La enseñanza del paisaje

Tasmanian Policies provide an opportunity for guiding principles to be established which are espoused in various international and national legislations, and subsequently placing these in Tasmanian state policies. In the following section I discuss Tasmanian policies are discussed

96 which have relevance to this thesis, and the conservation of Little Penguins exploited for commercial tourism operations. These policies include the following:

 Tasmanian Nature Conservation Strategy;

 Tasmanian National Parks and Reserves Code of Practice; and  Tasmanian State Coastal Policy 1996.

5.4.1 Tasmanian Nature Conservation Strategy

Following the 1996 the Commonwealth endorsement of the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia‘s Biological Diversity, Tasmania also adopted a state wide strategy, the Tasmanian Nature Conservation Strategy. Such a strategy was specifically designed to develop action plans, which would develop and maintain plans to protect the biodiversity of the state. Significant for this research process is Recommendation No. 3; the need for greater local involvement and management in decision making processes; and No 4: increased measures to reduce the entry of weeds and pests into Tasmania and to improve control over those already there. Additionally, recommendation for actions that will increase surveillance, encouraging rigorous risk assessments and development of response plans to combat weeds and pests. Importantly in this strategy is the endorsement for environment management plans and onsite assessments, including increased scientific research, surveys, and habitat mapping.

5.4.2 Tasmanian National Parks and Reserves Code of Practice

The Tasmanian National Parks and Reserves Code 2002 was formulated to develop and implement a Code of Practice to cover all environmental practices in parks and reserves. Therefore the Code has relevance for the three case study sites, the subject of this research as they are all located on reserves. The key objectives of the Code are to document appropriate management practices and standards for reserve lands (Parks and Wildlife 2003). Importantly it recognizes that management plans and strategies which facilitate best practice operational standards on the ground. The Code endorses the principles of:

 intergenerational equity;  existence value;

 interdependency;

 principle of uncertainly;  precautionary principle;

 principle of ecological sustainability;  threatening processes which are degrading;

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 restoration of degraded sites;

 monitoring of management performance and outcomes;  principle of community involvement and the; and  principle of transparency of decision-making.

These principles are important to the sustainability of Little Penguins as portrayed in Chapter 1, as they espouse the factors necessary to ensure that conservation of colonies is fully considered and appropriate actions implemented. The Precautionary Principal is particularly relevant as if there is uncertainty, the Precautionary Principal can be applied: Where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation (Strong, 1992).

The Precautionary Principle in the context of environmental protection is essentially about the management of scientific risk. It is a fundamental component of the concept of ecologically sustainable development (ESD) and has been defined in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration (1992). The precautionary principle, which is part of all Tasmanian State Policies, is especially important, as this principle is to apply when a lack of information or poor understanding of a process leads to uncertainty as to the consequences of an action. The principle has relevance to the case study sites as it has the ability to be applied when there is insufficient information to ensure that there is not a detrimental effect by actions, by way of an example in the Game Reserve where there is permitted taking of wildlife- game in an ecologically sustainable manner, to achieve taking of game in such a manner would require base line data, research and subsequent data collection to support or otherwise that the taking of that game was done in sustainable ecological manner.

5.4.3 Tasmanian State Coastal Policy 1996

The Tasmania's State Coastal Policy 1996, which includes the foreshore, dune, beaches, sea cliffs, hard rock areas, the water, plants and animals, associated areas of vegetation and associated areas of animal habitat, as well as associated areas of human habitat and activity. There are three guiding principles within the Tasmanian State Coastal Policy:

 natural and cultural values of the coast shall be protected;

 the coast shall be used and developed in a sustainable manner; and

98 The first principal recognises the importance of maintaining representative or significant natural ecosystems and sites of biological importance, and the biodiversity of Tasmania's indigenous coastal flora and fauna. Amongst the Schedules relevant to this research are the following:

Schedule 1

 the coastal zone will be managed to ensure sustainability of major ecosystems and natural processes;

 the coastal zone will be managed to protect ecological, geomorphological and geological coastal features and aquatic environments of conservation value;  the coastal zone will be managed to conserve the diversity of all native flora and

fauna and their habitats, including sea grass and seaweed beds, spawning and breeding areas;

 exotic weeds within the coastal zone will be managed and controlled, where possible, and the use of native flora encouraged;

 appropriate monitoring programs and environmental studies will be conducted to improve knowledge, ensure guidelines and standards are met, deal with contaminants or introduced species and generally ensure sustainability of coastal ecosystems and processes and ensure that human health is not threatened;

 representative ecosystems and areas of special conservation value or special aesthetic quality will be identified and protected as appropriate;

Schedule 2.1.2

Development proposals will be subject to environmental impact assessment…. Schedule 2.3

 tourism use and development in the coastal zone, including visitor accommodation and other facilities, will be directed to suitable locations based on the objectives, principles and outcomes of this policy and subject to planning controls;

 tourism development proposals in the coastal zone will be subject to environmental impact assessment as required by state;

 public awareness of coastal issues and community participation in managing the coastal zone will be encouraged and facilitated, including networking between community groups working in the coastal zone; and

 research into coastal processes and matters related to coastal zone planning and management by government or research institutions will be encouraged and assisted where possible.

All of the points in the schedules noted above are relevant to the sustainability of Little Penguins. In particular I would like to draw the reader‘s attention to the second guiding principle of the Tasmania's State Coastal Policy 1996, this principle states; to ensure

99 development is conducted in a sustainable manner; the definition of which has been portrayed in Chapter 1. Commercial Little Penguin tourism operators‘ fall under the guidelines imposed by the State Coastal Policy 1996 with the mechanism of control and enforcement of the Tasmanian Coastal Policy is through LUPAA.

5.5 Conclusion

The legislation outlined in this chapter have highlighted the relevant sections of various Tasmania Legislation which has the ability to impact on sustainability of Little Penguin colonies used for commercial tourism purposes. In this chapter I have also discussed the significance of an international agreement that Australia endorsed, following the Convention of Biodiversity and Agenda 21, the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and its relevance to the Tasmanian scene. The Tasmanian legislations was analysed with a view to its relevance to the sustainability of Little Penguins. More importantly the different legislation and schedules pertaining to each of the case studies were discussed. In conclusion it was identified that a number of Tasmanian legislations have the ability to impact on the three case study sites and Little Penguins. It was also established that the three case study sites did not share common legislation, and that Bicheno was governed by the Crown Lands Act of 1976 rather than the Nature Conservation Act 2002 and the National Parks and Reserves Management Act 2002 as was the case for Bruny Island and Low Head. An important finding was that the CSV licences and subsequent schedules held by three operators at the three case study sites differed in the nature.

Chapter 7 a discussion will be conducted on the success or otherwise of the legislation discussed here, while in Chapter 8 recommendations are made with a view to increasing the sustainability of Little Penguin colonies used for commercial tourism purposes.

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