Duration of resource: 23 Minutes. Year of Production: Stock code: VEA Resource written by: Martin Williams Head of Geography.

Transcription

1 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES National Parks conserve the natural beauty of a region: unique landscapes, flora and fauna for present and future generations. But what qualifies as a National Park? In this National parks series we look at Yellowstone, The Lake District and Kakadu National Parks and the challenges they face. It provides a brief history of the National Park movement, the growth of tourism and its impact, the conflicts between recreation and conservation, mining and conservation, environmental and economic needs as well as various interest groups including local and indigenous communities living in National Parks. Ideal for middle and senior secondary to TAFE in geography, environmental and cultural studies, this visually stunning program highlights the many and varied challenges facing National Parks. Duration of resource: 23 Minutes Year of Production: 2013 Stock code: VEA12048 Resource written by: Martin Williams Head of Geography. BA (Hons)

2 For Teachers Introduction With the global population now exceeding 7 billion, never before has it been so important to preserve the last remaining areas of wilderness on earth for the enjoyment of all. The National Parks were established to ensure that future generations would be able to experience and enjoy the finest and most unspoilt areas of countryside, free from urban sprawl and industrial development. The careful management of the National Parks is essential for their continued protection. The National Parks Series looks at the origins of the National park movement and traces its evolution by examining three contrasting National Parks: Yellowstone NP in the USA, The Lake District NP in the UK and Kakadu NP in Australia. Each of these National Parks is examined in turn, concentrating on the attractions of the Parks as well as the challenges facing the authorities and groups that manage them. Timeline 00:00:00 Yellowstone: the birth of national parks 00:01:42 A brief history of national parks 00:08:15 Managing the land environment Lake District National Park, England 00:15:03 Economy and the environment Kakadu National Park, Australia 00:21:39 Credits 00:22:33 End program Related Titles Rotorua: A Case Study in Sustainable Tourism Factors Affecting Global Tourism Growth and Niche Markets in Tourism Recommended Resources

3 Student Worksheet Initiate Prior Learning 1. What do you think a National Park is? 2. How does a National Park differ from a recreational park you may find in towns and cities? 3. What do you think would have happened to the countryside if the National Parks had not been created? 4. The National Parks were created to conserve the natural beauty of an area and at the same time to encourage people to actively visit and to enjoy recreation in the Parks. Do you think that these two aims are compatible? 3

4 Active Viewing Guide Yellowstone the birth of national parks 1. Where is Yellowstone National Park and when was it first established? 2. What is Yellowstone best known for? 3. What is the Yellowstone Caldera? 4. What is the definition of a National Park? 5. How many National Parks are there today? 6. What type of characteristics should a National Park have? 7. National Parks are always owned by the nation? True or False? 8. Explain why the global tourism industry has increased so dramatically in recent years. 4

5 The Lake District National Park 1. When was the Lake District commissioned as a national park? 2. List the physical attractions in The Lake District National Park. 3. Who owns the Lake District National Park? How is this different from national parks in the USA and Australia? 4. Currently the percentage of visitors coming to the Lake District National Park by car stands at 89%. What do you think the impacts of these car journeys are? 5. What are the negative impacts of tourists on the local population? 5

6 6. What are the negative impacts of tourists on the environment? Kakadu National Park 1. Where is the Kakadu National Park and when was it established? 2. What role do the Bininj and Mungguy people play in the management of the park? 3. What is mined at the Ranger and Jabiluka mines? 4. Identify negative environmental consequences due to the mining in Kakadu. 5. What is a notable cultural/historical significance of Kakadu? 6

7 Extension Activities 1. The world s National Parks (1842 in total in over 100 countries) are often top of the list as tourist destinations, but how can these parks be preserved for future generations when their very popularity threatens their unique distinctive characteristics? In small groups identify the threats facing the future of the Parks. 2. Looking at the threats and challenges facing the parks, describe the top five priorities you feel are essential in managing a National park. 3. Do you think that visitor numbers should be controlled in all National Parks, and if so should visitors also be charged to enter the Parks? 4. Each of the National Parks has its own unique landscapes, flora and fauna and is protected by law to preserve and enhance these special characteristics for future generations. Is there anything else a National park should do to ensure that it remains an untouched area of natural beauty for generations to come? 5. Make a list of the different user groups of the Lake District National Park, from walkers to cyclists. Explain how these might come into conflict with one another, or with the land owners eg farmers. 7

8 Suggested Student Responses Initiate Prior Learning 1. What do you think a National Park is? Students may talk about sports grounds or local play areas / public parks. Some will have prior knowledge and may well have visited and be able to name actual National Parks. 2. How does a National Park differ from a recreational park you may find in towns and cities? National Parks are located in often remote and upland areas and are not maintained in the way that public parks are.eg the grass is not cut. They are large areas of unspoilt natural countryside. 3. What do you think would have happened to the countryside if the National Parks had not been created? It could be argued that perhaps some large areas of beautiful wild countryside would have been lost to development, housing, road and rail networks etc. The National Parks have also successfully marketed their attractions and have boosted tourism in areas that were perhaps previously not well known. 4. The National Parks were created to conserve the natural beauty of an area and at the same time to encourage people to actively visit and to enjoy recreation in the Parks. Do you think that these two aims are compatible? Students will suggest a variety of answers such as locals being unable to afford local housing due to the rise of second homes and holiday cottages causing house prices to rise; or farmers finding walkers have dropped litter on their land / left gates open / disturbed wildlife etc. Students may focus on the conflicts between user groups, but may also recognize that with careful management strategies, compromise and balance between these supposedly conflicting aims can be achieved. 8

9 Active Viewing Guide Yellowstone the birth of national parks 1. Where is Yellowstone National Park and when was it first established? Situated mainly in the state of Wyoming, and parts of Montana and Idaho, What is Yellowstone best known for? Yellowstone is renowned for its geothermal hot springs and geysers - including Old Faithful 3. What is the Yellowstone Caldera? The largest super volcano on the planet. 4. What is the definition of a National Park? In 1969 the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) declared a national park to be a relatively large area with particular defining characteristics which contain a natural landscape of great beauty. 5. How many National Parks are there today? Today there are 1842 National Parks worldwide, and this does not include the thousands of other areas afforded protection under other laws and statutes. 6. What type of characteristics should a National Park have? National Parks should ideally be large unspoilt areas of wild countryside, untouched by human activity and containing a rich and diverse range of landscapes and flora and fauna. 7. National Parks are always owned by the nation? True or False? False in the UK for example the National parks are owned by numerous organisations. 8. Explain why the global tourism industry has increased so dramatically in recent years. The global growth in tourism can be explained due to a number of factors including: improved personal mobility/ development of transport technologies/increased disposable incomes / advertising and marketing of tourist destinations / rise of service based industries to cater for tourism/ increase in public and paid holidays. The Lake District National Park 1. When was the Lake District commissioned as a national park? List the physical attractions in The Lake District National Park. England's largest National Park includes Scafell Pike - its highest mountain, Wastwater - its deepest lake and beautiful historical villages and hamlets such as the thriving communities like Keswick and Bowness-on-Windermere. Numerous lakes, forests and upland mountain scenery are attractive to a variety of user groups. 3. Who owns the Lake District National Park? How is this different from national parks in the USA and Australia? The National Parks Authority owns a very small percentage of the land, other land is owned by the water companies; the MOD; forestry companies; the National trust; private landowners and country estates. In other countries, national parks are typically government owned. 9

10 4. Currently the percentage of visitors coming to the Lake District National Park by car stands at 89%. What do you think the impacts of these car journeys are? Heavy traffic congestion and traffic jams especially at peak times of the year such as bank holidays. Traffic jams entering the park can be many miles long. Small towns clogged with vehicles. Traffic noise can disrupt animals. Holiday traffic can disrupt local activities such as farming adding to the cost of journeys and reducing profitability due to time wasted. The air quality may be affected by fumes from exhausts. Local roads and lanes may be damaged by the large volume of traffic on country roads. An increase in accidents may put pressure on local services. 5. What are the negative impacts of tourists on the local population? Traffic congestion, inflated prices on basic necessities, expensive housing 6. What are the negative impacts of tourists on the environment? Erosion, damage to farms, detergents in the water system, noise pollution, traffic pollution Kakadu National Park 1. Where is the Kakadu National Park and when was it established? In Australia s remote top end, 200 km east of Darwin. Established What role do the Bininj and Mungguy people play in the management of the park? They are the traditional custodians and are on the Board of Management along with Parks Australia representatives. They also work as rangers. 3. What is mined at the Ranger and Jabiluka mines? Uranium 4. Identify negative environmental consequences due to the mining in Kakadu. Ground water contamination from leaks, damage from infrastructure such as roads 5. What is a notable cultural/historical significance of Kakadu? It contains the largest known rock art collection in the world. 10

11 Extension Activities 1. The world s National Parks (1842 in total in over 100 countries) are often top of the list as tourist destinations, but how can these parks be preserved for future generations when their very popularity threatens their unique distinctive characteristics? In small groups identify the threats facing the future of the Parks. An increasing global population will put increasing pressure on the countryside land is a valuable commodity whether for minerals rocks and resources (Eg Uranium mining near Kakadu National Park or quarrying in the Lake District), or for locations for settlement and or industry. The National parks also contain a rich variety of resources ranging from clean water sources in rivers and lakes, to huge areas of woodland, valuable as a timber resource. There will also be increasing pressure to extend communication networks of roads, power lines, railways and water pipes across national park lands to meet the needs of expanding settlements and populations. 2. Looking at the threats and challenges facing the parks, describe the top five priorities you feel are essential in managing a National park. There are a wide variety of answers possible here, but they may include going back to the original aims of the National Parks: Conserving land; making the parks accessible to all but ensuring that the nature of the parks is not changed as a result. Fostering the economic and social well being of those living in the Parks particularly important in the UK National Parks where numerous towns and villages exist. 3. Do you think that visitor numbers should be controlled in all National Parks, and if so should visitors also be charged to enter the Parks? A tricky issue! In large areas of remote wilderness this is often possible eg Rocky Mountain National Park in the USA. The roads entering the parks have barriers to stop entry and control and limit numbers. When the park has reached its carrying capacity, no other vehicles are let in. In the UK by contrast the Parks are often relatively small and are covered in existing road networks, infrastructure and settlements. An entry charge in this case would be all but impossible due to the disruption it would cause to daily living. 4. Each of the National Parks has its own unique landscapes, flora and fauna, and are protected by law to preserve and enhance these special characteristics for future generations. Is there anything else a National park should do to ensure that it remains an untouched area of natural beauty for generations to come? The need for careful management to ensure that future generations can enjoy the Parks exactly as they are today. Working towards a sustainable relationship between tourism and environment. May include improved education and extra ranger services / school visits etc. Examples of management practices that can include: Spatial zoning (eg Great Barrier Reef in Australia explain how this works and why it is done zoning based around three primary categories: 1) General use zones (which cover about 80% of the Park and permit most activities provided they are ecologically sustainable. 2) National Park zones allow only activities that do not remove living resources. 3) Preservation zones permit only scientific investigation. 11

12 5. Make a list of the different user groups of the Lake District National Park, from walkers to cyclists. Explain how these might come into conflict with one another, or with the land owners eg farmers. The list will involve a variety of groups and may include: birdwatchers; ramblers; sailors; farmers; local residents; shop keepers; cyclists; hotel owners; rock climbers; land owners; the military ( MOD own large portions of National Trust land); the water companies who own and maintain reservoirs; country estate owners; day trippers. The answers will vary according to the groups chosen eg walkers leaving gates open and letting livestock out will come into conflict with farmers. Fishermen on the lakes will not be happy about speed boats using the lakes for pleasure and so on. 12