Blending a heritage of recreation and tourism with conservation of natural heritage: An example from Penguin Island, Western Australia

Abstract

This paper discusses the recreational and natural heritage of Penguin Island in its journey from use as a recreation reserve to its current management within a Class A biodiversity conservation reserve. Protected natural areas were historically managed for tourism and recreation, resulting in a significant heritage of use. They are now mainly managed for biodiversity protection, but continue to be a focus for tourism and recreation. Visitors to natural areas are considered a prime audience to raise awareness about biodiversity protection but Australia has a poor record of integrating cultural and natural heritage management. The long heritage of recreation use on Penguin Island was superimposed with a biodiversity protection mandate. Effective design based on minimal site hardening and selective restriction of recreational use, rather than education, has successfully restored island’s natural heritage. However, the island’s cultural heritage has been obscured. This implies the biodiversity protection and education mandate has been at the cost of preserving awareness of Penguin island’s recreation and tourism heritage.