Challenges And Sustainable Solutions For Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Essay.

Discuss about the THT2114 Sustainable Operations and Destinations.

Challenges faced by the park

The “Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park” located in the Northern Territory of Australia is a protected area and in the recent times has emerged as one of the major tourist attractions which the nation of Australia offers to the tourists (Parksaustralia.gov.au 2018). Furthermore, the tourist destination is a part of the World Heritage property because of the natural beauty as well as the cultural heritage that the park boasts of (Parksaustralia.gov.au 2018). In addition to this, the park under discussion here is jointly owned by the “traditional owners, (the Anangu1 people) and Parks Australia” and both of them share responsibility for the effective management as well as the growth of the concerned destination.

The joint ownership of the park by the indigenous people as well as the governmental authorities of the nation has contributed in a substantial manner towards the growth of the park in the recent times (Smith 2015). However, at the same time, it needs to be said that this poses various kinds of challenges for the park as well not only in terms of operations, resources and brand image as well (Butler and Ivanovic 2015). For example, the case study explicitly states that the process of joint management used for the management of the park brings together the scientific as well as the cultural aspects of the nation and this in-turn sometimes leads to conflicts of interest since it is not always that the two entities agree on the same terms. Furthermore, the indigenous people hold the land to be a sacred place whereas it is just seen as a commercial property by the other owner (Timothy and Boyd 2014). This conflict of interest is clearly manifested in the operations management of the park and also the staffing of the park as well. The case study states that “Park staff receive instruction in aspects of social behavior that affect Anangu work practices”. In addition to these, the Anangu people are very dissatisfied regarding the commercialization of the park and are against the photography and other kinds of acts of the visitors (Sharpley and Telfer 2014). These in short are some of the challenges that the park is facing at the current regarding the operations management of the park.

As already mentioned that the Anangu people consider the park to a very sacred land and thus they do not concur with the Park Australia regarding the manner in which the natural resources of the park are being used for the purpose of commerce. There is a conflict on the topic of which places the visitors should be permitted to roam around and which places they should not. For example, the Anangu people are very specific about the kind of knowledge that is being imparted to the people and thus they feel skeptical about providing the information about their sacred land to the wrong people. These in short are some of the major challenges that the park is facing currently for the utilization of its resources because of the policy of joint management that it is following at the current moment.

Impact on Brand Image

The disputes, which the Anangu people and the Park Australia are having at the current moment is adversely affecting the brand image of the park. The park has a reputation which was built on the basis of the cultural heritage as well as the scientific development of the nation. However, the disagreements that the two owners of the park have regarding the operations management and also the utilization of the resources of the park is causing a significant amount of inconvenience to the tourists and this in turn can affect the brand image of the park in a substantial manner (Wachowiak 2016).

The “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (or Global Goals for Sustainable Development)” can be seen as a collection of 17 goals or objectives which was given by the United Nations as part of their “Resolution 70/1” (United Nations Sustainable Development 2018). The basic idea behind the articulation or the formulation of these goals or objectives was to reduce the hunger, poverty and other kinds of evils of the world and thereby make the world a better place for the human beings who dwell it (United Nations Sustainable Development 2018). Furthermore, it is seen that the effective pursuit or the integration of these goals or objectives has become an important aspect for the various organizations as well as industries, including the tourism industry (United Nations Sustainable Development 2018).

In the case study of the “Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park” under discussion here the major sustainable development goal of the United Nations which becomes apparent is the “Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities” (United Nations Sustainable Development 2018). This goal of the UN is related to the creation of communities as well as cities which are sustainable and at the same time contribute in a substantial manner towards the planet or the society (Veal 2017). However, in the case study it is seen that the use of the sacred land of the Anangu people as a tourist destination is affecting the community of these people. It is seen that, through the use of the system of joint ownership as well as management, the national government of the concerned nation has been able to reduce the friction and also the disputes between the two yet the problem still remains. In addition to this, the “Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure” requires the national governments of the various nations of the world to undertake the kind of infrastructural developments and also to take the help of the kind of innovations which would help them to help the industries of the nation to grow in a substantial manner (United Nations Sustainable Development 2018). Following the precepts of this particular sustainable goal, the national government of the nation sought to develop the sacred land of the Anangu people by converting it into a tourist destination and thereby offer them an alternate source of livelihood (Ruhanen, Whitford and McLennan 2015). However, by doing this the government failed to take into effective consideration the cultural aspect of the Anangu people.

Sustainable Development Goals and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

The issue can be resolved in an effective by not only respecting the cultural traditions but also the views or the beliefs that the Anangu people hold regarding the tourist destination under discussion here. In addition to this, for the resolution of the disputes regarding the nature of operation management, the utilization of resources and other aspects of the park the key stakeholders can conduct a conference meeting wherein through the effective usage of the process of negotiation they can reach a consensus which will in-turn serve as the ground rule for the course of action that the two owners need to follow for the effective management of the park (Graham, Ashworth and Tunbridge 2016). This is likely to help the owners to maintain a healthy relationship between profit, people and the planet. It will not only clear the disputes between the owners but at the same time would help the concerned park to not only become profitable and a sustainable tourist destination as well.

The primary reason for the unprecedented success gained by the “Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park” in the recent times is because of the effective integration of the cultural as well as the scientific aspects of the nation. However, in the recent times, it is seen that the two joint owners of the park have encountered various kinds of disputes because of their differences of opinion regarding the manner in which the park should be used. On the one hand, there are the Anangu people who are trying the hold on the cultural traditions of their land and also the sacred nature of the park (Welford 2016). On the other hand, there is the Park Australia, which is trying to commercialize the park so as to make the maximum amount of profit from it (Welford 2016). A pertinent example of this particular conflict is being manifested in the “sorry rocks” which the tourists who visit the park often send back to the park as souvenirs.

I am of the viewpoint that the protests of the Anangu people regarding the commercialization of their sacred land. The Park Australia, thus, needs to take into effective consideration the cultural aspect of the Anangu people and design the operations and also the resources of the park according to this. I personally believe that the sorry rocks which are being sent back to the park by the tourists are a violation of the religious connotations that the Anangu people attach to their land. Furthermore, had I been a member of the management committee of the concerned park I would have taken several actions which would have helped in a substantial to not only resolve the issue of the sorry rocks but also the disputes that there between the two owners of the park. Firstly, I would impose a penalty on the tourists who indulge in such kind of actions. This is likely to deter the tourists in indulging in such kind of actions. At the same time, I would like to make the tourists aware regarding the sacredness of the location and also its importance and the need to preserve its integrity. Having an idea regarding the kind of park in which they are entering into would deter the tourists from indulging in such kind of actions. In addition to these, I would also like to place surveillance as well as cameras within the premises of the park to ensure the fact that the tourists are not indulging into such kinds of actions which are actually a violation of the sacred nature of the park. These in short are some of the actions which I would like to take to ensure that the tourists are not indulging into such kind of unethical practices.

Resolving the challenges

I personally believe that the concept of sustainable management has emerged as one of the most important ones within the modern day world. This is not only important from the perspective of the tourism industry but also from the perspective of the other industries of the world as well.

During the course of the semester, I found out the concept of sustainable management refers to the practice of the various organizations wherein they integrate the concept of sustainability within the management style or the framework that the followed within their organization. This is important from the context of the modern day business world since it is no longer enough for the various business enterprises as well as the industries of the world to make an enhanced amount of profit of revenue rather it is also important for them to ensure the sustainability of their organization (Tukker et al. 2017).

I believe that this is likely to help the organizations to ensure the fact that they are being able to continue their business in the future times as well. It is seen that for the process of gaining sustainability the diverse organizations take the help of different kinds of strategies like corporate social responsibility, providing innovative kinds of products and services to the customers and others (Bringezu and Bleischwitz 2017).

Responsible consumption is another concept which has gained a substantial amount of significance within the framework of the modern day world. The ever increasing population of the world and the limited amount of natural as well as other kinds of resources that the planet holds has contributed in a significant manner towards the emergence of the concept of responsible consumption (Laszlo and Cescau 2017).

I personally believe that the fast rate of consumption of the various natural resources and others by the human beings is likely to create a void wherein the future generations would not have access to better kind of resources. This is likely to affect the prospects of the future generations in a significant manner. Thus, I believe that the consumption of the resources in an ethical manner and also having a consideration for the resources that would be available to the future is likely to help the planet in a significant manner.

This would not only help the human beings to overcome the problem of the limited nature of the resources of the planet but at the same time would help them to ensure that fact that the future generation of human beings have the access to the same kind of resources as well as opportunities that the present generation has currently (Laszlo and Cescau 2017).

References

Bringezu, S. and Bleischwitz, R., 2017. Sustainable resource management: global trends, visions and policies. Routledge.

Butler, G. and Ivanovic, M., 2015. Cultural heritage tourism development in post-apartheid South Africa: Critical issues and challenges. Cultural Tourism in Southern Africa, 47, p.58.

Graham, B., Ashworth, G. and Tunbridge, J., 2016. A geography of heritage: Power, culture and economy. Routledge.

Laszlo, C. and Cescau, P., 2017. Sustainable value: How the world's leading companies are doing well by doing good. Routledge.

Parksaustralia.gov.au. 2018. Parksaustralia.gov.au. [online] Available at: https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/ [Accessed 7 Oct. 2018].

Ruhanen, L., Whitford, M. and McLennan, C.L., 2015. Indigenous tourism in Australia: Time for a reality check. Tourism Management, 48, pp.73-83.

Sharpley, R. and Telfer, D.J. eds., 2014. Tourism and development: concepts and issues (Vol. 63). Channel View Publications.

Smith, M.K., 2015. Issues in cultural tourism studies. Routledge.

Timothy, D.J. and Boyd, S.W., 2014. Tourism and trails: Cultural, ecological and management issues (Vol. 64). Channel View Publications.

Tukker, A., Charter, M., Vezzoli, C., Stø, E. and Andersen, M.M. eds., 2017. System innovation for sustainability 1: Perspectives on radical changes to sustainable consumption and production. Routledge.

United Nations Sustainable Development. 2018. About the Sustainable Development Goals - United Nations Sustainable Development. [online] Available at: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ [Accessed 7 Oct. 2018].

Veal, A.J., 2017. Research methods for leisure and tourism. Pearson UK.

Wachowiak, H. ed., 2016. Tourism and borders: contemporary issues, policies and international research. Routledge.

Welford, R., 2016. Corporate environmental management 1: systems and strategies. Routledge.

Welford, R., 2016. Corporate environmental management 3: Towards sustainable development. Routledge.