World Heritage rainforests in the life of a community

Abstract

There is general agreement in the literature that the most effective management of tourism resources such as parks occurs when there is a high level of engagement with the community. The Wet Tropics World Heritage rainforests locate in the north of Queensland were first listed as a World Heritage Estate in 1988 and since that time the management authority, The Wet Tropics Management Authority has built an extensive network of committees to engage with the community. This paper reports on the perceived advantages and disadvantages of living within the Wet Tropics bioregion as reported by community members and compares these results with the findings of a 2002 survey of community values. Over the five year period community perceptions have remained very positive about the rainforest's contribution to residents' quality of life.