Harbouring Discontent: World Heritage, the Great Barrier Reef and the Gladstone Port Development
Access status:
Open Access
Type
Thesis, HonoursAuthor/s
Davey, Madeline NellAbstract
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is facing unprecedented pressures from a range of inputs– one of the most prominent being industrial coastal development. Of these developments, none has more current significance than the Gladstone Port Development (GPD) in Gladstone Harbour at the ...
See moreThe Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is facing unprecedented pressures from a range of inputs– one of the most prominent being industrial coastal development. Of these developments, none has more current significance than the Gladstone Port Development (GPD) in Gladstone Harbour at the southern end of the GBR in Queensland, Australia. The Port expansion includes the extension of an existing coal terminal, reclamation and development of new land and three gas processing plants on Curtis Island, plus associated dredging works. These developments are causing controversy globally because they are occurring within the GBR World Heritage Area (WHA). Gladstone Harbour was included within the original World Heritage Listing (WHL) as it met the criteria attributed to the entire GBR – natural environmental assets of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV); including turtles, dugongs, mangroves, seagrasses and coral. These environmental attributes are under serious threat with the GPD, causing a clash between development and conservation in Gladstone Harbour. Moreover, the WH listing for the entire GBR is at risk because of the rapid development of the export industry along the GBR coast. These developments have been allowed because they are occurring in the small percent of the WHA that is not managed by the Federal GBR Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA); rather jurisdiction of these coastal waters falls to the Queensland government. The GBR has long been regarded as epitomising ―best-practice‖ management standards for MPA because of management by the GBRMPA. However, the management ‗best-practice‘ title is now under threat. In this study discrepancies in boundaries and management practices between the GBRWHA and the GBR Marine Protected Area (MPA), come to the fore through the perspectives of high-user stakeholders - the fishers and conservationists/researchers of the region. The stakeholders provide localised insights into the OUV together with views about current management approaches. These perceptions were gathered throughout July 2012 using semi-structured interviews in Gladstone. Using these insights this study explores the way in which multiple interests collide – drawing out and questioning the role of state and federal government in regulating the space. Arguably, the management of the GPD should match the values embedded in the area‘s WH designation, granted in 1981. The extent to which this has happened is explored in this study. This study finds that the WHL of Gladstone Harbour remains significant for local user groups. While there are calls to redraw the GBRWHA it is critical to further understand how locals value the area and the WH listing before maps are re-drawn. The incorporation of stakeholder perceptions into environmental governance for marine habitats is essential to achieve better environmental and social outcomes. In this context, this study embraces a political ecology paradigm which provides a conceptual framework for an explanation of the GPD. Such an approach enables an explanation of the forces at work in the GPD - which allows environmental, political and economic factors to be intertwined into explanations and analysis. This overarching conceptual approach illustrates how multiple interests interact in a way which limits the efficacy of the existing environment governance framework
See less
See moreThe Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is facing unprecedented pressures from a range of inputs– one of the most prominent being industrial coastal development. Of these developments, none has more current significance than the Gladstone Port Development (GPD) in Gladstone Harbour at the southern end of the GBR in Queensland, Australia. The Port expansion includes the extension of an existing coal terminal, reclamation and development of new land and three gas processing plants on Curtis Island, plus associated dredging works. These developments are causing controversy globally because they are occurring within the GBR World Heritage Area (WHA). Gladstone Harbour was included within the original World Heritage Listing (WHL) as it met the criteria attributed to the entire GBR – natural environmental assets of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV); including turtles, dugongs, mangroves, seagrasses and coral. These environmental attributes are under serious threat with the GPD, causing a clash between development and conservation in Gladstone Harbour. Moreover, the WH listing for the entire GBR is at risk because of the rapid development of the export industry along the GBR coast. These developments have been allowed because they are occurring in the small percent of the WHA that is not managed by the Federal GBR Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA); rather jurisdiction of these coastal waters falls to the Queensland government. The GBR has long been regarded as epitomising ―best-practice‖ management standards for MPA because of management by the GBRMPA. However, the management ‗best-practice‘ title is now under threat. In this study discrepancies in boundaries and management practices between the GBRWHA and the GBR Marine Protected Area (MPA), come to the fore through the perspectives of high-user stakeholders - the fishers and conservationists/researchers of the region. The stakeholders provide localised insights into the OUV together with views about current management approaches. These perceptions were gathered throughout July 2012 using semi-structured interviews in Gladstone. Using these insights this study explores the way in which multiple interests collide – drawing out and questioning the role of state and federal government in regulating the space. Arguably, the management of the GPD should match the values embedded in the area‘s WH designation, granted in 1981. The extent to which this has happened is explored in this study. This study finds that the WHL of Gladstone Harbour remains significant for local user groups. While there are calls to redraw the GBRWHA it is critical to further understand how locals value the area and the WH listing before maps are re-drawn. The incorporation of stakeholder perceptions into environmental governance for marine habitats is essential to achieve better environmental and social outcomes. In this context, this study embraces a political ecology paradigm which provides a conceptual framework for an explanation of the GPD. Such an approach enables an explanation of the forces at work in the GPD - which allows environmental, political and economic factors to be intertwined into explanations and analysis. This overarching conceptual approach illustrates how multiple interests interact in a way which limits the efficacy of the existing environment governance framework
See less
Date
2012-01-01Licence
The author retains copyright of this thesis.Department, Discipline or Centre
School of GeosciencesShare