How 'valuable' are the ecosystem services of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area to residents and tourists? Report to the National Environmental Research Program

Abstract

[Extract] Background:\ud \ud •The research described herein, was supported by the Australian Government as part of its National Environmental Research Program (NERP). The NERP comprised 5 main research hubs, each with a specific focus.\ud \ud •The research reported on here was undertaken as part of the Tropical Ecosystem (TE) Hub which addresses issues of concern for the management, conservation and sustainable use of the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and its catchments, tropical rainforests including the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (WTWHA), and the terrestrial and marine assets underpinning resilient communities in the Torres Strait.\ud \ud •This report focuses on issues relevant to the management and conservation of the WTWHA.\ud \ud Aim, Objectives and Scope:\ud \ud •The overarching aim of this project was to improve our understanding of the value which residents and tourists place upon the ES of the WTWHA. To satisfy this aim, three specific objectives were devised, namely to:\ud 1. Improve our understanding of the relative importance or 'value' of the WTWHA’s ES to residents and tourists;\ud 2. Make predictions about the way in which resident and tourist 'values', and thus management, conservation and marketing priorities may alter in the future as both population and tourist numbers change; and\ud 3. Improve methods for assessing ‘values’ by comparing state-of-the art nonmonetary valuation techniques with more 'traditional' valuation techniques.\ud \ud •This report thus provides an account of the key ES provided by the WTWHA which residents and tourists find important (or 'valuable'). In doing so, it highlights conservation, management and tourism/ marketing priorities. This information will be of immediate use to the tourism industry, to managers and policy makers in the region