Ecologically Sustainable Development in the Australian Alps

Abstract

Considerable development has taken place in the Australian Alps, particularly over the last 10-15 years, to provide accommodation and recreational facilities for an increasing number of visitors to the mountains. This development has not been without some impacts on the natural environment but to date these have not been quantified in the context of ecologically sustainable development. Ecotourism in the high mountain environments is also being actively promoted and this will increase the demand for accommoda- tion and infrastructure, which may lead to further impacts in the very sensitive and significant Alps catchments. Several examples of environmental impacts are discussed and a catchment approach to determining ecologically sustainable development is presented. This model provides a mechanism to quantify the carrying capacities of the ecosystems and the levels of acceptable impacts which proposed developments and recreational use may impose on the ecosystems of alpine catchments.