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Good practice guidance for Little Penguin tourism

thesis
posted on 2023-05-26, 13:27 authored by Mitchell, W
Various State Government documentation, including the Tasmanian Wildlife Tourism Strategy 2005 highlight a series of action plans to facilitate an expansion of wildlife tourism in Tasmania. Little Penguin viewing is as one of the key wildlife tourism opportunities outlined. Subsequently this research focused on the sustainability of the Tasmanian colonies of Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor) which are used for current commercial wildlife tourism experiences. Little Penguins are unique to Southern Australian states and therefore Australia has a duty of care to ensure that colonies are sustainable. Sustainable development is the framework used for this thesis; • sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; • safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil and ecosystems; and • avoiding, remedying or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment. Therefore the research aimed to contribute to the development of good practice guidelines for minimizing human disturbance to Little Penguins at commercial penguin viewing operations in Tasmania. This research identified the impacts on colonies of Little Penguins, through activities including tourism. The study highlights twelve points which would contribute to the sustainability of Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor) colonies utilised for commercial tourism viewing opportunities in Tasmania. • the importance of a vision, goals and leadership; • the requirement for appropriately empowered governance and management structures; • the need for licensing arrangements that achieve objectives; and are attached to a rigorous yearly license renewal process; • the need for a operator code of best practice with yearly objectives; • the requirement for impact assessments to be conducted; • the need for management plans for each site; • the requirement for base line data; • the need for appropriate infrastructure; • the need for operator investment in species and habitat protection; • the need for community involvement; • the importance of ongoing research; and • the need to maintain monitoring and reporting with a view to adaptive management implementations as appropriate.

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217

Department/School

School of Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences

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University of Tasmania

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  • Restricted

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