Ecotourism and National Parks in Queensland

Leaders of Queensland’s peak national parks and tourism organisations met in Brisbane last week to lay the foundations for improved understanding and collaboration to preserve, expand and present national parks and other protected areas across the state with better resourcing.

The meeting confirmed that the National Parks Association of Queensland (NPAQ) and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) both seek to foster member and public interest in, enjoyment of, and respect for National Parks and nature conservation and promote appropriate and balanced measures for visitors to experience National Parks while conserving the natural and cultural environment.

“We won’t necessarily always see eye-to-eye on all issues concerning the conservation and uses by different stakeholders of our marine and terrestrial national parks,” explained Susanne Cooper, President of NPAQ.

“But we acknowledge there are areas where our collaboration with the QTIC as the peak industry body for our state can help us achieve the objectives of the NPAQ as one of the oldest and most enduring environmental organisations in Queensland.

”While Queensland now has more than 1,000 national parks and other protected areas, it has long suffered from under-investment in conservation and land management, with only around 8% of its land area protected – the lowest proportion of Australia’s states and territories and less than half of the international recommendation for protected areas under guidelines from the Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

“Now, over 90 years since NPAQ was formed, our not-for-profit organisation continues to promote the preservation, expansion, good management and presentation of National Parks, and supports nature conservation in Queensland,” said Ms Cooper.