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Wildlife tourism as a common pool resource issue: enabling conditions for sustainability governance


Posted on 28 July 2011

TitleWildlife tourism as a common pool resource issue: enabling conditions for sustainability governance
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2010
AuthorsMoore, SA, Rodger K
JournalJournal of Sustainable Tourism
Volume18
Issue7
Pagination831 - 844
Date Published08/2010
ISSN1747-7646
Keywordshuman use, Ningaloo, socio-economy, tourism, whale sharks
AbstractWildlife tourism is potentially a common pool resource (CPR) issue when the following are applicable: it is difficult to exclude tourists; their experiences are affected by others’ activities; and adverse impacts on the wildlife occur. CPRs are typified by non-excludability and subtractability. Relatively few efforts have been made to consider tourism in this way or to use the concept of CPR in tourism management schemes. This paper (1) explores the possibility of wildlife tourism being a CPR issue, (2) derives a list of enabling conditions required for the sustainability of such resources and (3) determines the applicability of the conditions through a case study. Having described the potential for wildlife tourism to be a CPR issue, the enabling conditions explored in the rest of the paper follow: the characteristics of the tourism resource system and its user groups, the associated institutional arrangements and the external environment. The application of CPR thinking to the case study, whale shark tourism in Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia, revealed the contribution of institutional arrangements, particularly those associated with the State Government, to sustainable management. The use of the enabling conditions as a tool for managing wildlife tourism is discussed.
URLhttp://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09669582.2010.483281
DOI10.1080/09669582.2010.483281
Short TitleJournal of Sustainable Tourism
Refereed DesignationRefereed