Discussion of challenges in achieving sustainable cultural tourism
Discuss about the Environment and Cultural Heritage Sites and Its Tourism Development.
This paper will provide an in-depth analysis of the management of cultural heritage sites and its tourism development. It would further investigate the issues that take place here and it would provide strategic recommendation for its further development. Australia is considered to be the most biologically distinctive continent in the whole world. Only two of its seven orders of singularly distinctive marsupial mammals have ever been recorded elsewhere. Naracoorte and Riversleigh located in the southern and northern region of Australiaistwoof its most important fossil sites and it is also regarded asone of the top ten greatest fossil sites in the world (Tucker et al., 2013). This site individually provides evidence of the key stages in the evolution of the fauna of the most isolated continent in the world. However, there are other important Australian fossil mammal sites as well, but this site is outstanding for the quality of preservation and extreme diversity of their fossils.
The cultural heritage/ world heritage sites- Naracoorte and Riversleigh
The World heritage site is considered to be a landmark that is chosen by the UNESCO as having historical, cultural or scientific significance and is legally protected by the international treaties (Herrmann, Heinamaki & Morin, 2016). It is a place of physical or cultural significance to the planet. The Naracoorte are the cool caves that are situated in the south-east region of the South Australia. The park has a total land area of near about 600 hectares. The major feature of this park is its several caves that are been managed for their conservation, scientific, recreation and education value since the year 1885 (Macken, Staff & Reed, 2013). It highly contrasts with the dry Riversleigh. The fossils present here spans many ice ages which record a distinguishing fauna ancestral to the modern species apace with the cosigned giants of a world about to be traumatized by the climatic change. These cool caves are not that far below the ground, and the holes open up by creating stratagem for the unobservant.The Naracoorte Caves were carved on the World Heritage list in the year 1994 with the Riversleigh in Queensland and together they both form the AFMS (Australian Fossil Mammal Sites). They were listed as AFMS in the year 1994 (Long, 2014). These two sites fulfills the two of the fours natural criteria for the status of World Heritage and they are-
- To be an outstanding examples that represents notable on-going biological and ecological evolution process and the development of fresh water, terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystem along with the communities of animals and plants (Marquart, 2014)
- To be an outstanding example that represents important stages of the history of earth comprising of the record of life, notable physiographic and geomorphic features.
Management of Cultural Heritage sites and its tourist development
Currently, the Naracoorte caves are considered to be one of the world’s best fossil sites where enormous kangaroos, giant monitor lizards and marsupial lions have met their death and are preserved by the layers of sand (Scanlon, 2014). There are also clues to the past environment of Naracoorte as they are preserved in the sediments, calcite formations and plant fossils.
Riversleigh, which is contained within the Riversleigh Management Unit of the Lawn Hill National Park is managed by Wildlife Service and Queensland Parks (Aplin, 2017). Naracoorte on the other hand, is managed by South East Region of South Australian Department of Environment and Heritage (Clarke, 2015). They both are within the National Parks and they both are preserved and been protected by ‘Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act’ of 1999. The Steering Committee and Ministerial Council correlates these sited management by the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites Steering Committee of the state and national officials and both Naracoorte and Riversleigh Community as well as the Scientific Advisory Committees, the later being related with Waanyi Ministerial Advisory Committee.
There is near about 33 known caves in Naracoote and the most notable of them are the Victoria fossil cave, Bat cave, Alexander cave, Blanche cave, Appledore cave, blackberry cave and Cathedral cave (Macken et al., 2013). There is also a large place for car parking for the visitors just outside the cave. It is recognized as globally significant due to the presence of the vertebrate fossils in these caves.
The challenges of the site needs strict controls over the visitors, but it is also to note that there are some damages from cattle, fire, feral pigs, and the alien plant invasions. In the Riversleigh, there is a shortage of infrastructure (Brooks, Glanville & Kompas, 2015). There is also an absence of on-site staff that has permitted wrecking in the past: The D-Site needs to be fenced more than 10 km. In Naracoorte the tours are guided as well as touring groups are controlled. Hence, it is to ensure that a special care must be taken to make good and safe infrastructure.
Underground development
- The Blanche and Alexandra Caves have not so developed but defined electric lighting and pathways with steps and handrails.
- The Fox and the Blackberry Caves are fitted with the internal gates in order to protect specific parts of the caves.
- The Cathedral Cave and Wet Cave is renewed with a steel fabricated in the stairways along with track markers in the pathways
- The Bat cave no has video cameras that are permanently fixed in the important areas at the cave
Aboveground development
- The picnic areas are now equipped with electric BBQ cookers
- Shortage shed
- The visitor centre is now comprised of a ticket corner
- Large area for car parking (80 to 90 cars)
- Well-maintained lawns
- Works depot
- Construction of new visitor centre
- Refurbishment of the buildings for providing office accommodation
More than one third of the tourists who visits Australia belongs from outside of the country and among them 15% of the total tourists visits this place just because to have a look of its cultural heritage (Richards, 2016). The cultural tourists are more educated than the common public with high level of education. The visitors of the cultural heritage sites include more number of women as compare to men. The increase in the numbers of women in the society in positions of authority and power as the women tends to be more culturally oriented when compared to men. Also, they the visitors profile of the cultural heritage sites tend to be more in the older age categories.
Challenges in achieving sustainable cultural tourism
The NPWSA provides a notable proportion of the opportunities in regards to outdoor recreation in the South Australia (Mackenzie & Fitzsimons, 2013). Naracoorte Caves National Park is being promoted as the main visitor attractions in the very district and it plays a very significant role in the local and regional tourism (Timothy & Boyd, 2014). It has a joint listing with the Riversleigh and this provides with an opportunity to display the aspects of Queensland section of AFMS World Heritage Area. The marketing of these sites are down through online promotion and advertisements. The local tourist management team makes use of online sites and web development to let people know about these places and attract visitors.
Several development and marketing activities have been implementing by the local government in order to attract more tourists towards this destination. On 9 November, 2017, the Naracoorte Lucindale Council had conducted a free workshop at the Naracoorte Town Hall with an aim to facilitate discussions on tourism experiences and what are the features and characteristics that could be implement in Naracoorte to make it great.
Also, the new Caves Connection Project has brought together a project group of community leaders and local business with an aim to purpose new ideas and suggestions for leveraging a greater value from the Naracoorte caves (Macken & Reed, 2013). The participants have brainstormed their ideas in 5 areas which leverage the proximity of Naracoorte to the World Heritage listed Naracoorte Caves and they were-
- Tours and experiences
- Souvenirs and gifts
- Food and beverage
- Accommodation
- Events and public space
- In order to enhance the sustainable tourism in heritage site, it is very important to learn from the principles of the ecolodges where the local communities are encouraged and are empowered for designing, constructing accommodation and planning for the guests or the visitors. In this context, the local lodges and the hotels too need to be focused on the domestic communities, their architecture, culture, food, music, folklore and handcrafts. Such a community based approach would for sure lead to reverse the migration.
- For achieving Sustainable tourism, it is very important to consider a culture of commitment to the principles of sustainability as well as of the “ethical” values which form the key basis of ecolodges and ecotourism. Ecotourism principles should be used for making the traditional tourism more sustainable.
- It is also very important to develop human resource and capacity building. There is a need for national government as well as for international support in order to promote sustainable tourism. Hence, both of them must take proper initiatives in this context.
- Multi-stakeholder collaboration among the private sector, local communities and government also plays a very important role in achieving a sustainable and coordinated development of the tourism. It is also recommended to increase the efforts of international cooperation.
- Addition of the sustainable funding as one of the key performance indicator will be advantageous. Such indicator must reflect the current as well as the sustainable funding models which could contribute to protection, management and education.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it is clear that the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh/ Naracoorte is a combined listing in the World Heritage Sites of UNESCO. These two places of Australia are popularly known for the extensive fossil remains that they have. Both of these locations are significant for the intensive quality and diversity of the fossil preservation of theirs that reflects the evolution process of mammals in the Australian region over the past 20 million years and they illustrates how the marsupials have adapted to the change in climate over the past 1.7 lac years. However, it has been identified that are several problems in these places, especially in regards to infrastructure. The visitors to Riversleigh and Naracoorte play a notable role in ensuring that World Heritage area has a constant function in the community life. Tourism provides a vital economic and social advantage to the region. Hence, the challenge for the committees and the managers is to achieve sustainable tourism industry that is in relation with the agreed visitor strategies for the sites under World Heritage area.
References:
Aplin, G. (2017). Australia and world heritage. In Geographies of Australian Heritages (pp. 41-60).
BROOKS, R., GLANVILLE, R., & KOMPAS, T. (2015). QUEENSLAND BIOSECURITY CAPABILITY REVIEW.
Clarke, P. A. (2015). The Aboriginal ethnobotany of the South East of South Australia region. Part 1: seasonal life and material culture. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 139(2), 216-246.
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Long, J. (2014). Australian world heritage fossil sites celebrate 20 years. Australasian Science, 35(9), 42.
Macken, A. C., & Reed, E. H. (2013). Late Quaternary small mammal faunas of the Naracoorte caves world heritage area. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 137(1), 53-67.
Macken, A. C., McDowell, M. C., Bartholomeusz, D. N., & Reed, E. H. (2013). Chronology and stratigraphy of the Wet Cave vertebrate fossil deposit, Naracoorte, and relationship to paleoclimatic conditions of the Last Glacial Cycle in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 60(2), 271-281.
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Scanlon, J. D. (2014). Giant terrestrial reptilian carnivores of Cenozoic Australia. Carnivores of Australia: Past, Present and Future, 27.
Timothy, D. J., & Boyd, S. W. (2014). Tourism and trails: Cultural, ecological and management issues (Vol. 64). Channel View Publications.
Tucker, R. T., Roberts, E. M., Hu, Y., Kemp, A. I., & Salisbury, S. W. (2013). Detrital zircon age constraints for the Winton Formation, Queensland: contextualizing Australia’s Late Cretaceous dinosaur faunas. Gondwana Research, 24(2), 767-779.
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