See also Policies and best practices
How can you, as a tourism operator, contribute to Wildlife Conservation?
Have you ever seen a:
- Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
- Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leucura) or a
- Desert Rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris)?
No?
These animals and many others are extinct: gone forever from the Australian landscape
Australia has a unique and wonderful range of wildlife, most of which can found nowhere else in the world. With more and more people making Australia their home, much of the forest and woodland areas have been cleared to make way for farms, townships and urban cities. Unfortunately we have changed the land so much that many types of animals have already disappeared (including 16 species of mammal since Eutopean settlement – one of the hghest rates in the world) or are in danger of soon doing so.
Read on for ideas on how you can assist in the fight against further extinctions.
Global and local wildlife-viewing guidelines, in cooperation with IUCN
In 2023, Dr Ronda Green, chair of Wildlife Tourism Australia, was voted in as chair of the Biodiversity Working Group within the TAPAS (Tourism And Protected Areas) Group, which in turn is within the WCPA (World Commission on Protected Areas), itself a sector of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), based in Switzerland.
One of the Biodiversity Working Group goals for 2024 was to collate minimal-impact wildlife-viewing guidelines from around the world, digest some common elements, allow discussion on controversial or largely-unexplored issues, identify some taxon-specific and region-specific guidelines, and ultimately make this as widely available as possible, in an easily-navigable format, to everyone from large International companies to local guides in remote areas of developing countries.
This is still very much a work-in-progress, currently being hosted on this website: see the current compilation at:
Wildlife-viewing guidelines by the Biodiversity Working Group
Encourage Tourist Participation in Wildlife Conservation
Get involved in wildlife research or monitoring, and involve your visitors in these activities.
Encourage your visitors to participate in wildlife conservation activities on your property such as habitat restoration.
Enter into a conservation agreements such as the Land for Wildlife scheme.
Donate a percentage of your profits to support a wildlife conservation project or encourage visitors to make voluntary donations. Use this in your promotion and let tourists know that part of their money is contributing to wildlife conservation
Let your visitors know about local, regional or national conservation projects and organizations they can donate money to. It is best not to put pressure or make people feel guilty for not doing so – they may well have donated elsewhere or be on a restricted budget – just provide the information and let them decide. Many tourists wish to contribute something towards the wildlife in the areas they visit, the occasional one quite generously.
Provide quality interpretation
Finding, naming and telling some interesting stories about local wildlife really is a great start. If you can also effectively convey information that enhances your visitors’ understanding of the ecological needs of the wildlife, its ecological connections with other species in its habitat, and some of the conservation issues involved, even better! Youmay ind inspiration from our most recent conference, Wild Tails: the value of Story-telling and other quality interpretation in wildlife tourism.
Support Wildlife Conservation Organisations
Youcan find out about organisations that are actively helping wildlife – donate money and support these organisations, and assist with their PR work
Volunteer your time to help with projects and become aware about what is being done and what needs to be done.
Follow the links below to organisations that support wildlife conservation:
- Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF)
- Australian Koala Foundation
- Australian Marine Conservation Society
- Dolphin Research Institute
- Earth Sanctuaries Ltd
- Greenpeace
- Humane Society International
- International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
- International Union for Conservation of Nature)
- ORRCA Inc
- Pacific Whale Foundation
- Queensland Frog Society
- Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)
- The Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia
- Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland
- World Conservation Union (IUCN)
- Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF)
Various natural history and wildlife caraers groups around Australia
Join Wildlife Tourism Australia!
Contribute in Your Everyday Life
YOU can also do things in your own backyard and in your everyday life that can help save wildlife, as we are recommending for tourists and the general public. See our Tips to Save Wildlife page.