EXPLORING ECOTOURISM AND COMMUNITY BASED RESEARCH APPLICATIONS FOR JOINT MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL PARKS

Abstract

The increasing focus on natural resource-based tourism within Australia is posing problems for national parks management agencies and Aboriginal communities involved in tourism. Pressure from tourism is having significant effects on the local Aboriginal community. In an attempt to deal with these issues joint management approaches to management of national parks have been evolving. However, evaluative research frameworks need to be developed that facilitate a cross-cultural flow of information, which promote the development of the cross-cultural understanding, and which maximise possibilities for Aborigines.

This paper suggests the principles of ecotourism can be incorporated in developing ways of researching that will enable us to study how facilitation of community ownership and control of tourism can help the joint management of Australian national parks for tourist use. The application of these principles has the potential to develop research approaches that may encourage current management to develop frameworks in an essential first step toward managing tourism equitably in national parks.

Keywords:

• Aboriginal
• community studies
• ecotourism
• indigenous
• joint management
• national parks