Battlelines Drawn Over Western Australian Beaches - Coursework Example

Insert full names Instructor’s name Insert Course name 17th October 2012 Introduction Australia for many years has been categorised as a Continent as well as a Country. It is the world smallest continent and the sixth largest country in the world. According to the World map, Australia covers 7,617,930 square kilometres and it is surrounded by both the Indian and Pacific oceans. This indicates that the whole country is surrounded by water therefore forming a very big coast line. Australia is divided into six big states; these are Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. The entire western third of Australia is mostly occupied by the State of Western Australia; it is boarded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west and the Great Australian Bight to the South. Tourism in Western Australia In Western Australia, also referred as WA tourism is the major economic activity and the majority of the population is directly or indirectly involved (Bramwell & Sharman, 2009). This has been proved by how fast and large the sector has become in the past decade, although there are other economic activities that the western Australian population is involved in, Fishing, livestock farming, hunting, mining and crop farming. This other economic activity a part from tourism are for years now steadily declining and the population is no longer considering them of any importance (Bramwell & Sharman, 2009). In the year 2002/2003 about 724,200 people visited Coral Coast region and this is according to the statistics obtained from the Bureau of Tourism Research. Only 20% of the above figure came to Scarborough to visit. Tourism has become so important in Western Australia that everyone in the State would want to be involved in and particularly nature based tourism. The State is committed to develop a nature based tourism industry that is very healthy and very sustainable and that is why the state is considering the implementation of wide range of reforms that will help manage the sector. Due to the said reforms, future generation is guaranteed an enjoyable natural environment. This has led to the coming up of a number of resort structures such as the Scarborough Beach which have been erected in the tourism regions of western Australia, commonly known as the Coral Coast Region (Barker, 2002). In Western Australia Scarborough Beach is ranked among the most visited tourism sections by both domestic and international tourists. In many years the area has provided many recreational activities for the domestic and foreign tourists (Barker, 2002). The Scarborough Beach has been classified as an entertainment spot with world class restaurants, hotels and nightclubs. Since it picked up and attracted many visitors, the state though the local City council has come up with very important strategies that have helped improve on traffic, parking and the landscape (Wood & Hopkins, 2001). Some of the positive and interesting qualities of Scarborough Beach are indicated below Value of Tourism in Scarborough Beach Tourism is of great importance in Scarborough Beach and local population at large. It is a source of revenue to the people. People are either directly or indirectly involved in the tourism industry. The state also earns tax revenue from the tourism industry (Fallon, 2001). The important strategies of the council has helped in one way or the other improve the most common recreational activities in the area, the common recreational activities are; body surfing, swimming, sunbathing, wind surfing and boat riding. In order for this recreational activity to be supported the City council has embarked in a number of developments like construction of toilets and showers, picnic areas as well as car parking area that can accommodate more than one thousand vehicles in a multi-storey building. This paper offer critical discussion on the way to plan and develop Coastal Tourism in Western Australia using Scarborough Beach and focusing on the major issues and challenges. Challenges in the Development of Scarborough There is great opportunity for growth both locally and internationally, which could be achieved through the proposal of major infrastructure development projects. In the recent years, the city of Stirling where Scarborough Beach is found has come up with a master plan called the Scarborough Beach Urban Design Master Plan. The master plan is particularly important in giving recommendations that the city should build a very attractive foreshore area for both locals and tourists (Fallon, 2001). The Western Australia State has noted in particular that if Scarborough Beach is redeveloped, it will help bring more domestic and foreign tourists and in the long run it may end up being the most visited place in Western Australia (Fallon, 2001). Sometimes back the Scarborough Beach was the most visited site in Western Australia and it used to attract a significant percentage of tourists, but the destination in recent past has lost its prowess to other sectors like the entertainment zone to the entire night destination due to the poor infrastructure. This has created an alarm in the tourism industry in Western Australia making Scarborough Beach a priority of the state corporation Tourism Western Australia development. The Corporation is working hand in hand with the City of Stirling in order to implement the master plan although they are facing tough opposition from other stakeholders and the community around (Wood & Hopkins, 2001). If Western Australian tourism industry is to remain profitable for many years to come, it must be very sustainable. The population in Western Australia must be ready to retain their high quality of life and respect to the visitors (Wood & Hopkins, 2001). The State must also ensure that it retains and protects the natural diverse and unique ecosystem as well as all the habitats fond in the ecosystem must be protected. Failure in the protection of the ecosystem will result to a degraded natural environment and it will therefore lead to a decrease in the number of tourist visiting the area. This will eventually lead to reduced profits, poor quality of life and eventually it will affect the economy negatively. Issues Surrounding Coastal Development in Scarborough Many issues starting the year 2000 have been considered surrounding coastal development in Scarborough. These issues can be categorised in 2 major areas. These are; environmental and social. Environmental issues are those issues that affect the natural existence of the ecosystem and habitat in it. These include things like pollution, overfishing, over disturbance of natural areas, alteration of the natural land scape and littering in the Beaches (Environmental Protection Authority, 2002). Social issues can be described as those issues that affect the social wellbeing of the population in Scarborough and thus will eventually affect the coastal development in Scarborough. These are social issues that are very much related to recreational usage that directly affects access to coastal resources for income generation, disagreements between users of coastal resources and change in lifestyle. Community Opposition to Tourism Development in Scarborough In recent years, many members of the Stirling city have been involved in demonstration to oppose the development of tourism. For example, they opposed the construction of a thirteen storeys apartment near the beach. The apartment was constructed as a residential building to accommodate 13,500 people. Action groups particularly the save our sunset group have been very loud in opposing the construction of resort and tourist centres along the coastal strip; this has been well supported by members of the community. In the last few years, 3000 pieces of correspondence on the proposed Maud’s landing development have been sent to the Western Australian Tourism Commission to oppose the high rise development (Barker, 2002). This has been received from many stakeholders from the local community, from other parts of the Country as well as from the international people. Interestingly not only the local community is opposed to such development along the Beach, but tourists themselves have opposed such developments (Carlsen & Wood, 2004). Notably, the resistance has been so high in cases where the city plans to develop complex buildings in lesser developed areas. The community has its own perception of good and bad forms of tourism development, these are: Good development can be listed as below The development is educative and it encourages tourist to visit the location The development is appropriate in size and scope and proper approval is done The development is design sensitive and approved by the concerned body The development is ecologically low impact facility The development should be Eco-resorts and Eco-friendly Bad development can be stated as below The development is over commercialised and does not support other activities The development is overcrowded and there is no enough space for more visitors The development attracts higher prices that the locals cannot afford The development causes damage to the natural environment as well as the terrain Haphazard development The development has an inadequate tourist control mechanisms In this paper i will mostly focus on two major issues, high rise city development and community participation. These represent the environmental and social issues respectively. Many proposals have been made since the year 2000 which support or denounce the high-rise city development. The proposals have reached different levels of formality leading to the public giving different opinions that has an impact on the plan (Barker, 2002). The Scarborough Beach area has been a major area of concern to the City of Stirling. Through its Scarborough Environs Area Strategy (SEAS), it was proposing a construction of a high-rise development on the Beach front as well as to restore the Beach area. But some lobby groups opposed the idea of developing the area therefore in one way or the other derailing the plans of the City council (Environmental Protection Authority, 2002). Previously the city of Stirling was sure of the public approval after it had undertaken a public consultation that gave it the go ahead after indicating that the community was evenly divided. (Wood, 2003). Furthermore there was an extensive support for the proposal from different studies. It was also noted that some community groups were opposed to the proposal of coming up with any high rise development and even the so community groups had gone ahead and carried out an intensive research which squarely supported their opinion (Environmental Protection Authority, 2002). To do so, the community group had mobilised resources that enabled them to higher best researchers and professionals in the marine and construction industry. These professionals are the one who came up with the research findings that opposed the high rise development (Hall & Jenkins, 2005). Surprisingly the issue was not only for local interest, it attracted opinion from far and wide. This is because Scarborough is a regional attraction that attracts foreign tourists due to its vast and beautiful beaches. Furthermore, this issue was very sensitive as it had come up with some recommendations that were beach related and many experts thought that the issue would have been helpful if it was clearly understood by all the stakeholders. The issue became so interesting and very sensitive that it was now important for the minister to make a final determination on the proposal. It was important for the minister to understand the community opinion towards the plan. Furthermore the minister needed to see if those attitudes would change as a result of more information on the same issue and the opportunity to deliberate. A decision was made to carry out a deliberative survey in order to give more accurate insight into stakeholders’ views. A random sample of participants was selected and a survey carried out twice and then a comparison done which helped in decision making process (Dowling, 2004). The process was done by a steering committee that comprised all the stakeholders, these were; coastal planning team, community group and the coordination council. An implementation team was appointed by both parties and its task was to ensure that the process was very fair, very open and also accountable incorporating all the wishes and views of the participants (Dowling, 2010). The survey was developed by an important independent consultancy firm that was accepted by all the stakeholders, those who were for and those who were against high rise development. The discussions were so intense that it took a while before all parties agreed that the survey covered all the concerned issues and was not biased in any way (Dowling, 2010). Telephone calls were made to randomly to select participants for the survey; they could either decide to fill out the survey only to participate in the sessions to deliberate as well. All the participants that fitted the age, geographic and gender requirements of the survey received a mail with the survey (Dowling, 2010). Two variations were the only once allowed but pre and post forum survey were the same. The pre forum questionnaire needed participants to state what information they thought was missing and who they thought was able to give the information. While the post forum questionnaire needed participants to state the importance of the forum, if they had changed their opinion as a result, and why? After the survey, all the stakeholders came to an agreement. The minister was particularly very impressive with the deliberation and she gave her support for a construction of eight storeys only but not higher. This outcome also formed a very important background information that was be used in the preparation of the Metropolitan coastal strategy that was being developed by the Coastal Planning and Coordination Council (Dowling, 2010). It can be stated that, before making any decision in anything that involves the public. It is very important to involve all the stakeholders. Each stakeholders attitude and opinion can be utilised in the correct way and needed to be considered in the decision making process. Development Proposals in Scarborough has become a major issue over the years. Multinational companies and big hotels have encountered opposition when they come up with any attractive proposal to construct or develop any building along the Beach. The issue has developed over the years, but great resistance was first experienced in the late nineties and early 2000s. This was from the major players in the tourism industry. The major stakeholders who have been opposing such developments are the local community, action group like the save our sunset group, the city Council and the State Government (Hall & Jenkins, 2005) The local community can be described as the indigenous population who occupy the city of Stirling; this means that they have a common interest sharing the same environment, resources, need and any other common issue. The environment is the major resource that keeps the community together, and if the community sees someone trying to mess up with it they would seriously tackle the bull by its horn. When a developer tries to come up a suggestion that his is planning to construct a building he will equally face stiff rescissions from the community around. It is therefore encouraged that before any developer decides to put up any building he must come up with a master plan that he would be willing to share with the community (Hall & Jenkins, 2005). The involved stakeholders must be ready to come to around take and study the proposal carefully and come up with a conclusion. Whether the decision is positive of negative it must be communicated to all stakeholders and the agreed conclusion should be treated as final. An action group also known as a task group can be described as a group of people who have come together with a common objective of accomplishing a certain task. The task must be done to benefit the other population that the group has voluntarily decided to represent. Save our sunsets action group was the most vibrant group in Scarborough, it had been established in the late nineties to fight for the interest of the local community. The group was so noisy that it did not keep quite in case any plan was being executed to come up with any development along the Coastal strip. The group would do anything in it disposal to actively oppose any high rise development proposals. The group had the best office bearers who loyal and dedicated in respective positions. They would monitor all the activities in Scarborough and in case of suspicion they would approach the situation without malice and make sure they get to the bottom of it. This gave a lot of confidence to the locals; therefore the locals were willing to support the action group either in cash or kind (Hall & Jenkins, 2005). A developer can be referred to as an investor who finds undeveloped location and decides to build on it. They mostly build complex multi storey buildings’ that are economical viable thus bringing returns. Most of the developers usually look at once side of the coin, meaning that they only concentrate at the benefits they expect to get from the development and forget the other side. Most of their developments, if proper environmental assessment was not done would have a negative effect on the environment. If a proper consultation of all involved stakeholders is not done, then there is a high possibility of conflict to a rise. It is therefore recommended that all stakeholders must be one hundred per cent involved in decision making. A case is cited when a developer was planning to put up a twelve storeys building in Scarborough, his proposal was met with great resistance from other stakeholders especially the local community and the action group. But when the same issue was tackled with a sober mind and the minister invited all stakeholders in participatory meeting, all stakeholders come to an agreement and an eight storey building was put up for the benefit of all stakeholders. This indicates that if everyone is properly consulted an agreement is easily reached that will be of importance to all the stakeholders. The Stirling Council is another important stakeholder in the coastal development in Scarborough. The council plays a very important role for the community and it roles involve providing services such as services for families, home and community care, rangers and security, rubbish and recycling and finally the most important of health and safety (Hall & Jenkins, 2005). The health and safety can also be subdivided into sub sectors; environmental pollutants, food hygiene safety, cyber safety, road safety and party safety. For the sake of this paper, let us only discuss the issue surrounding coastal development in Scarborough and the environmental pollutions is the main challenge. Pollutants such as smoke from industries and motor vehicles and dust can negatively affect the health of the working community. When the city council plans to develop a building, for example, building a recreational hotel along the beach, although the hotel may create employment to hundreds of people, the project proposal would easily be resisted by the local community as the benefit would not outweigh the damage. The construction of the hotel near the beach may impact the ecosystem in a negative way. The fact that the building material is to be brought in the site may lead to the death of marine life. If the city of Stirling is planning to invest in any development project along the beach of Scarborough it must be willing to involve all the stakeholders for the project to succeed. Failure to this will cause a big uproar from other stakeholders and will not succeed. The State government is the main stakeholder in the issue surrounding coastal development in Scarborough. The State is the one involved in licencing all the development projects to take place. If state issues a licence to a developer without any consultation with other stakeholders the project risks to face resistance from the population. It is therefore very important for the minister on behalf of the state to invite all the stakeholders to a round table and have a sober discussion that would deliberate and come up with a conclusion that will be acceptable to all (Hall & Jenkins, 2005). Recommendations The very natural unique environment of Scarborough beach is the main tourist attraction in the City of Stirling. Most visitors are attracted in the area due to the recreation activity that they get involved, for example, swimming in a warm temperature, boat riding, skirting and sky diving. It is recommended that the current tourism market is so sensitive and the stakeholders involved in tourism must keep in mind that. The must come up with a product that will be very competitive and very attractive to the visitors. The city of Stirling should not only rely on the Scarborough beach as the main attraction for tourist but also introduce other areas to the tourists as possible alternatives. Even if Scarborough Beach is experiencing disagreement between stakeholders and the issue is well covered in the media, the city should not lose on that due to the negative image created but take advantage and sell the others locations. It is also recommended that Scarborough beach has been classified as a very fragile environment, if there are any plans in the future to come up with a development the development should be of small magnitude. This situation has been expressed by all stakeholders including the tourists themselves. Accommodation should not be the main reason why permanent and complex structures should be put up in beaches, tents, eco-lodge accommodation and camping should be encouraged. If there are those families that feel uncomfortable in tents and would like more self-contained accommodation, it should be provided but in a very small scale. Moreover, if the council feels that it may need additional permanent structures and after consultation with all the stakeholders it should put up those structures using environmental friendly materials. The developments should not be high-rise but instead should be low-rise, preferably one storey building. According to Bramwell and Sharman (2009), practises that are sustainable to the environment should be encouraged, the include practises like; solar heating, recycling water and composting toilets. Scarborough Beach being very sensitive it requires greater care from the visitors as well. The visitors should be educated concerning their negative impact on the coastal environment. They should understand that they impact determines the future development of the region. No matter how environmentally friendly tourist development may be, insensitive or uneducated visitor behaviour could have an overwhelming consequence on the environmental sustainability of a region. The council should come up with by laws that will govern the operation and use of the fragile beach and if any visitor or local breaks the by law they should be liable to pay a fine. Lastly, it is recommended that for the smooth operation and improvement of Scarborough beach all the stakeholders; developers, local community, council, action group and the state should always consult before any project is undertaken. This should be done to avoid unnecessary conflict that otherwise spoil the reputation of the area. Conclusion In conclusion, it should be noted with great concern that the community interest should be put at heart before any future tourism development is planned. If the state can understand all the stakeholders in the tourism industry, then the future is very bright for the development of the industry. All the interested parties must be involved in any decision making process. Gaining community support for proposed nodes will depend on the extent to which it disturbs or enhances the lifestyle of local residents and the cultural heritage values of environment. Let the state not feel that the community is always willing to oppose there plans but try and understand them. References Barker, M. (2002) Coastal Planning and Development Control: Proposals for Reform. Bramwell, B. & Sharman, A. (2009) ‘A Collaboration in Local Tourism Policymaking’, Annals of Tourism Research, 26(2): 392-415. Carlsen, J. & Wood, D. (2004) Assessment of the Economic Value of Recreation and Tourism in Western Australia’s National Parks, Marine Parks and Forests. CRC for Sustainable Tourism, Gold Coast. Dowling, R.K. (2010) Tourism and the Environment: an Interim Report on Residents’ and Tourists’ Opinions, Perth: School of Biological and Environmental Science, Murdoch University. Environmental Protection Authority (2002) Media Statement, 28 October. Perth: EPA. Fallon, F. (2001) ‘Conflict, Power and Tourism on Lombok’, Current Issues in Tourism: 4(6). Hall, C.M. & Jenkins J.M. (2005) Tourism and Public Policy, London: Routledge. Hall, C.M., Jenkins, J.M. & Kearsley, G. (1997) Tourism Planning and Policy in Australia and New Zealand. Cases and Practice. Sydney: McGraw Hill. Tourism Western Australia (2004) Australia’s Coral Coast Tourism Perspective 2003. Perth: Tourism WA. Wood, D.S. (2003) Tourism on the Carnarvon-Ningaloo Coast between Quobba Station and Exmouth and its implications for sustainability of the Coast (Report prepared for the Western Australian Planning Commission), Perth: WAPC. Wood, D.S. & Hopkins, D. (2001) Planning for sustainable tourism in a fragile coastal Environment; a case study from Ningaloo in Australia’s North West. Read More