CANBERRA, ACT, Aug. 13 -- Murray-Darling Basin Authority issued the following news release:
The Murray-Darling Basin attracts visitors from around the world. This tourism earns around $20 billion each year. The success of this tourism is thanks to the unique and diverse environments in the Basin.
Many people visit the Basin to immerse themselves in its rich history, cultural heritage and natural beauty. Others visit for recreation, including bushwalking, camping, swimming, fishing and birdwatching. However, the connection between the health of our waterways and visitor numbers remains unclear.
Our wetlands are healthy when the water quality is good and plants and animals are thriving. A recent Murray-Darling Water and Environment Research Program project looked at the impacts of wetland health on Basin tourism. This research aimed to predict how changes to water management could benefit the health of wetlands. It then investigated if this could lead to increased tourism expenditure.
Birdwatching was used as an example for this project. Citizen science was used to investigate visitation to 10 Basin wetland birdwatching "hotspots". Citizen science involves members of the public assisting scientists with research.
In this project the researchers used bird sightings uploaded by birdwatchers on the online database eBird. The bird watcher posts details of the birds they saw at given locations. Each post includes an accurate time and place where the photo was taken.
Griffith University researchers reviewed 119,161 bird sighting posts uploaded between 2013 and 2019. The analysis showed that birdwatchers reported a greater number of birds and increased variety of bird species as wetland surface water increased. More water led to conditions that encouraged birds to congregate, feed, breed and raise chicks.
The eBird data reflects increased visitor numbers at these wetlands when more birds were present. This led to a boost in tourism spending in nearby communities.
These findings help us understand the connection between waterway health and tourism in the Basin. Future research could explore other types of tourism across the Basin.
This project also highlights the value of citizen science as an accessible and reliable source of information.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
