A dichotomy : conservation and tourism

Abstract

An investigation into the complex relationship that exists between conservation and tourism territories from a landscape based perspective.Trials were performed on the Muriwai Gannet Colony, Otakamiro Headland,West Auckland.The results from this were used to hypothesize on the broader field of conservation and tourism within the landscape architecture discipline. Currently upwards of I.2 million tourists per year visit the gannet colony. The increasing gannet population has resulted in a crossover between gannet nesting territory and tourist tracks, creating challenges associated with both conservation and tourism.

The research draws on the work of Robert Riddell’s eco-tourism and sustainable tourism, builds on the theories of Anna Ryan’s work concerned with representation and spatial experience and uses existing ornithological case studies carried out by Brenda Greene.

Key findings include the concept of changing and inluencing tourist behaviour as a means to address landscape perception. A consideration of how the delineation of territory within landscapes that cater for conlicting territories was also undertaken. Approaching this problem through the lens of familiarity, perception and territory allows for traditional issues associated with these areas to be tackled through a localised design investigation.

The conclusions identified the need for luidity, change, integration and shift as ways in which territorial luency or a symbiosis in landscapes with conservation and tourism can be achieved. For the broader field of landscape architecture, this research offers new ways of looking at behaviour, territory and relationships within landscape, and how traditional methods of design for these areas might be manipulated to provide for a resilient future.