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| Authors: |
Fyfe, Duncan [edited and with a foreword by Rick Wylie & Duncan Jackson] |
| Title: |
Visitor-wildlife interactions : a conceptual model |
| Publisher: |
Whitehaven : Westlakes Research Institute |
| Published: |
2001 |
| ISBN: |
0954168402 (pbk) |
| Price: |
£17.50 |
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| Foreword: Rick Wylie and Duncan Jackson |
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| We are all, to a greater or lesser extent, environmentalists now: even if our understanding of the environment is often shallow. In the UK, and across much of Western Europe, little of the environment can be regarded as natural. While climate, topography and pedology determine the limits on sustainable habitats, the specific ecosystem types around us generally represent a balance between natural successional changes and the impact of man, primarily through industry, fisheries and agriculture. Nonetheless, green consumerism has taken a hold and, from the macro level of environmental issues such as global warming, climate change and sustainable development, to the micro level of species, habitats and the food on our plate, our relationship with the environment has become an issue of widespread concern. Such concerns are not without foundation. Juvenal notes as early as a.d. 110 that, “… our sea has been drained by scores of mad gluttons; the fishmarket nets keep seining our coast and let no Tyrrhenian fish mature.” |
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| At the same time, favourable attitudes towards the environment may not, paradoxically, always lead to responsible environmental behaviour; industry commodifies and packages nature in many forms and we are encouraged to enjoy and consume it. Moreover, in developed countries today, the environment and nature often seem abstract. Much of our contact with the environment is achieved through print and broadcast media and, as a consequence, though we may have beliefs and attitudes about environmental issues which are remote from us, from the rain forests of the Amazon to whales in the southern oceans, and as diverse as the ozone hole and genetically modified organisms, we may have only a limited understanding of our own place within it and a limited appreciation of its complexity and the implications of our behaviour towards it. |
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| An important part of the dialogue between man and the environment is within leisure travel on day and holiday trips. Indeed, the importance of nature in this context is reflected in tourism promotion of many areas, like Cumbria, where wildlife and nature form an important part of the tourist product and where there are many possibilities for interaction between the visitor and nature. Our activities during leisure travel, whether on day or holiday trips, form an important part of our direct experience with nature, from climbing a mountain to visiting a wildlife sanctuary. |
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| Important issues arise with respect to encouraging tourism activities in areas of particular sensitivity, such as the Galapagos Islands, where history has demonstrated the unintentional (but nonetheless damaging) effects of previous interactions. At a more local level the severe Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in the UK during 2001 has indicated the tension inherent between different forms of land use. Likewise, the various strategic recovery plans promulgated have highlighted the different objectives of land management schemes. The demands of nature conservation per se, tourism and agriculture may overlap to a greater or lesser extent, but compromises are required if the needs of each sector are to be met. |
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| As Duncan Fyfe shows in this book, tourism and leisure travel may perform an important role in promulgating a deep awareness of the natural environment, and of man’s relationship with it, through careful management of the relationship between visitors and wildlife at managed visitor attractions. As visitors, we may be encouraged to get beneath the ‘surface’ of nature, the colours or look of a scene, to appreciate the complexity and fragility of plants and animals as ecosystems, as part of a balanced global eco-system of which mankind is only a part. |
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| Duncan Fyfe avoids the narrow definition of environmental protection as a response to single incident disasters, important as they may be, and focuses on the long-term issues which require sustained, and informed, widespread interest. This may be best promoted where knowledge and personal experience (e.g. the visitor-wildlife interaction) act to reinforce each other. |
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| Contrary to popular belief, tourism may, therefore, have an important educational function with respect to the natural environment and, through the careful management of interactions between visitors and wildlife, tourism may lead to a wider awareness of the vulnerability of nature and an understanding of the complexity, diversity, fragility and interests of natural species and ecosystems, and our responsibility towards it. This interaction between the visitor and wildlife may take many forms, from multi-million pound sealife centres to a scenic lay-by by an accessible moorland; through this contact with nature, from the call of a distant bird, to the tactile feel of an animal’s fur, we come to appreciate and understand nature. |
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| Many issues remain to be resolved: the appropriate level at which concern for the environment should be expressed (from the individual or species to complex ecosystems); methods of retaining interest post-visit; even ensuring the economic viability and sustainability of particular attractions, especially where ownership and financial return are not linked directly (which is a problem common to many farmers in national parks). These are areas to be returned to once the foundations of interest and understanding are secured. |
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| In this book, Duncan Fyfe builds on the previous work of Orams to develop a conceptual model of the interactions between the visitors and wildlife. He comments on how to optimise the educational impact of managed visitor wildlife attractions and facilities, through which they may have an important role in changing public attitudes and subsequently behaviour. |
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| This could make a significant contribution to responsible environmental behaviour among the public, based upon an informed understanding of the natural environment and our role within it. |
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