Chapter 20: The Rainforest Ways: Managing Tourism in the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves of Australia

Aims

The aims of this case study are to describe the:

• Strategic approach taken to the development of a touring route

• Process of cooperative planning around World Heritage Sites

• Barriers and facilitators towards the development of a touring route around World Heritage Sites

• Relationships of stakeholders to the World Heritage Site.

Introduction

The World Heritage listed Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves of Australia (or CERRA) is an area of approximately 370 000 hectares, equal to the size of Switzerland. It comprises nearly 50 reserves, ranging in size from 11 hectares to approximately 100 000 hectares, which have been grouped into eight blocks of protected areas . They are scattered throughout the eastern parts of two states New South Wales and South-East Queensland. A key feature of this World Heritage Site (WHS) is the numerous adjacent land uses, with many communities living in close proximity to the sites. The potential for these land uses to impact on the area is high, with the protection of the assets resting with government resource managers such as national park managers and other government departments. Current land tenure for the reserves includes national parks, nature reserves, flora reserves, State forests and other Crown reserves.

The project described in this case study relates to three blocks of protected areas in the CERRA, which receive high levels of visitation from domestic and international tourists as well as from the local communities. With visitor demand on the natural resources of the area increasing over...