Perceptions of stakeholder organisations: Assessing the social impacts of the South East Queensland Horse Riding Trail Network

SEBASTIAN ROSSI; CATHERINE PICKERING; JASON BYRNE

Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts

Lugar: Brisbane; Año: 2013 p. 50

9781922216441

Griffith researchers surveyed a range of recreation and conservation organisations to obtain information about issues potentially affecting stakeholders and about the characteristics of stakeholder organisations. Specifically, the study assessed: (1) the organisations and their functions, (2) organisation perceptions about the role of parks generally, including the relative importance of parks for the organisation and the appropriateness of different recreational activities within parks, (3) the organisations knowledge about the Horse Trail Network, and their level of support and perceptions about the activities permitted on the Horse Trail Network, and (4) organisations perceptions about the management and protection of national parks in South East Queensland. The study used a methodology combining internet searches, lists of contacts provided by the park agencies, and additional names provide by surveyed organisations (snowballing). A total of 107 recreation and conservation organisations were identified, which represent the interests of users undertaking activities authorised on the Horse Trail Network. When contacted, 17 organisations advised they did not use parks in South East Queensland, reducing the sample to 90 organisations, from which 45 completed the survey questionnaire (a 50% response rate). This sample is comprised of 11 conservation-based organisations (including bird watching organisations), 31 recreation-based organisations, and one organisation focused on personal development. These organisations represented: bushwalking (10), mountain biking (8), conservation (9), orienteering (6), horse riding (3), running (3), bird watching (2) and other interests (2). Recreation organisations were selected based on the diversity of authorised recreation activities identified from visitor surveys of the Horse Trail Network. Approximately seventy percent (70%) of organisations (n=31) considered parks very important for their functions. Activities reported to be inappropriate in parks by more than half of these organisations were trail bike riding and four-wheel driving. These activities were also reported as negatively affecting the organisations events in parks. Although some asymmetric conflicts were reported by the organisations, only conservation organisations were not supportive of some non-motorised activities such as mountain bike riding, running and horse riding. The level of knowledge of the organisations about the Horse Trail Network was very high (+83%). Perhaps unsurprisingly, conservation organisations were not supportive of the Horse Trail Network whereas recreation organisations were generally supportive. Further, only conservation-based organisations were non-supportive of some authorised activities in the Horse Trail Network, such as mountain bike riding, running and horse riding.