This document summarizes a study that examined how urban development affects residents' environmental values and connection to nature in the Wet Tropics region of Far North Queensland, Australia. The study surveyed over 350 residents from various towns to understand how their proximity to protected natural areas impacted their views. The results found that residents living closer to urban centers valued the protected natural areas more than those living closer to the areas. Those closer to the natural areas visited them more frequently and felt a stronger connection to nature. The study aims to help reduce the gap between people and nature by understanding how urbanization influences environmental perspectives.

1.
Urban Development and its Effects on the Environmental
Values of Residents of the Wet Tropics
Frank J. Sicignano
Siena College
Loudonville, New York
United States
The School for Field Studies
Centre for Rainforest Studies,
Yungaburra, Queensland
Australia
Wet Semester 2015
Research Advisor: Dr. Justus Kithiia
Research Assistant: Carina Easley-Appleyard
K e y W o r d s : W o r l d H e r i t a g e A r e a , W e t T r o p i c s , U r b a n
D e v e l o p m e n t , C o n n e c t i o n w i t h N a t u r e , P r o t e c t e d N a t u r a l
A r e a s
!

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Table of Contents
Title.....................................................................................................................................1
Keywords.............................................................................................................................1
List of Figures and Appendices...........................................................................................3
List of Abbreviations...........................................................................................................3
Declaration...........................................................................................................................3
Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................4
Abstract................................................................................................................................4
Introduction..........................................................................................................................5
Methodology........................................................................................................................7
Study Design................................................................................................................7
Participants...................................................................................................................9
Analytical Techniques...............................................................................................10
Ethical Considerations...............................................................................................10
Results................................................................................................................................10
Discussion..........................................................................................................................15
Lack of Infrastructure...............................................................................................16
Connection with Nature............................................................................................18
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................20
Limitations................................................................................................................20
Future Applications..................................................................................................21
Appendix............................................................................................................................22

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References..........................................................................................................................26
Figures and Appendices
Figure 1: Interview Sites......................................................................................................9
Figure 2: Values Associated with Protected Natural Areas in Wet Tropics......................11
Figure 3: Importance of Having a Sense of Connection with Nature................................12
Figure 4: Frequencies of Visits to Natural Protected Areas..............................................13
Figure 5: Positive Values Associated with Natural Protected areas between towns.........14
Figure 6: Importance of having a sense of connection with nature plotted with distance.14
Figure 7: Frequency of Visits to Natural Protected Areas plotted with average distance.15
Appendix A: Survey Regarding Peoples Values of the Rainforest...................................22
Appendix B: Personal Consent Forms...............................................................................24
Appendix C: Towns Average Distance from Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.............25
Appendix D: Population of Towns Visited........................................................................25
Abbreviations:
WTWHA: Wet Tropics World Heritage Area
WTMA: Wet Tropics Management Authority
FNQ: Far North Queensland
Declaration
The research embodied in this report is my own work. Where the ideas of other people
have been used, the sources have been duly acknowledged. No portion of the research
reported has been submitted for assessment/grading at the School for Field Studies or my
home institution, Siena College.
X

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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr. Justus Kithiia for his help with planning and setting up
the interviews for this project. I would also like to thank our Socio-Econ Intern Carina
Easley-Appleyard for ensuring that we had proper accommodation in all of the towns as
well as her help with many other aspects of this project. A special thanks to my fellow
researchers: Alex Cohen, Olivia Coleman, Leena Glinski and Ryan O’Keefe for their
help in creating the survey, and making note of any interesting comments that might help
with this project. Finally, a special thanks to all of the participants of the surveys and
interviews for their time and cooperation.
Abstract
The Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (WTWHA), located in Far North
Queensland is a unique area where large centers of biodiversity and urban settlements
meet. It has been previously thought that people in urban areas did not have as great a
sense of connection with nature as those people living closer to protected wilderness
areas. However with the presence of both urban centers and protected natural areas in a
small geographic area residents of the region should feel more connected with nature
since they have greater access to these protected areas. Information regarding people’s
values of the rainforest was collected using a cross-sectional survey to interview over 350
residents from various towns and municipalities in the region. The study found that
residents who lived closer to these natural protected areas did not value them as much as

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residents who lived further away from the WTWHA and closer to Urban Centers.
Residents who lived closer to the WHA visited these protected areas more and had a
greater sense of connection with nature. By determining the impact urban development
has on people’s environmental values and their sense of connection with nature, we can
find new ways to reduce the gap between people and nature. By getting people more
involved and educated we can hope to solve many of the environmental issues we face
today.
Introduction
Urbanization is the process of people moving from rural to urban areas, and the
change in lifestyle that results from leaving the rural countryside (Brunn, Hays-Mitchell,
& Zeigler, 2008). An area and a population do not become urban until its workforce and
economy are no longer strictly tied to agricultural practices (Brunn, Hays-Mitchell, &
Zeigler, 2008). As area and population become increasingly more urban the values people
place on various aspects of life also begin to change. In many large urban centers people
often fell a disconnect with nature or feel that having a sense of connection with nature is
not that important since many view the urban environment and the natural environment
as two completely separate entities (Benton-Short & Short, 2008). But is this case true in
areas where the urban environment and natural areas are within close proximity to each
other?
In Australia more than 90 percent of the population lives along the coast in large
urbanized areas (Benton-Short & Short, 2008). The reason for this is due to the
geographic landscape of the continent. Most of the inner continent is composed of large

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deserts where both people and animals struggle to survive. As a result most of Australia’s
population and wildlife can be found within the coastal areas of the continent (Burnley,
1980). With such high, levels of biodiversity and population density concentrated around
the coast people might begin to feel more attached to their surrounding landscapes. Ones
proximity to nature might also increase how much one feels that they have a sense of
place within nature. If people are within close proximity to natural protected areas then it
would make sense that they would value those areas more because they would have
greater access to these areas (Kahn, 2007).
In Far North Queensland the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (WTWHA)
protects the Rainforests of the wet tropics, one of the largest biodiversity centers in all of
Australia (Wet Tropics Management Authority, 2012). The area is also home to many
touristy cities such as Cairns, Port Douglas as well as many residential areas such as the
Atherton Tablelands. Therefore, this setting includes various levels of urban development
from large cities to very remote backwater villages such as Cape Tribulation, and the
Daintree, all of which are surrounded by large tracts of protected natural areas. Many
people see these protected areas as both a blessing and a curse. Some feel that these
protected areas will draw in more tourists to the region and help bolster the economy.
Others feel that these areas are more detrimental to the environment as well as limit the
amount of development allowed in the region, which only hurts both local residents and
the economy as a whole (Baur, Tynon, Ries, & Rosenberger, 2014).
Many environmentalists feel that the key to solving the world’s environmental
problems is to eliminate the disconnect between people and nature (Davison, 2008). As
the world’s population becomes increasingly urban, and as a result becoming even more

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disconnected with nature, we must begin to find new ways to reduce this gap (Benton-
Short & Short, 2008). However we must first determine the effects that urban
development has on people’s environmental values. The aim of this study is to examine
residents’ proximity to protected natural areas and urban centers in relation to their
environmental values and sense of place. It was predicted that as residents’ proximity to
the WTWHA increases and distance to urban centers decreases, their connection to
nature decreases. By determining the present effects that urban development has on how
people connect with nature we can begin to develop new ways to mitigate this gap and
influence greater action for environmental issues.
Methodology
Study Design
This study focused on the effects that increased urbanization levels might have on
people’s sense of place within nature and their connection to nature within the Wet
Tropics region. In order to gain a better understanding of peoples overall perceptions of
the rainforest and the values that they attribute to it a short cross sectional survey was
used for in-person interviews. This survey asked people to rate the importance of various
ecological, economic and social factors within the Wet Tropics. The survey was
composed of several closed and open-ended questions, in order to acquire both
quantitative and qualitative responses, which will be used to generalize the general
populations value of the rainforest (Appendix A). This survey also measured the public’s
opinions on various uses of the rainforest and how those uses affect various aspects of
life within the region. Finally the survey measured peoples experience and knowledge

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with environmental and conservation issues. The survey allowed us to collect information
on the same characteristics or variables about each respondent or case and then compare
the respondents based on their answers to certain questions. We can then generalize the
results to gain a general overview of these variables for entire populations (Miller &
Brewer, 2003).
We chose to conduct personal interviews with residents of several towns within
the WTWHA for multiple reasons. First personal interviews have the effect of physically
increasing overall rate of participation and reduce the number of individual questions that
are left unanswered. The presence of interviewer can also allow for the inclusion of more
complex questions to be included in the questionnaire design (Miller & Brewer, 2003).
Personal Interviews allow for greater flexibility in questioning process and also gives the
interviewer greater control over the respondent. This ensures that the respondent will
answer questions in the appropriate sequence. Finally by using personal interviews to
conduct the survey we can collect supplementary information about the respondent either
through additional comments they make throughout the interview or through spontaneous
reactions that the respondent might have when asked a particular question. These
spontaneous reactions can also prove to be useful in the data analysis state (Frankfort-
Nachmias & Nachmias, 2007).
The data was then collected and compiled and broken down to become stratified
purposeful data. Stratified purposeful data breaks up the study population into strata that
have some theoretical importance to the study objectives. These strata are typically based
on illustrative characteristics of particular subgroups of interest. This stratified data is

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often used to facilitate comparisons between the different subgroups and to find any
significant trends between the subgroups (Guest, Mitchell, & Namey, 2013).
Participants
The participants of this study were composed of 376 residents from ten towns
across the Wet Tropics region. Interview sites included Atherton, Cape Tribulation,
Daintree Village, Innisfail, Kuranda, Malanda, Mission Beach, Mossman, Port Douglas
and Yungaburra (Figure 1).
Figure
1
Interview
Sites
Analytical Techniques
The collected data was then compiled into spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel.
Several graphs were produced to show how the residents of different towns value
different aspects of the rainforest. These values were then studied to see how they change
as distance to the WTWHA increase. In order to determine the distances to the WTWHA

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maps of the interviews were created using Google Earth software. In order to measure
proximity 4 transects out from each town point on the map. Each transect will follow the
four cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) and extended to the closest
boundary. The four measurements from each town were then averaged out to determine
the average distance to the WTWHA.
Ethical Considerations
All surveys were conducted under the strictest confidentiality. No names or
personal information besides the basic demographic questions of age, occupation and,
town where they hold residency were attached or recorded to any of the surveys. All
participants in this study were informed about the purpose of this survey prior to their
participation and personal consent forms were made available to those who wanted them
(Appendix B).
Results
Out of a sample size of 376 respondents 88.83 percent of people responded that
they greatly valued natural protected areas while the remaining 11.17 percent either
didn’t value these natural protected areas or had no strong feelings on the subject. Most
of the respondents who greatly valued natural protected areas came from the towns of
Port Douglas, Mission Beach, and Kuranda (Figure 2).

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Figure 2 Values associated with natural protected areas in the Wet Tropics
Out of a sample size of 261 respondents 80.74 percent of people surveyed felt that
it was important to have a sense of connection with nature while 17.04 percent of people
felt that having a sense of connection with nature was not that important or were neutral
on the issue. The towns of Yungaburra, Malanda, and Cape Tribulation were the three
towns that felt that it was very important to have a sense of connection with nature
(Figure 3).
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
Percent
of
People
Interviewed
Survey
Locations
Not
Important
Neutral
Important

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Figure 3 Importance of having a sense of connection with nature
When determining the frequency of visitation to protected natural areas we found
that the residents of Yungaburra, Atherton, and Cape Tribulation visited these sites the
most (Figure 4). The towns that had the highest percentage of residents who either rarely
visited natural protected areas or didn’t visit these areas at all were the towns of Innisfail
and Mossman.
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
Percent
of
People
Interviewed
Survey
Locations
Not
Important
Neutral
Important

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Figure 4 Frequencies of Visits to Protected Natural Areas
Finally several trends emerged when analyzing the town’s proximity to the
WTWHA in comparison to resident’s values of these protected natural areas. It was
found that as distance from the WTWHA increased the more resident’s valued natural
protected areas (Figure 5). There was a negative correlation between both the frequency
of visits to natural protected areas (Figure 7) and how important having a sense of
connection with nature was to residents (Figure 6) when compared to each town’s
distance to the WTWHA.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
Percent
of
People
Interviewed
Survey
Locations
Never
Rarely
Frequently

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Figure 5 Positive values associated with natural Protected areas between towns
Figure 6 Importance of having a sense of connection with nature compared to average distance to WTWHA
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
Percent
of
Residents
Surveyed
Average
Distance
from
WHA
(km)
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
Percent
of
Residents
Surveyed
Average
Distance
from
WHA
(km)

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Figure 7 Frequency of visits to natural protected areas compared to the average distance to WTWHA
Discussion
These results have partially proved our original hypothesis that those residents
who lived within a closer proximity to the rain forest would feel that it was more
important to have a sense of connection with nature and would also visit protected natural
areas more frequently. One surprising result was the respondent’s answers about the
importance of protected natural areas to their proximity to the WTWHA. Residents who
lived closer to the world heritage area did not value protected natural areas as much as
those who lived further away from the WTWHA. Plus out of all the towns surveyed the
three with the highest percentage of residents who greatly valued protected natural areas
were Port Douglas, Mission Beach and Kuranda. The WTWHA brings in over 750
million dollars annually for the Australian tourism industry (Wet Tropics Management
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
Percent
of
Residents
Surveyed
Average
Distance
from
WHA
(km)
Rarely
Frequently
Linear
(Rarely)
Linear
(Frequently)

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Authority, 2000) and provides hundreds if not thousands of residents with employment
either directly through the management of the WTWHA or indirectly through tour
outfitters that bring visitors into the rainforests and other industries that cater to visitors
of the region. It would then make sense that these three towns would value natural
protected areas because after the city of Cairns these three towns are the biggest tourist
centers for the region and rely heavily on the tourism industry to sustain their
economies1
. This trend would correspond with other areas that have experienced a trend
known as “tourism urbanization” which is a scenario of tourism based urban growth
where urban development is primarily based on tourist consumption of goods and
services for pleasure, and urban form is shaped by the city’s function as a leisure space
(Brunn, Hays-Mitchell, & Zeigler, 2008). Examples of areas that have gone through this
experience include the Gold Coast, and Cairns in Australia’s Queensland Coast and the
city of Honolulu in the state of Hawaii (Brunn, Hays-Mitchell, & Zeigler, 2008).
Lack of Infrastructure
Residents who lived closer to the world heritage area did not value protected
natural areas as much as those who lived further away from the WTWHA (Figure 5). One
of the most mentioned comments in the surveys that can help explain this trend was that
there was a lack of infrastructure present because of all the restrictions put into place by
the World Heritage Area. There are very few amenities between the Daintree River and
Cooktown and once the World Heritage Area was established the state and federal
governments stopped issuing new permits to develop future businesses within the region2
.
1
Personal
Communication
with
Resident
of
Mission
Beach
2
Personal
Communication
with
Crocodylus
Staff.

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One resident stated, “ There is not enough human resources for tourists. The
Infrastructure in place is severely lacking or downgraded because we are in WTWHA.
Makes it very hard to maintain sustainable income when working locally.”3
There aren’t
that many amenities for tourists either. Compared to other National parks in Australia the
numbers of facilities within the Daintree National Park are severely lacking. Within the
Daintree there are only 4 to 5 boardwalk walking tracks that allow visitors greater access
into the rainforest4
. Also besides the Daintree Discovery Centre there are no other
educational amenities that teach visitors more about the environment in which they are.
Finally, there is only one road that provides access between the Daintree River and
Cooktown. If there were any disruption of any kind to the road then the residents of the
region would be effectively cut off from any amenities (e.g. health care, supermarkets,
etc.) that they might be only able to find in larger towns such as Mossman or Port
Douglas.
This lack of infrastructure present in an area due to protection status for the land
has also been seen in the United States. In the Blue Mountains when Shenandoah
National Park was established in 1935 (National Park Service, 2015) many of the
residents were evicted from their homes due to the government claiming eminent domain
over the land. Those who were able to remain faced increased accessing amenities in
neighboring towns since limits were placed on the number and sizes of roads to be built
within the park (Lindsay, 2002). No new private business ventures could be established
within the parks new defined boundaries, which meant residents who lived within the
park or within very close proximity to the park had to travel further distances just to have
3
Personal
Communication
with
Resident
of
Daintree
4
Personal
Communication
with
Resident
of
Cape
Tribulation

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access to the most basic of amenities5
. Due to all the hardships they now had to endure
just to maintain their previous quality of life residents of the Shenandoah Valley began to
view the new National Park not as a source of revenue, but instead as a source of
hardship. Therefore they did not value this protected natural area as much as those
residents whose lives weren’t as adversely affected by the establishment of the park6
. The
residents of Cape Tribulation, and the Daintree are going through a similar experience
having to deal with increased hardships because of the increased restrictions put in place
by the Wet Tropics Management Authority (WTMA). Those who could not adapt often
left the region towards larger urban areas and began to lose their connection with nature.
Connection with Nature
Another trend, which emerged was that as towns got further away from the World
Heritage Area and closer to larger urban centers it became less important to residents to
have a sense of connection with nature (Figure 6). The frequency in visits to natural
protected areas also decreased, as we got further away from the WHA and closer to urban
centers. However when we look at Figure 7 to see how often residents visited natural
areas, a possible explanation for why residents don’t have a sense of connection with
nature becomes quite clear. As distance from protected natural areas increased the
number of residents who visited these areas frequently (more than once a month)
decreased (Figure 7). This means that residents of towns further away from the WTWHA
aren’t getting as many opportunities to access these areas as those residents who live
closer to the WTWHA. By not being able to visit these areas as often as other residents it
means that residents of more urban areas aren’t developing as deep of a connection with
5
Informational
Literature
from
Shenandoah
National
Park
6
Informational
Display
from
Shenandoah
National
Park

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nature as those residents who live closer to these wilderness areas. This could cause
issues for passing future environmental legislation. Many environmentalists have shared
the claim that human detachment from and domination over nature—in the form of
scientific hubris or technological alienation or consumerist greed or anthropocentric
arrogance or sheer weight of numbers—is the prime cause of contemporary
environmental problems (Davison, 2008). Unless people feel a sense of attachment with
the land then it will be more unlikely to convince them the importance of solving the
environmental problems we are facing today. With most of the worlds population now
living within urban areas the disconnect with nature is only growing larger (Brunn, Hays-
Mitchell, & Zeigler, 2008).
In the early twentieth century, Australians strove to create a rural civilization
through state legislation to encourage rural closer settlement. The fantasy that Australia
might one day support a rural population of perhaps hundreds of millions endured despite
the overwhelmingly urbanized character of the nation and the harsh realities of its
environment (Murphy, 2009). In order to help residents of larger urban centers feel more
in touch with the natural environment numerous programs have been set up to help bring
aspects of rural life into the urban environment (Talen, 1999) (Frankfort-Nachmias &
Nachmias, 2007). However the original garden city idea was also less appealing in
Australian conditions due to the palpable presence of ‘empty’ rural space to be filled on
the continent. In contrast to England, back-to-the-land sentiment in Australia was based
largely in an exhilarating sense of the seemingly limitless space available for expansion.
The presence of these vast unpeopled tracts of land was also a source of considerable
unease connected with the racial project of White Australia and the threat of invasion

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(Murphy, 2009). To many Australians the single most dominant understanding of nature
is the concept of “natural space”. However, most of the influence of the collateral concept
of natural space took the form of references to either ‘wilderness’ or ‘the bush’ (Davison,
2008).
Conclusion
We found that residents of towns that were within close proximity to the Wet
Tropics World Heritage Area did not value protected natural areas as much as residents
of towns that were further away from the WTWHA, but they felt that having a sense of
connection with nature was very important. The main complaints from residents of these
towns included lack of infrastructure and accessibility into the rainforests for tourists as
well as amenities. With most of the world’s population now living in urban areas it is
important now more than ever that we find ways to bring these natural experiences to the
residents of these urban areas whether it be through increased environmental education
programs or community events in natural areas. By doing so we can increase the
appreciation of these natural areas that residents of urban areas will have. This in turn
will increase the amount of environmental education that these people would have
received and therefore make it easier in the future to promote conservation either through
legislation or direct action.
Limitations
When compiling all of the previous years data some of the previous surveys used
1 to 5 scales for quantitatively measuring people’s values of the rainforest. In order to get
those responses to correspond with the data we were collecting using our current survey
as well as other responses from previous surveys we needed to convert those responses

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into a 1 to three scale. Finally there was a discrepancy in terms of recording qualitative
responses. Since we had 5 different people preforming these surveys and with each
person having different interviewing styles some of the qualitative responses were
lacking in the depth of knowledge that could have been used.
Future Applications
This study was only focused on the Wet Tropics region of Far North Queensland
(FNQ) therefore; this study can be expanded in the future to look at how these values
change across the entire nation. It would be interesting to see how people’s values for
natural protected areas changes as you get closer to even larger urban centers such as
Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. These results could be compared with other studies
performed internationally to see how residents of urban areas in other countries value
protected areas and how well they have a sense of connection with nature. The definition
of an urban area changes from nation to nation so areas, which may be considered urban
in some countries, would actually be considered rural in others (Brunn, Hays-Mitchell, &
Zeigler, 2008). With these differing dynamics it would be interesting to see how these
values change especially in more urbanized countries.
In closing people do yearn for a better connection with nature; however it is
becoming harder to maintain that connection once we move into more urbanized areas. In
order to further conservation efforts in the future we have to find a way to further educate
people and find ways to bring even more rural country experiences into larger urban
centers.

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Appendix A: Survey Regarding Peoples Values of the Rainforest
DR#Wet#2015##
Questionnaire##
Date: Name & Survey #:
Town:
G’day,###(introduce#yourselves<names).#We#are#students#at#the#School#for#Field#Studies#in#
Yungaburra.#We#are#conducting#a#survey#to#evaluate#people’s#opinions#on#the#rainforest#If#
you#are#resident#of#___________,#we’d#like#to#ask#you#a#few#questions?#It#will#only#take#
about#5#minutes,#and#your#individual#responses#will#not#be#identified.#
#
1. Sex&&
Female## Male## # Other#
3. How&long&have&you&been&a&resident?#
<5#######5<10########11<25#########26<40######41<55#######>55#
4. Occupation:&#
#
#
#
5. Highest&Level&of&Education&& & &
Primary#######Secondary#######College#####University######PG&
2. Age&
18#to#30#
31#to#40#
41#to#50#
51#to#60#
60#and#up#
No#Response#
#
&
1E3&scale.&1&=&not&important,&2&=&neutral,&3&=&important&
6.&How&important&are&outdoor&activities&to&you?#(Eg:#Boating,#Fishing,#Hiking)&
1# 2# 3# #
7.&How&important&is&living&in&close&proximity&to&a&rainforest?&
1# 2# 3#
8.&How&important&is&it&to&you&to&have&clean&water,&air,&and&healthy&soils?&&
1# 2# 3# #
9.&How&important&is&it&to&you&to&have&native&wildlife?&&
1# 2# 3# #
10.&How&important&is&it&to&you&to&have&protected&natural&areas?&(National#Parks,#Great#Barrier#Reef,#World#
Heritage#Sites)&
1# 2# 3# #
11.&How&often&do&you&visit&protected&natural&areas?&
Never########## # # ###rarely########### # # #frequently#(more#than#once#a#month)&
&

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DR#Wet#2015##
Questionnaire##
12.$How$important$is$conservation$education$to$you?$(in#schools#and#the#community)$
1# 2# 3# #
13.$How$important$is$having$a$sense$of$connection$to$nature?$
1# 2# 3# #
14.$How$well$do$the$current$government$policies$address$environmental$conservation?$
#
15.$Do$these$activities$in$and$around$the$rainforest$positively$or$negatively$contribute$to$the$following?$
Respond$with$yes,$no,$or$neutral.$(Insert$(+)$if$the$activity$positively$contributes,$(F)$if$it$negatively$
contributes,$and$(N)$if$no$effect).$$
contributes$to$the$quality$of$_______?$
# life#within#the#community# the#environment# #the#economy# cultural#values##
Eco@tourism# # # # #
Farming# # # # #
Logging# # # # #
Medicinal#Plants## # # # #
Cultural#sites# # # # #
##
16.$Are$there$any$other$activities$in$and$around$the$rainforest$that$you$think$are$important?# # #
#
#
17.$What$do$you$think$of$the$current$level$of$environmental$action$in$the$Wet$Tropics?$
insufficient## # # # neutral## # # sufficient#
#
18.$Are$you$involved$with$any$local$conservation/restoration$efforts;$what$are$they?$
#
#
19.$How$willing$are$you$to$pay$money$to$further$protect$and$restore$the$Wet$Tropics$(e.g.$higher$taxes$or$
donations)?$$
$
20.$What$do$you$think$the$most$pressing$environmental$issue(s)$in$the$Wet$Tropics$is/are?$
$
$
21.$Any$other$comments?$

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Sicignano
Appendix B: Personal Consent Forms
If#you#have#concerns#about#any#ethical#aspects#of#your#participation#please#contact#,#Dr.#Justus#
Kithiia#,email##jkithiia@fieldstudies.org#or##Centre#Director,#SFSB#Centre#for#Rainforest#Studies,#tel.#
4095#3656,#email#afreeman@fieldstudies.org.## #
!
!
!
!
SCHOOL!FOR!FIELD!STUDIES!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CENTRE!FOR!RAINFOREST!STUDIES!
CONSENT!FORM!
I!(print!name)……………………………………………………………..give!consent!to!my!
participation!in!the!research!project!mentioned!below:!
Research!Title:!Human&values&associated&with&the&Wet&Tropics&in&Far&north&
Queensland&
!
Research!Student:………………………………………………………………………!!!!
!
Supervisor:…………………………………………………………………………………!
In!giving!my!consent,!I!acknowledge!that:!
• The!purpose!of!the!study!and!time!involved!has!been!explained!to!me!
and!any!questions!I!have!about!the!study!have!been!answered!to!my!
satisfaction.!
!
• I!understand!that!my!involvement!is!strictly!confidential!and!that!no!
information!about!me!will!be!used!in!any!way!that!reveals!my!identity.!
!
Signed:………………………………………………………………………………..!
!
Name:!………………………………………………………………………………..!
!
Date:……………………………………………………………………………………!

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Appendix C: Towns Average Distance to Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (Km)
Town Average Distance to World Heritage Area (km)
Cape
Tribulation
1.30
Kuranda 1.90
Daintree 1.98
Mission
Beach
4.42
Yungaburra 4.99
Mossman 6.03
Malanda 9.22
Port
Douglas
9.46
Atherton 10.89
Appendix D: Population of Towns Visited
Town Population
Atherton 7,287
Cape
Tribulation
330
Daintree 146
Innisfail 7,176
Kuranda 2,966
Malanda 2,052
Mission
Beach
765
Mossman 1,732
Port
Douglas
3,205
Yungaburra 1,116

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