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Understanding the conflicting values associated with motorized recreation in protected areas

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Abstract

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature World Parks Congress in 2014 reported that the quality of management of protected areas is crucial in halting the loss of the world’s biodiversity and meeting global environmental challenges. However, increasingly high-impact activities, including motorized recreation are occurring in protected areas such as national parks, creating an ongoing clash of values and further compromising protected area management. This paper discusses the values of protected areas in the context of increasingly high-impact motorized usage, the impact of divergent values placed on green spaces such as national parks, and perceptions about these spaces. Given the changing global context of this millennium, and increasing populations requiring space for high-impact activities including motorized recreation, rethinking recreation in protected areas is needed. A protected area classification to accommodate high-impact activities away from vulnerable natural areas may assist in maintaining protected area quality.

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Notes

  1. http://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/about-wrc/what-is-wrc/page/673—672-.html.

  2. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-05/car-rally-abandons-national-park-stage/4112482; http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-18/targa-rally-belair-national-park-iain-evans/4077518.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Arts, Murdoch University, Room EH4:025, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia

    Cheryl Jones

  2. School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Environmental and Conservation Sciences, Murdoch University, Room ES3:044C, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia

    David Newsome

  3. School of Arts, Murdoch University, Room EH3:063, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia

    Jim Macbeth

Authors
  1. Cheryl Jones
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  2. David Newsome
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  3. Jim Macbeth
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Correspondence to Cheryl Jones.

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Jones, C., Newsome, D. & Macbeth, J. Understanding the conflicting values associated with motorized recreation in protected areas. Ambio 45, 323–330 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-015-0721-1

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