CRC REEF RESEARCH CENTRE TECHNICAL REPORT No. 2

Principles Of Social Impact Assessment And Its Application To Managing The Great Barrier Reef.

Gail Broome, Department of Tropical Environment Studies & Geography,
James Cook University
Peter Valentine, Department of Tropical Environment Studies & Geography,
James Cook University

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The object of this project was to develop a set of social impact assessment (SIA) guidelines for the use of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). Decisions that the GBRMPA make in relation to social use of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are appealable under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act, and the GBRMPA wished to ensure that decisions paid due regard to SIA practice and would therefore be identified as best practice and also be defensible in a potential court situation.

The SIA guidelines included in this report are based on literature which spans both the recreation management and SIA literature. The multiple use approach to management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) has meant that relying simply on formal recreation management literature may be inadequate. Most of the well known and widely used park management frameworks such as the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) and the Limits to Acceptable Change (LAC), have been developed in terrestrial protected areas where there is generally a more limited range of social and commercial activities. The GBRMPA, on the other hand, must manage the competing interests of local recreationists, commercial fishers, tourist operators, tourism visitors and scientific research, while maintaining the ecological integrity of the Great Barrier Reef. Consideration must also be given to the potential for social impacts from areas adjacent to the GBRMP, and for impacts from developments within the GBRMP on adjacent communities and areas, as well as the requirement that World Heritage values be maintained.

The implications of the recreation management and SIA literature for managers of the GBRMP are great and stem from the idea that `parks are for people' which is also reflected in the goal of the GBRMPA to `provide for the protection, wise use, understanding and enjoyment of the Great Barrier Reef'. The recreation management literature stresses the growing importance of leisure as an essential component of modern life, and the need to provide a wide range of leisure opportunities to cater for the diverse interests of our society. In terms of overall social welfare, those programs and policies which expand the context of choice, rather than those simply designed to serve majority preference, are the more desirable, providing as they do for the widest possible range of community needs. The planning and managing frameworks recommended in this report recognise the desirability of planning for a wide range of opportunities in a park and managing the social, managerial and environmental conditions to maintain desired recreation opportunities.

The SIA literature is more generally concerned with the impacts of broad planning and policy decisions as well as of individual development proposals. SIA is concerned with issues of equity and social justice, and combines community participation in decision making with social research. Its aim is to predict social impacts, and organise costs and benefits so that those who benefit the most also bear the costs. Implications of this for managers of the GBRMP include the need for extensive community participation in planning and management of the Park and the need to consider the potentially wide ranging social impacts of broad planning and individual development decisions, on park users, adjacent communities and on the general public. As the GBRMP is also a World Heritage area, there is an obligation by its managing agency to maintain the values for which it was listed.

The main implication for industry within the GBRMP is the need to understand the rationale behind planning and managing frameworks used by managing agencies and the inherent difficulties imposed on the GBRMPA when managing competing interests in the Park. In negotiating operating arrangements within the park, industry should bear in mind the goal of managing for the maintenance of the widest range of social use while maintaining ecological integrity.

The main findings of this project are:

Because of the multiple use nature of the Park, both recreation management and social impact assessment literature should be consulted in planning for and managing the social impacts of use of the Park.

In predicting and resolving social impacts extensive community participation is required in conjunction with social research.

Only three major social studies of reef experiences have been completed and none have been carried out in low to medium-low density areas of use.

Adequate SIA (including recreation planning/management) carried out at the Planning stage may greatly simplify the need for case by case assessment of permit applications.

The report suggests a number of possible approaches to ensure social impacts of decisions can be adequately incorporated in decision making. Recognition is given to the need for social impacts to be evaluated at all levels if the outcomes are to provide a finely demarcated set of recreation opportunities which match the variety of needs. Central to some of the discussion is the recognition that satisfying the needs of one set of users may have severe consequences on the needs of others and that increased identification of detailed community needs is an essential part of modern management.

A number of specific suggestions are made as guidelines and a framework provided for use by GBRMPA staff in conducting SIA, including a detailed process outline and accompanying forms.

The report also reviews three recent studies of visitor experiences on the Great Barrier Reef with reference to SIA.

THIS PUBLICATION IS CITED AS:
Broome, G. and Valentine, P. (1995).
Principles of Social Impact Assessment and its Application to Managing the Great Barrier Reef.
CRC Reef Research Centre Ltd
Technical Report No. 2
Townsville; CRC Reef Research Centre Ltd, 74 pp.

ISBN 1 876054 00 X.

A full copy of this report may be obtained from the author(s), and through the following libraries: