Geopark And Sustainability: A Case Study Of Kaikoura

1. Apply sophisticated planning theory and critically analyse the findings and discussions in the planning literature (MPlan)
2. Engage in rigorous intellectual and professional planning analysis, criticism and problem-solving (MPlan)
3. Critically analyse planning issues and practice at scales ranging from local to global (MPlan)
4. Describe, explain and apply non-statutory planning processes and structures (MPlan)
5. Explain the relevance of environmental policy and planning theory covering nature and purpose of planning, history, current debates (BEPPHons)
6. Apply environmental policy and planning theory and methods at different (global to local) spatial, governance and temporal scales. (BEPPHons)
7. Describe the advantages of multiple disciplines of strategic significance to environmental policy and planning. (BEPPHons)
8. Outline the advantages and disadvantages of single, multi-disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary approaches to the formulation and resolution of environmental policy and planning issues. (BEPPHons)
9. Locate, evaluate and use information from a range of sources (information literacy) (Both)
10. Think critically to solve problem and synthesise a wide range of knowledge (MPlan)
11. Acquire, evaluate and synthesize a wide range of knowledge. (BEPPHons)
12. Demonstrate familiarity with and sensitivity to gender, cultural, ethnicity and equity issues and perspectives. In particular, graduates will have an understanding of Maori and Pakeha perspectives and their implications for planning (MPlan)

What is Geopark?

This proposal mainly reflects about the main attributes and the importance of the geopark.  There  is  a detail  explanation about the Kaikoura  geopark.  Its  method  of  sustainability  and   the  important  features  which  makes  the  geopark complete (Qin, 2016). There are  some  legal initiation  taken  by  the  people  of  kaikoura to  have  a enrich geopark.  There are so suggestions given to the director of the conservation department.   There  is  also  matrix and  graphs  which  identifies  the policies and recommendations  more  prominently. There is thorough legal structure, which suggests the National Park Act and other acts. Kaikoura is such a place where geopark is   enhanced by the rich marine life, landscapes and has   historical significance.

A geopark is considered as the territory  or a place which is inclusive of a particular geographical heritage, a sustainable territorial development  policies   It must  also contain geological sites of  specific  significance of their  scientific  quality, rarity, aesthetic value or educational value (Dowling , 2015). Geopark enhance the economy of the country through enhancement of a general image, which is linked to the geological heritage of the country (Abraham et al., 2014). The Geological heritage of the Kaikoura community includes archaeological, historical which brings cultural pride of the territory.   Geopark is also concerned with the process for the sustaining of the geological heritage.   It  can be  considered  that  according to the  Unesco  global geoparks are single unified  geographical areas where  the  territory and the landscapes  of the  geological sites   are supervised  and  managed by protection, sustainable development  and education.   A Unesco  connects its  geological  heritage  with  the place’s  natural and cultural  heritage.   It  enables  everyone  to understand and  become aware of   the  prime  issues  faced  by the  society.   The prime  issues  includes sustainability  of ecological  balance  and  reduction  of the  risks of  the natural disaster.  Unesco   tries to link the geological heritage with the common people.  This awareness  helps  the  local people  to be  proud of their  territory  and they become  more conscious of their  own  self identity (Komac,  Oberhaensli & Mc Keever, 2016).  The construction of innovative local enterprises, new jobs and high quality training courses is stimulated as new sources of revenue are generated through the occupation of geotourism if the geological resources of the area are protected.  This can be linked to the Kaikoura geotourism. Kaikoura is a town in New Zealand, which has its own enriched history, and it is also famous for its archaeological remains. Archaeological remains indicate that Moa hunters resided the peninsula 900 years ago.    The  Kaikoura  peninsula extends into the  of the  Kaikoura town and  the  upwelling currents of the peninsula bring an abundance of  marine life  from the depths of the Hikurangi Trench . It can be considered that remaining of the Maori and European settlement of the area and Kaikoura's whaling history   are one of the major attraction today because  these can be found in  the Kaikoura Museum and the historic Fyffe House. The Whales also share part of this ocean with dusky dolphins, fur seals, and albatross amongst other.  Migrating species for example the rare hector’s dolphin, humpback whales and orca visit  every  year.  So it can be considered  that  the  Kaikoura  is both  enriched  with  a rich  ecological  life and also it has  historical  and  cultural heritage.

Establishing Protection of the Geopark

It can be analyzed  that Kaikoura  is  the  first community in New Zealand  and second in the world to achieve Benchmark status in 2002 and  certification  status in 2004   with  the  help of  the Earth check   program.  Hence,  it can be said that the Earth check is  the  world’s  tourism certification  standard ,  basically  it is the  criterion under  which  all  the  environment  steps  has  taken place. EarthCheck   delivers an infrastructure into which they can be appropriate that identifies that Kaikoura's community cares about its environment and is taking steps to protect it.  Kaikoura has reached   this position   by following certain steps  to  reach this criterion .  The first  is the  policy  of  zero waste .  It is   about the agenda to reduce  waste  in the town.  In order  to  proceed  this step the  rubbish  collection was  restricted   and  the  methods  of  recycling   was adopted.   These  methods were  food waste collections, public place  recycling  and also  searching  markets  for  the reused  goods.  Another thing is energy efficiency initiatives.   Energy has been prevented from the waste  in the community.  This has enabled the small businesspersons to attain greater energy efficiency ( Farsani et al., 2014).  Another important step is the Kaikoura district council has adopted certain initiatives like a action plan to curtail the carbon emissions.  There are certain initiatives like street lightning, solar street light traits, adopting the strategy of district walking and cycling strategy which helps for climate protection.    The strategy of trees for travelers is also very helpful for the Kaikoura town.  Once a study has been found that, there is a need for 2 million trees to reduce the green house carbon emission (Suggate, 2016) . At that time the trees for travelers project was founded.  The  native  trees were  planted , then it is  sold to tourist and   it was  planted  locally (Han et al., 2017).  These procedures help the environment to be purified and health  so that the people can live there. There is a group named Lyell Creek Stream Care Group  which  is  working  with the landowners along with the  Kaikoura’s inland waterways so that  it can safeguard and  uplift the  waterways  with the  help of the planting, fencing and  bridging  and  consequently  it  enabled  to increase  the biodiversity of the   waterways  and the  biodiversity (Pianosi & Wagener, 2017). There is another group of people called Te Korowai o Te Tai o Marokura   that   mainly looks after and protects the marine life.   This group is form of the recreational and commercial fishers.  These members are interested in fishing  and they also have  the  responsibility  of   looking  after  the  environmental  problems  and they  also take advice  and suggestions  from the government (Mun et al., 2014) .   Both of them have developed a coastal management strategy to maintain the biodiversity of the marine life.   The biodiversity project allows the extension of the indigenous biodiversity by following certain initiatives. The  first one  is the  relief  policy and  there  is also a policy  for the  people which  ensures  their  right  over their  land.  Another policy is the appointment of a Biodiversity officer   who works with private landowners and suggests them number of ways in which they canmanage and protect significant areas of indigenous biodiversity on their land and gradually increase the district’s biodiversity.   It can be said that the plastic pollution is    one of the important criterion for the pollution in a place.  Hence, it can be said that in Kaikoura there is prohibition of using plastic bags (Mendes, Hoeberechts and Albu, 2015) . Kaikoura use a recycled shopping bag for buying things.   It also enables to reduce waste   and helps to protect the unique marine mammals from  the wastage.

Geopark attracts Tourist attraction

In this proposal, it is found that the Kaikoura is mentioned as the geopark.  Kaikoura  is  successful  in maintaining  its  ecological balance both  in  terms  of  marine  life  and  overall  sustainability of the environment.  Moreover, the biodiversity of this place also includes the rights of the indigenous people.   Kaikoura has enriched history and archaeological remains.  It has traditional arts, crafts and jwellery and historical buildings, which provides   resources to the geopark of the Kaikoura.  Another important factor is that it has a rich marine life consist of   whales, which is the main attraction of the territory.  Moreover it has other   other marine lives   which also substantiates the economy of the people of the  Kaikoura  because  many people  of  Kaikoura  is also involved in the fishing  industry.  Kaikoura attracts a huge number of tourists.  There  are  local  tour  operators  who gives the option to watch dolphins, whales, and  many  other  species  on a  routine basis. In the air, visitors can view the Kaikoura Mountains from above, and fly over the rocky peninsula and seaside township (Wearing et al. 2014) . Scuba diving is another thing done by the tourists in the undersea world for some of the best reef diving in the country.

Geopark is  not  at all a  problem,  it  is  one of the process of the sustainable development  of the  environment  (Pagliarulo, 2015). It is  true  that  at present  geopark  is  not  only  confined to the  development of the proper  ecosystem and the  protection  of the marine  lives  but  it has  extended  its  approach  to prohibition  of  the  use of the waste energy, plastics,  sustaining  the rights  of the indigenous  people. This include various steps, strategies and initiatives to fulfill the criterion of the geopark (Hidalg , & Thiel, 2015) . So, definitely it is not easy  to  achieve  these goals  there  must  be  need  of  patience  and potential   to develop a proper geopark.  Finally, it cannot be considered as problems to build a geopark.

Geoparks are areas that provide protection to geological heritage and promote the sustainable economic development of the people living in the parks. There are geoparks which are international importance and their wellbeing have impact on the world environment. The following are the importance of the geoparks:

A geopark exists around an area which has geological and natural heritage like mineral deposits and a rich collection of fauna and flora. The geoparks promote the natural heritage of the area to attract companies to carry out sustainable operations which creates employment for the people dependent on the park. They hold records on environmental records like past history of earthquake and past climate change. The people and the companies who wish to exploit the resources of the area can use the knowledge to plan their activities.  For example, Kaikoura experienced earthquake of 7.8 magnitudes which caused movement in the tectonic plates. The geoparks maintain data regarding these occurrences and help the firm investing in the area form proper strategies (Cook, 2017).

The geoparks informs the interested firms about the natural resources and promote their sustainable economic exploitation. Kaikaoura is rich in natural resources like marine animals and attracts firms involved in fishing and whaling. The Kaukoura local authorities and the geoparks promote sustainable exploitation of these natural resources to prevent degeneration of the natural surroundings. They educate the local people and the foreigners about the importance to conserve natural habitats and use natural resources sustainably (kaikoura.co.nz, 2017). Thus, they help the international and national organizations like the United Nations to spread awareness about natural environment among the local people and the firms.

The district of Kaikoura is rich in natural resources like a huge cattle population, teeming varieties of wildlife and mineral resources. The area has minerals like magnetite and commercially important rocks like quartz. The firms from the mining companies should be allowed to carrying out mining in Kaikoura district which will provide employment to the local population (Hill, 2017).

Figure 1. Figure showing New Zealand's trade of goods

(Source:stats.govt.nz, 2017)

The figure above shows New Zealand’s export in trade which is dominated by the mining by the mining industry. Hence, development of mining activities will allow commercial exploitation of resources of the Kaikoura National park. This will promote employment for the people in the area which will encourage economic development. However, it is proposed that the minerals should be exploited in an environment friendly way to prevent depletion of the mineral resources and pollution due to mining.

The matrix above shows two axes, the X axis shows the income and the Y axis shows sustainability. The graph shows that with development of the sustainable mining industry in the region of Kaikoura will lead to economic development. The taxes collected from the mining companies would increase the income of the local government. They will be able to provide more facilities to the residents of the area.

The region of Kaikoura has a rich population of cattle like sheep, cows and horses. The government with the money earned from the taxes from the big mining companies can set up cooperatives for the farmers. This will encourage dairy industry development in the area which will once help in economic development and employment generation. Thus, development of mining can set a chain of development activities and rural economic development. The dairy farms will produce high quality milk and other organic products to the industries like chocolate and cosmetic.

The state of Kaikoura has beautiful beaches that meet the mountain which provide a beautiful view. The chart below shows the increase in the number of tourist visits in New Zealand. The district of Kaikoura can be used to develop eco tourism which will generate income for the government.

Figure 2. New Zealand tourist arrival graph

(Source: Tradingeconomics.com, 2017)

Langoya and Long (2016) in their work state that eco tourism can help in bringing about rural development which aims to provide better standard of living for the local. The local government can collaborate with the local tourist companies to develop the area as a tourist destination. Chirozva (2015) in his work cites example how eco tourism development in an area encourages entrepreneurial ventures. This justifies that development and flourishing of the eco tourism in Kaikoura will encourage entrepreneurial ventures. It wills catalyze economic development in the area which will increase the revenue generation of the government bodies in New Zealand. The fund raised can be used to promote maintenance work around the beaches which will attract more marine animals. This will in turn make the holidays of the tourists more enjoyable and help in gaining a loyal tourists.

The matrix shows two axes, the X axis shows the income and the Y axis shows growth of eco tourism. The graph shows that growth of eco tourism in the area will lead to attraction of more tourists by the region. Visits of tourists will attract tourist companies in the area. The area can also attract hotels and restaurant chains in the area which will employ the local people. The local government can generate more income from the restaurant chains and hotels. The government can use the revenue to better the infrastructure of the area like roads and bridges. The government bodies can improve the sea beaches which would attract more marine animals. The government can also spend money to develop the local varieties of the animals and birds. Thus, development of eco tourism policy as indicated in the matrix can result in the all round development of the region of Kaikoura. This can encourage sustenance and co.nservation of the wild life, bird life and marine of the region. This can increase in inflow of tourists from all round the world.

Vasile, Surugiu and Login (2016) in work state that local business can contribute towards preservation of cultural heritage. For example, development of eco tourism will attract a large number of tourists. This will increase the revenue earned by the government from them that can used in further development of tourism. The local government body can use the money to maintain the local heritage sites like churches and monasteries. These renovated churches can be promoted to attract more tourists. The amount of money generated can be used to maintain the sea beaches and the forests. Structures like watch towers can also be constructed to make watching birds and animals more enjoyable. Thus, it will set a circle of benefits and encourage economic development in the area (Er & Simon, 2015).

National Parks Act 1980 mandate maintenance of the natural parks in natural state and approval entry of the public. The act oversees the maintenance of national parks and reserves within New Zealand. The act requires the public to maintain the quality of soil, water and forest conservation. The act mandates the visitors to take care of the native plants and animals and not make any attempt to disturb or distract them. The act also has provisions of introduction of biological  control organisms in the national parks to control pests or wild animals. Introduction of organisms will require proper advice from a practitioner or expert with experience in the activities (legislation.govt.nz, 2017).

The EPA advices the ministers on the environment related matters or regarding an environment act. The act functions according to the powers delegated to it  by the constitution. The act also has provisions of delegation of power to the only with the consent of the concerned minister.

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 deals with eight matters. They are world heritage properties, national heritage sites, marshlands listed under the Ramsar Conservation, migratory species of birds and animals, Commonwealth marine areas, the Great Barrier Reefs and nuclear actions. The act requires the companies seeking to start commercial ventures to get approval of the Australian government. The act aims to provide protection to natural environment and promote sustainable economic development (environment.gov.au, 2017).

The international geoparks are under the control of UNESCO, the environment protection of the United Nations. The body works to spread awareness about the importance of the geparks and natural regions. The organization works towards educating people about importance of maintenance of natural heritage and their impact on the human beings (unesco.org, 2017).

Conclusion:

The study shows that development of geopark in Kaikoura will bring about an array of developments in the region. The region is rich in minerals which can be exploited sustainably and economically to generate income. Development of eco tourism will lead to development of the economic conditions of the place and its people. It can also be used to promote sustainability.

References:

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