Ecological and human dimensions of tourism‐related wildlife disturbance

Uncontrolled growth in wildlife‐viewing tourism has the potential to have unacceptable impacts on wildlife populations. The problem is complex because (1) quantifying impacts is technically difficult, and (2) assessing the ‘acceptability’ of such impacts is inherendy subjective. This paper reports the findings of a three‐stage case study of wildlife‐viewing of die white heron (Egretta alba modesta) colony at Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, New Zealand. The first phase involved qualitative interviews with stakeholders to document their concerns about wildlife‐viewing at the colony. Selected concerns were then addressed by direct and video observation of tourist/wildlife interactions on the Waitangiroto waterway. In the third stage, stakeholders were asked to evaluate the acceptability of various hypotherical disturbance scenarios. When the outcomes of the field observations were then revealed, the stakeholders altered and reprioritized their original concerns. The researchers conclude that quantitative data on wildlife population dynamics and behavior are vital, but not alone sufficient, for sound management of wildlife/tourist interactions

Biology · Disturbance (geology · Ecotourism · Egretta · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Heron · Nature reserve · Population · Sociology · Tourism · Wildlife · Wildlife conservation · Wildlife management · Wildlife tourism · Demography · Environmental Science · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Species Distribution and Climate Change · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation · Ecology

• Applied qualitative research

  Robert Walker•Applied qualitative research•1993

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• Focus Groups as Qualitative Research

  David Morgan, David L Morgan•Focus groups as qualitative…•1997

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• The nominal group technique

  Open Access•J R Brent Ritchie•Tourism Management•1985

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