The increasing demand by the consumer for access to Victoria’s national parks network provides a strong indication of the importance of these parks to the community. However, national and other community parks provide a substantially greater range of benefits to the community than is represented by this one dimension. At the highest level, Park Values can be categorised into three groups:
· Social values – which focus on benefits to the community and community groups · Economic values – which are supportive of economic activity in the community
Each of these individual values groupings represent a subset of the total value of Parks to the community within the broader ‘Park Cluster’, as is depicted in the following industry
mapping framework:
Figure 2.6: Parks Cluster of Benefits
Source: Cochrane 2004, p.66.
The core value groupings (of economic, social and environmental) also have a flow on impact, by facilitating the economic impact of a range of enabling industries (as identified in Figure 2.6).
The values or benefits under each of these core categories can then be either direct or indirect values. Direct benefits “are enjoyed by people either through visitation or via some
knowledge of the Parks assets. In contrast, indirect benefits are enjoyed via the impact on other goods and services that people value”(Read Sturgess, 1999). These benefits can then be further segmented into use or non-use benefits. Use benefits are generated from the direct use of the park. Non-use benefits are experienced by people who do not visit a park but still enjoy the benefits, and these are often referred to as existence values.
The Parks Cluster of Benefits
Tourism Expenditure Support Infra. Expenditure Recreation Value Park Mgt Expenditure Other Public Sect. Expend. Park Mgt Cap Expend. Economic Values Support for Sustainability Habitat Protection Support for Biodoversity
Air and Water Quality
Environmental Education
Environmental (Natural) Values
Heritage Values Indigenous Values Quality Of Life Health and Wellbeing Social Values Core Values Enabled Industries Air Travel Car Rental
Lodging Food & Beverages
Hospitality / Tourism
Entertainment Related Residential Construction
Real Estate and Support Services
Real Estate
“Premiums”
Support Service Providers
The Parks Cluster of Benefits
Tourism Expenditure Support Infra. Expenditure Recreation Value Park Mgt Expenditure Other Public Sect. Expend. Park Mgt Cap Expend. Economic Values Support for Sustainability Habitat Protection Support for Biodoversity
Air and Water Quality
Environmental Education
Environmental (Natural) Values
Heritage Values Indigenous Values Quality Of Life Health and Wellbeing Social Values Core Values Enabled Industries Air Travel Car Rental
Lodging Food & Beverages
Hospitality / Tourism
Entertainment Related Residential Construction
Real Estate and Support Services
Real Estate
“Premiums”
Support Service Providers
These benefit groupings are, in some cases, potentially capable of quantification (using an appropriate measure) while others are intrinsically unquantifiable.
The following provides a framework for identifying these benefits:
Figure 2.7: Framework of Park Values
Source: Cochrane 2003, p.8.
In considering the validity of this framework it should also be noted that:
· The diagram follows the tree through the various stages of the Economics Value grouping. A similar tree applies to the other two key value groupings.
· It is certainly possible for a specific benefit to fall within more than one grouping. For example, the benefit of improved community health resulting from parks has significant social (improved quality of life, individual well-being) and economic benefits (as a result of reduced health costs and worker absenteeism).
· Indirect benefits are generally broad ranging benefits that are ‘derived’ rather than generated directly from the park. The output from the benefit is often distant from the park input and, therefore, the clear input-output relationship required to support the
Park Values
Economic Values Environmental Values
Social Values Indirect Values Direct Values Use Values Non-use Values Quantifiable Values Unquantifiable Values Other Benefits (indicative measures) Recreational Value (in $) Economic Activity (in $) Park Values
Economic Values Environmental Values
Social Values Indirect Values Direct Values Use Values Non-use Values Quantifiable Values Unquantifiable Values Other Benefits (indicative measures) Recreational Value (in $) Economic Activity (in $)
benefit quantification is unclear. As a result, indirect benefits are often not clearly quantifiable.
· Non-use benefits are similar to indirect benefits from a quantification perspective in that the input-output relationship is also often difficult to clearly define.
The relevance of this overall value framework is two fold. Firstly, it serves to emphasis that in considering the value of national parks it is important to adopt a holistic view of the total benefit of the parks to the community (economic, social and environmental).
Secondly, the framework highlights that national parks also have an important economic value to any community and that any consideration of commercialisation in national parks does need to recognise this value. Clearly, there are mutual interests that link tourism, parks and communities, and this commercial interest is one of the links that provide the basis for future mutual partnerships. A recent study of the economic value of a selection of national parks in Victoria assessed the economic value of 3 of the States iconic national parks to be almost $500 million to regional Victoria (Stone 2006). In the USA a study released by the Department of the Interior noted that the USA national park system generated US$10.3 billion of revenue. Importantly, the report also noted that national parks in the USA returned US$5 to the economy for every dollar invested (Anonymous 2006).
2.5 The Environmental Importance of National Parks
In Section 2.4 the role of national parks was considered and, in particular, it was noted that the emphasis was now focussed more on their conservation values with recreational values coming second. In particular, with their primary objective of conservation, national parks now protect many of the most important natural values inherent in the total Victorian parks and reserves system. Of the 36 national parks in Victoria 26 have the highest level of flora and fauna biodiversity values of all the parks in the State, and 20 have threatened flora and fauna species. (See Parks Victoria 2000.)
Up until 2000 the importance of the environmental values of Victoria’s park system was not clearly known. Therefore, Parks Victoria undertook an extensive evaluation of the total park system, with the outcome being the State of the Parks 2000 (Parks Victoria 2000), which for the first time presents a consolidated picture of the environmental values protected in
Victoria’s parks and reserves. This report segregates these values into a number of categories – bioregions2 and vegetation, flora diversity, fauna diversity and visitor impacts. A summary of the key findings from this report is included in Appendix 1, with this report demonstrating the environmental values of the parks system and particularly national parks.
The clear conclusions from this research are that Victoria’s parks and reserve system, and particularly the national park system have an important role to play in the protection of the natural values of our environment but that the increasing level of visitation is having a negative impact on our ability to achieve the required level of conservation protection.
2.6 The Management and Funding of Parks
National parks represent a natural resource highly valued by the community. To adequately understand the challenges being faced in protecting this important asset in Victoria it is important to consider the approach to management being adopted along with the role of the designated management agency and the associated sources of funding.