Home

Effects of whale-based tourism in Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga: Behavioural responses of humpback whales to vessel and swimming tourism activities

Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga, is a well-established whale-watching destination in the South Pacific. Between July and October, the waters around the archipelago represent one of the most important breeding grounds for Oceania humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). The Tongan government allows tourist swimming activities with whales and tour operators strongly promote the practice of swimming-with-whales, focusing primarily on mother-calf pairs.

Great barrier Reef, Australia. Credit - Getty Images
What happens next? The impact of coronavirus on Australia’s endangered coral reefs
sprep-pa

In 2018, following two years of unprecedented mass coral-bleaching across Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, I travelled to Queensland to talk to experts about how tourism is both helping and hindering conservation efforts there and what we can all do to help preserve the world’s largest coral reef

Fiji: Destroying Paradise
Fiji: Destroying Paradise
sprep-pa

Fiji is sold to tourists as the land of white sandy beaches and clear blue waters but a new resort development is threatening the Pacific nation's idyllic image. A Chinese-owned company is building a casino hotel on Malolo Island, near a world-famous surf break.

Contributions of tourism-based Marine Conservation Agreements to natural resource management in Fiji

The marine environment is vital for Fiji's tourism sector, yet industry and community partnerships to conserve it have largely gone unrecognised. A study from March to October 2017 documented the extent and scale to which ‘Marine Conservation Agreements’ (MCAs) between tourism operators and indigenous, resource owning communities are used in Fiji, and their contribution to biodiversity conservation and fisheries management.