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ECOCLUB, Issue 94
The described policies apply to all public forested land, whether adjacent to parks, or not. There are no further special measures
or conditions for tourism operations adjacent to parks.
KOOTENAY REGION, BC: A CASE OF STRATEGIC ZONING FOR RECREATION, and POLICIES & GUIDELINES
Much of BC encompasses landscapes which are not only varied, but stunningly beautiful. The interior valleys in particular, have
become increasingly attractive to recreationists and to visitors,
despite the fact that industrial uses of the same landscapes
occurs. As demands have increased, the need to balance competing interests and uses became imperative. BC has been mapping
the province,
for commercial recreation and access, for both land and water. In addition, these recreation access
maps
acknowledge potential seasonal differences, via summer and winter maps, as well as aerial
maps. The process has involved
community, experts and public input.
This consensus-based process is admirable, but it was not enabled to deal with all land uses, in a truly
integrated land
management approach – industrial use of land was not discussed. However, the
information is used by the forest industry to
modify their approach, based on the designated recreation activities and access. Additionally, the allocation of lands appropriate
for, say ‘high development’ or
‘structures’, is particularly helpful to the private sector who might wish to develop tourism
facilities
or accommodation on them. It provides a ‘first cut’ of information for the operator, and for
government decision
makers.
Accommodation for <100 bed-units outside parks and on public lands is governed principally by the
Commercial Recreation
Policy. Such operations must submit Management Plans, which are a principal instrument by which agencies bind the operator
by conditions of development (rather than issuing their own guidelines and criteria, which may change from site to site). One
aspect which must
be incorporated into the management plan when dealing with commercial recreation is the Wildlife
Guidelines. These manage for desired future conditions, and also incorporate acceptable limits
around the conditions.
Management plans usually incorporate many components of relevance to this study.
Accommodation of >100 bed-units are classified as resorts. Different policies apply, and they are
even more rigorous, with
environmental and other requirements. However, they, too, have to develop
Management Plans. The Jumbo Glacier Resort
provides a great deal of public information on its
development via its website. It also provides many examples of how it
addressing the very topics of
this study, in its Management Plan, and the various other documentation provided. The
government,
by determining the topics to be addressed in the management plan, can determine the contents of a
contractual
instrument. And if certain topics are not sufficiently addressed in the management plan,
they may add additional specific
guidelines and conditions beyond the Master Development Agreement, as was done for Jumbo Glacier Resort.
NORTH WEST CAPE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA: A CASE OF LONG TERM INTEGRATED LAND USE PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES
The NW Cape of Australia has become increasingly attractive to visitors. In recognition of the need to rationalise development
of the entire State, as well as this region, Western Australia engaged in a series of land use planning exercises, for the State,
tourism development regions, and the NW coast in particular. Because the state has a peak land use planning body, the WAPC,
responsible for coordinating across all sectors, these complex exercises have been conducted rationally. Further, the strategies
and plans have been conducted with appropriate powers to implement the plans. All of the WAPC’s activities are governed by
key guiding principals.
Tourism planning has been profiled, so that apart from many other types of plans, Destination
Development Strategies have
been developed for each of the 5 regions in the State. The public has
been very much involved in these exercises, and given
scenarios and choices and opportunities for input.
The Ningaloo Coastal Tourism Strategy is a refinement of the regional strategy. It takes a regional
approach, creating
development ‘gateways’ to this destination, as well as a detailed approach,
creating ASPs for the 3 key communities and
including tourism development zones within the communities.
At the regional level, the strategy identifies tourism accommodation nodes, tourism investigation
envelopes (land broadly
suitable for tourism facilities), and tourism focus areas (the most appropriate building areas). In addition to identification, the
strategy places strong emphasis on the process for final determination of specific use, and specifies many decision criteria for
selecting future developments.
The strategy also places emphasis on the governance related to tourism developments, giving strength to the strategy via legal
powers and development controls.
Western Australia has held environmental and related guidelines to be very important for
some time. Well before the development of the strategies, the state had detailed planning and environmental guidelines for (all)
tourism developments. These are updated and embedded within the coastal strategy, and are required for all proposed tourism
developments and facilities, in recognition that not only protected areas, but all lands require care in design and development.
The full report can be downloaded at:
