Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The protection of wilderness through legal means gave new impetus to the task of
improving the process of defining and compiling a wilderness inventory as well as
providing for its management, a process that is still continuing at the present time in
North America as well as in countries such as Australia, which have tended to follow the
American model for wilderness and national park protection. Although wilderness in
New Zealand is given administrative protection under a variety of acts, there is no
specific legislation for the preservation of wilderness (Hall and Higham 2000). Similarly,
until late 1987 with the passing of the New South Wales Wilderness Act, no wilderness
legislation had been enacted in Australia (Hall 1992a). In Canada, wilderness areas have
received a degree of protection under provincial legislation. However, as in Australia and
New Zealand, there is no national wilderness Act. Yet, in recent years increasing
attention has been given to the implications of international heritage agreements, such as
the World Heritage Convention, as a mechanism for the preservation of wilderness and
other natural areas of international significance (Hall 1992a).
INSIGHT: What is the effect of World Heritage listing?
World Heritage properties are areas or sites of outstanding universal value recognised
under the Convention for the Protection of the World's Cultural and Natural Heritage (the
World Heritage Convention (WHC)), adopted by a Unesco Conference on 16 November
1972. The Convention is usually regarded as one of the pinnacles of international
conservation.
The philosophy behind the Convention is straightforward: there are some
parts of the world's natural and cultural heritage which are so unique and
scientifically important to the world as a whole that their conservation and
protection for present and future generations is not only a matter of
concern for individual nations but for the international community as a
whole.
(Slatyer 1983:138)
Such is the significance of World Heritage Status (WHS) that World Heritage sites
have been described as 'magnets for visitors' and World Heritage designation 'virtually a
guarantee that visitor numbers will increase' (Shackley 1998, preface). Indeed, it is often
suggested that WHS increases the popularity of a location or destination with visitors
(e.g. Ashworth and Tunbridge 1990; Unesco 1995; Drost 1996; Pocock 1997; Shackley
1998; J.Carter et al. 2001; Thorsell and Sigaty 2001). However, many of the assertions
regarding the tourist attractiveness of World Heritage sites and, similarly, the
attractiveness of newly designated national parks is often based on extremely weak
empirical evidence that does not consider locations within the context of historical
visitation trends; other factors influencing visitation may have very little to do with
designation. This does not mean that locations may be unattractive to visitation, rather
that attraction is primarily derived from other attributes. For example, Hall and Piggin
(2001) reported on a 1999 survey sent to forty-four World Heritage managers in OECD
countries. Over two-thirds of sites reported an increase in visitor numbers since gaining
WHS the majority of them natural sites Most of the sites reported an average increase of
