Transcript Experiences from the Great Barrier Reef and beyond

Contribution to conservation, unique marine adventures
and privileged access to sensitive areas
Experiences from the Great Barrier Reef and beyond
Much more than ecotourism
Andrew Dunstan
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Marine tourism and its natural assets
Marine tourism depends on the sustained quality of the environment it accesses
Ranges from a high impact to contributing to the recovery of the very ecosystem it relies upon
And there are some fantastic experiences
Responsible use of the environment
Tourism access to sensitive marine areas should be regarded as a privilege rather than a right
• Operators must be responsible for retaining the environmental integrity of the sites they visit
• Generally been achieved through governmental management and regulation
Tourism companies and associations are taking this responsibility upon themselves through:
• Codes of best environmental practice
• In-house research and monitoring programs
• Funding and berth space for research and management projects
• Provision of research data to management agencies
Ecotourism
The Nature Conservancy, in cooperation with the World Conservation
Union (IUCN) defines eco-tourism as:
“Environmentally responsible travel to natural areas, in order to enjoy
and appreciate nature (and accompanying cultural features, both past
and present) that promote conservation, have a low visitor impact and
provide for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local
peoples.“
This can be extended to:
“Giving back to the environment to ensure its long term sustainability.”
Introduction
This presentation:
• reviews some best practice examples of marine ecotourism
• their value to the natural resource
• the benefits to ecotourism operators
• suggests new directions for ‘smart marine tourism’
The value of environmental tourism
Major factor in the economy of many countries world-wide
• Helps drive political and corporate decision making for the protection and conservation of
important marine habitats and species.
Many locations around the world are renowned for their natural beauty and biodiversity.
• The Great Barrier Reef
• Galapagos Islands
• Macquarie Island
• Antarctica
• The Maldives
• Costa Rica
Iconic marine animals and natural events
“Charismatic megafauna”:
Often as important as destinations in providing a tourism drawcard
• whales
• coral reefs
• great white sharks
• whale sharks
• manta rays
• maori wrasse
• penguins
• seals
• big fish
• coral spawning
• turtle nesting
• bait ball aggregations
Marine tourism economic rewards
Great Barrier Reef tourism:
• $1 billion annually to the Australian economy
• 800 tour operators
• 1.6 million visitors
Maldives tourism:
• contributes $764 million or 67% of GDP
• employs 64,000 people or 58% of the workforce
Fishing in Maldives:
• 33% of GDP
• 25% of employment
• erodes the “natural capital” of the Maldives
• declines of several harvested marine species (sharks, lobsters, sea cucumbers, some reef fish)
Benefits to tourism companies
Qualified, motivational and experienced marine biologists
• naturalist guiding
• environmental management
• accreditation
• product enhancement
Long term corporate assurances
• business stability
• economic value
• security benefits
Financial rewards
• heightened product quality
• premium pricing opportunities.
• maintaining the quality of their marine tourism sites
• input to governmental R & D funding direction
• long term access permits
Tourism driving conservation
Great Barrier Reef:
• strong tourism operator organisations
• environmental credibility - support of conservation organisations
• powerful joint voice for protected areas
• GBR protection and major rezoning from 5% to 33% protection
• MoU with fishing groups to protect seamounts in the Coral Sea
Indonesia:
• Manado and Sipadan are oases of life surrounded by exploited fish and coral communities
• Valuable ecotourism industry for communities struggling through declining fisheries
Locations which protect areas and provide high level ecotourism experiences will benefit from
the lack of action in other locations as these places decline in quality.
Taking ecotourism further
Giving back to the environment:
• conservation, research and rehabilitation efforts
Informed and trained personnel in the field daily:
• record impacts, special events and species sightings
• undertake long term monitoring of marine areas.
Coordinated programs involve many operators:
• Eye on the Reef
• BleachWatch
• Whale sightings
• CoralWatch
• Reef Check
• Animal stranding network
And further still
Company vision and marine biologist roles include research and
monitoring projects
Undersea Explorer, in the past, and Eye to Eye Marine Encounters, currently, have set a
benchmark for marine ecotourism.
Projects include:
• dwarf minke whale – population structure, ID, human interactions and communication
• tiger sharks – satellite tracking, home range, migration patterns and population size
• deep sea nautilus - ROV observation, population size, growth rate and vulnerability status
• coral reef monitoring and Reef Check coordination
• reef shark studies – creating protected areas for shark populations
A special tourism experience
Tourists involved directly with internationally renowned scientific experts undertaking exciting
and cutting edge research in some of the most iconic marine locations on earth
Marine environmental philanthropy
- the mutual benefits
Many affluent people love the ocean and seek exclusive and special experiences
What about creating an experience they don’t know they’re missing out on?
Explore places off-limits to ‘normal’ tourism but open to expeditions which contribute the
environment.
The adventures
Past philanthropically funded expeditions:
• discovering interactive minke whale populations
• tagging and tracking great white and tiger sharks
• uncovering historic shipwrecks
• visiting the Titanic and deep sea in manned submersibles
• IMAX documentary filming
• explorations beneath the North Pole
Superyacht owners
Inviting scientific groups aboard your vessel to explore innovative scientific projects in some of
the most amazing oceanic locations on the planet creates great benefits to both parties.
• opportunity to mix with charismatic marine experts in their field
• explore places and experience things you never dreamed possible
• support poorly funded marine science, conservation and management projects
• provide vessel access to remote areas and innovative equipment – where costs are prohibitive
What about living in an underwater habitat?
The Aquarius:
• an underwater ocean laboratory located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
• three and half miles offshore, at a depth of 60 feet, next to spectacular coral reefs
• scientists live in Aquarius during ten–day missions
• owned by NOAA and is operated by the University of Carolina Wilmington
$1.5 million a year or about $10,000 per day to fund and join such an expedition
Funding a research vessel with two man submersibles
Explore the ocean depths below 1000 metres
•the Deep Ocean Australia project has the expertise, the submersibles and the projects waiting.
•the Australian deep ocean has never been explored and will yield new and exciting discoveries
Join scientists to be the first to explore the deep ocean seamounts of the Coral Sea, the blue
whale aggregation site of the Bonney Upwelling, the Lord Howe Rise and the remote Rowley
Shoals.
Adventures and discovery in Newt Suits
Your own personalised submarine suit
• dive to over 300 metres
• complete with jetpacks and robot arms
• explore new ocean realms
• opportunities not possible using submersible craft
“Piloting the NewtSuit is like being in a suit of armour, but the immense pressure of the sea
water is kept out by special joints and seals in the suit. You can move your arms and legs, you
can pick up things from the bottom, you can handle tools. And because there’s a thruster pack on
the back, you can fly around underwater like a hummingbird. A typical dive is about six hours
long..” Steve Fuzessery, NewtSuit pilot.
Rescue the world’s largest remaining green turtle population
Adult mortality
Nesting and hatching failure
Actions planned to remedy problems
Up to 20,000 nesting turtles per night
Raine Island as a turtle refugia
Philanthropic and corporate involvement
Benefits include:
•Tax deductible donations
•Corporate pride, staff satisfaction and retention
•Amazing presentation materials for corporate display, personal use and promotional benefit
•International respect for environmental contribution
•Priceless, unique and exclusive opportunities for adventure and nature experiences
•A tangible contribution to the next generation
Conclusion
• mass marine tourism shift towards high level ecotourism
• philanthropic and corporate involvement
• new cutting edge and thrilling marine projects and expeditions
This is the future of ‘smart’ marine tourism
Acknowledgements
• University of Queensland
•Deep Ocean Australia project
•Undersea Explorer
•Eye to Eye Marine Encounters
• Photography – Jurgen Freund & John Rumney