIS, was developed to quantify the effects of mountain biking in natural areas. The tool was tested in John Forrest National Park, a popular place for recreational mountain biking in the peri urban area of Perth, Western Australia, where mountain bikers creating informal trails and modifying existing trail systems is acknowledged as a problem by Park management. This assessment tool can effectively quantify the actual area impacted by the creation of informal trails and trail modifications. It also provides management with informative and interpretive maps of the impacted area.

Tourism is growing rapidly and is one of the world’s largest industries. It is clearly linked to biodiversity-rich biomes, such as tropical rainforests and coral reefs, and destinations with abundant collections of birds, fish and/or mammal species or novel and unusual species. As such, high levels of tourism and biodiversity often occur together. The maintenance of biodiversity then becomes critically important for tourism as well as a suite of other reasons. Little is known however about the complex interactions between tourism and biodiversity. This paper explores the opportunities and dilemmas in researching this interface and the associated interactions. A significant and under-researched opportunity is exploring the potentially symbiotic (positive) relationships at this interface and moving beyond a previous focus on conflictive (negative) interactions. Another opportunity is developing a transdisciplinary approach to understanding the relationship between tourism and biodiversity integrating environmental, social and economic concerns. An associated challenge is the different paradigmatic locations of ecologists, sociologists and economists, both within and between these disciplines. Two other dilemmas are confusion over the definition of biodiversity and a lack of knowledge about ecosystems and how they function. Both have the potential to impede research efforts. The paper concludes by recommending some future possibilities for researching this important interface between tourism and biodiversity hotspots.

Natural coastal areas in the Broome region of north-western Australia represent a significant recreational resource. The area of interest in this study, 90km of coastal land, mainly unallocated crown land under native title claim and including an area recently granted native title to the Yawuru people of Broome, has seen an increase in unregulated off-road vehicle use and recreational impact pressure since the mid 80’s. Camping, fishing and beach use by off-road vehicle users, both locals and visitors, has lead to degradation and changes to these coastal resources which remain largely unmanaged. Increased use of the area has lead to seasonal overcrowding at camping areas which can stimulate a source of resentment from local residents. There have been few baseline studies of wet-dry tropical Australia, partly due to the remoteness and restrictions of climatic conditions imposed by an oppressive wet season or cyclone risk period. The majority of recreational tourist activity in the study area takes place in the dry season. The main focus of this project undertaken in the dry season has been a multidimensional study of the impacts and attitudes of off-road vehicle users in the study area. A total of 388 user surveys were collected, the results of which summarise user perceptions of environmental impacts, acceptable levels of impacts and user responses to potential management actions. A comparison within the survey between number visualization and photographic series visualization methods is also presented in the analysis of user perception of acceptable impact levels in the study area. In addition, five management interviews with responsible government authorities and Traditional Custodians have also been carried out to add another layer to the analysis of the data that have been collected. The results presented in this paper are social findings from the user survey representing part of a much wider multidimensional study. Data includes an assessment of roads, beach access points and erosion, changes to vegetation and an assessment of campsite impacts. A GIS system will be used to combine and present the information in a way that is beneficial to local land managers and contribute to the development of policies for the sustainable management of coastal areas north of Broome.

Wildlife tourism, the viewing of wildlife in their natural environment, is a growing sector of tourism world wide. The presence of diverse and unusual wildlife is a major influence on visitors choosing Australia as a destination. However, in many circumstances there is little scientific knowledge available on the short and long term impacts on the wildlife on which such tourism depends. Given the diversity of possible impacts and possible responses, plus concerns surrounding sustainability, it is essential that good empirical scientific research is available to inform the management of wildlife tourism. This paper uses actor-network theory as a method to describe and analyse the sub-Antarctic/Antarctic region where wildlife tourism management is being guided by science. It explores the power relationships and potential transformations between scientists, wildlife and managers which allowed for the development of research into human-wildlife interactions. Using these theoretical perspectives this paper examines the key actors and intermediaries who were involved in the development and uptake of wildlife tourism science in the sub-Antarctic/Antarctic region.