Harmony in Nature and Eco-tourism
Rainforest Revelations weblog was established as a means of stimulating interaction through regular “discoveries” of interest and by providing a forum for customers to describe their experiences.
Ian and Vera Evans were recent visitors who agreed to leave a comment on the web.
“If you want to see the oldest rainforest in the world in its completely natural glory then this is the tour to take. I cannot put into words the beauty of the experience, all I can say is that whilst in the centre of this truly wondrous rainforest, time stands still and there is no world outside, only the sounds of the rainforest and the feeling of utter peace that envelopes you. Once again thank you Prue and see you again soon.”
A German filmmaker told me that it would be impossible to capture the essence of our magnificent fan palm galleries on film. He and his wife travel the world looking at rainforests. They said that our fan palm cathedral was the most beautiful forest they had ever seen.
So that’s it in a nutshell - awesome, inspirational, and indescribable. You can see it for yourself and add to our weblog. Maybe it requires the same extraordinary diversity of experiences as the forest itself to paint a picture of its grandeur.
The balance of Nature within a complex rainforest such as the Daintree in Northern Queensland demonstrates that thousands of different species of plants and animals can co-exist in harmony. Eco-tourism is like this, where the separate parts each contribute to a well-balanced whole. Landholders can live in harmony with their environment if they are financially supported by complementary tourism, Not mass tourism. Responsible tourism that pays for the management and protection of the natural values that people come to see. These tourists are small in number, tread lightly on the landscape without leaving impacts and scars, and take away intellectual knowledge and memories that they will treasure for the rest of their lives. They become our ambassadors by transmitting the values to other people and future generations.
Compare this with the “good old days” when primary production allowed an ethos of, “this is my land and I’ll do what I like with it.” Chainsaw massacres and bulldozers flattened our forests and replaced them with crops. Governments still support primary production with tax incentives and refuse to recognize conservation as a primary production. When will governments learn that conservation is the responsibility of the people, by the people and for the people. Yes, a democratic conservation that values the whole landscape and does not divide our country into little boxes labelled “government lands”, aka National Parks or protected land versus the rest. When will our governments cease to support bureaucratic growth and acknowledge the roles of the community and the consumers?
In Northern Queensland, less than 3% of tax-payers funds for National Parks is recovered through the principle of user-pays. There is 100% cost-recovery through “user-pays” on privately-owned rainforest at Cooper Creek Wilderness. In spite of this telling disparity, Queensland Government is continuing to compete with local communities in providing free-of-charge facilities that are subsidised by our taxes. Man-made structures that destroy the very basis of the rainforests, the matting of hair roots that holds the nourishment on the surface, penetrate through the fibrous material and allow the food supply to be lost.