Monitoring Diffuse Impacts: Australian Tourism Developments

¹School of Environmental and Applied Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, 4217, Australia

|February 10, 2000

Summary

Formal environmental monitoring for Australian tourism developments is often scientifically weak. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Area of Science:

Background:

Environmental impact assessments (EIA) for tourism developments often lack rigorous scientific monitoring.
Tourism's proximity to sensitive ecosystems and potential for cumulative impacts necessitate effective monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantify the scientific quality of environmental monitoring for Australian tourism developments.
To assess the precision and reliability of monitoring programs in detecting diffuse environmental impacts.

Main Methods:

Analysis of formal monitoring programs for 175 Australian tourism developments (1980-1995).
Evaluation of monitoring parameters, baseline data, Before-After-Control-Impact-Paired (BACIP) designs, and power analysis.
Comparison of monitoring quality between developments managed by different authorities.

Main Results:

Only 13 of 175 developments had formal monitoring, with only 44 parameters monitored overall.
Baseline data were lacking for 9 parameters; only one parameter had a full year of baseline data.
Monitoring quality was significantly higher for developments overseen by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA).

Conclusions:

The scientific quality of environmental monitoring in Australian tourism developments is generally low.
GBRMPA's model, utilizing external referees and consultants, significantly improves monitoring quality.
The GBRMPA approach offers a transferable model for enhancing environmental monitoring effectiveness.

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