Presentation of my PhD research findings to the Lord Howe Island community on the 22nd of January 2020 at the Lord Howe Island Museum.

1. Inheriting Sustainability
World Heritage, Tourism Development and
Social-Ecological Resilience
in Small Oceanic Islands
a comparative case study of Lord Howe Island
(Australia) and Fernando de Noronha (Brazil)
Dr Leonardo Nogueira de Moraes
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Tourism, Resilience and Planning

2. About the research
This presentation is an output of the PhD research project:
Inheriting Sustainability: World Heritage Listing, Tourism
Development and the Resilience of Social-Ecological Complex
Adaptive Systems
ABP Human Research Ethics Clearance # 0932441

3. Acknowledgements
» The research presented here was funded by a Faculty of Architecture,
Building and Planning PhD Fieldwork Grant.
» My current appointment as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Resilience and
Urban Planning is jointly funded by the University of Melbourne and the
Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre.
» Prof Alan March was my supervisor at the University of Melbourne for the
PhD research that is the basis for this presentation.
» My PhD candidature was funded by a Melbourne International Research
Scholarship and a Melbourne International Fee Remission Scholarship.
» Prof Eric Clark was my host supervisor at Lund University where I was a
guest PhD candidate in 2011, funded by a University of Melbourne Overseas
Research Experience Scholarship.
» Research fieldwork for this project was supported by the LHI Board, LHI
Museum, ADEFN and ICMBio, through the provision of permits and local
infrastructure.

4. Introduction
Tourism development and sustainability are pressing issues to small oceanic islands featuring important and scarce natural
heritage assets; these islands normally present small geographical areas with clearly defined boundaries, typically limited economic
development alternatives combined with environmental systems and resources that are fragile and difficult to restore, once modified.
Nevertheless, however paramount and highly interdependent the conservation of natural heritage and the obtaining of economic and
social benefits through tourism might be, they do not seem to be subject of easy control; tourism development sustainability is
dependent on the behaviour of many different agents, with not always complementary but rather, quite often, competing
interests. From a social-ecological complex adaptive systems (SECAS) perspective, this research sought to understand how different
forms of interpersonal and inter-organisational relationships of cooperation and competition act as drivers and inhibitors to the
sustainability of tourism development in small oceanic islands. Additionally, it sought to identify strategies that could influence these
drivers and inhibitors within different social economic contexts, the influence of World Heritage Listing (WHL) investigated as one
possible global strategy. Structured as a qualitative multiple case study, this research takes place in two small oceanic island tourist
destinations: the Lord Howe Island in Australia and the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago in Brazil.

5. Research Question
How do different types of interpersonal and
interorganisational relationships of competition and
cooperation among tourism stakeholders of small oceanic
islands listed as Natural World Heritage Properties – NWHPs
influence the sustainability of their tourism development
and the resilience of their local social-ecological complex
adaptive systems?

6. Subsidiary Research
Questions
1. How do localised conservation (implemented through
Protected Areas in the context of UNESCO’s World
Heritage Listing) and tourism development influence
competition and cooperation among stakeholders of
World Heritage listed small oceanic island tourist
destinations?
2. What are the main historical events affecting the way
these stakeholders compete and cooperate and how?
3. How do intrinsic environmental and demographic
characteristics of these destinations affect the way
competition and cooperation take place?
4. How do the cultural, socio-economic and regulatory
contexts of these destinations interfere with these
relationships?

7. Theoretical
Framework
“The control of a complex adaptive system tends to be
highly dispersed. (…) If there is to be any coherent
behaviour in the system, it has to arise from competition and
cooperation among the agents themselves” (Waldrop, 1992,
p. 145).

8. Nested Stocks of Energy, Matter, Info and Agents
Cross-Cutting Systems (e.g. Tourism System)
Mangrove, reef, livestock, invasive species, etc.
Water bodies, clouds, air masses, landscape
Islanders, tourists, researchers, etc.
Elements Self-Organise in a Web of Relationships
Feedbacks (Self-Reinforcing and Self-Moderating)
LOCAL
TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT
GLOBAL
TOURISM
Emergent Complex Adaptive Properties
Transfers (Inputs and Outputs)
Processes (Throughputs)
ISLAND SYSTEMGLOBAL SYSTEM
Nested Systems Boundaries
Social-Ecological Complex Adaptive System
Adapted from Nogueira de Moraes (2014)

9. Resilience and
Stability of Ecological
Systems
Resilience “is a measure of the
persistence of systems and of their ability
to absorb change and disturbance and
still maintain the same relationships
between populations or state variables”
(Holling, 1973, p. 14).

10. Resilience Versus
Sustainability
• ComplexAdaptive Systems are inherently dynamic
and ever-changing, hence their adaptive capacity.
From a human perspective, adaptation leading to
improved livelihoods is broadly referred to as
development. Different development models lead
systems to higher or lower chances to continue to
exist and to develop in the future, a system’s
resilience being dependent on the type of
development arising from the self-organisation of its
elements.
• Sustainability is, therefore, linked with
development, which is a complex adaptive system’s
system’s property, while resilience is a complex
adaptive system property on its own, as it is the
the capacity of a system to bounce back and forward
following acute impacts and slow onset stresses.
10

11. Principles for Building
Resilience in Social-
Ecological Systems
Adapted from Simonsen, et al., 2014
Manage
Connectivity
Maintain
Diversity and
Redundancy
Foster
Complex
Adaptive
Systems
Thinking
Encourage
Learning
Promote
Polycentric
Governance
Broaden
Participation
Manage Slow
Variables and
Feedbacks

12. Tourist Development
&
Tourism Development
Tourism development is understood here as the development
of the tourism activity in a certain location over time, while
tourist development refers to land development that has been
carried out for tourism purposes.

13. How the research was
structured
The research is framed as a multiple case study (Yin, 2014)
focusing on self-organisation by means of competition and
cooperation.
Data collection involved sourcing of government and NGO
documents and websites; semi-structured interviews with
representatives from key organisations and local communities;
and direct observation.
Data was qualitatively analysed through a Grounded Theory
(Charmaz, 2006) approach with the support of NVivo 10.

14. Case Selection
Criteria

15. Fernando de Noronha Archipelago
& Lord Howe Island (Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
15
FDN LHI
Country Name Brazil Australia
Country Population (people) 203,011,9591 23,570,7652
Country Area (sq. km) 8,511,965 7,692,024
Country Density (people/sq. km) 23.85 3.06
State Name and Acronym Pernambuco - PE New South Wales - NSW
Island Population 3,600 (estimate) 360 in 2011 census
Main Island Area (sq. km) 17.01 14.54
Island Density (people/sq. km) 212 25
Tourist Carrying Capacity 450 tourists3 400 tourists4
Mainland Connecting Airport 545km 700km
International
UNESCO Natural World Heritage 2001 1982
Property Name Brazilian Atlantic Islands Lord Howe Island Group
Type of Area Part of serial WH property Single WH property
Selection Criteria vii; ix; x vii; x
National
Federal Environmental Protection Area 1986 -
National Marine Park 1988 2000; 2012
State
State Permanent Park Preserve - 1982
State Environmental Protection Area 1989 -
State Marine Park 1995 1999
1 Estimate on 20th August 2014 at 13:54:46 Canberra Time (IBGE, 2014).
2 Estimate on 20th August 2014 at 13:55:15 Canberra Time (ABS, 2014).
3 Maximum of 450 tourists that can enter the island by plane on a single day.
4 Maximum of 400 simultaneous tourists on any given day based on the number of 400 tourist beds allowed on the island.

16. Observation and
Interviewing
Coding
Sampling
Reflecting
Preparing
Asking
Probing
Validating
Recording
Refocusing /
Transitioning
Building
Rapport
Observing /
Active
Listening

17. Data Collection and
Analysis
Data
Processing
Theory
Building
Data
Capture
Data
Analysis
Data
Sourcing
Data
Visualisation
Theory
Testing

18. Why do we care?
Rank
Australian Export Items
(DFAT, 2019)
2018
in AUD
million
Share
1 Coal 66,860 15.3%
2 Iron ore & concentrates 63,277 14.4 %
3 Natural gas 43,298 9.9%
4 Education-related travel
services
35,234 8.0%
5 Personal travel (excl
education) services
22,240 5.1%
6 Gold 19.137 4.4%
7 Aluminium ores & conc
(incl alumina
11.341 2.6%
Data for 2018
(WTTC, 2019, p.3-4)
Directly
Responsible
Including
Multiplying
Effect
World GDP 3.2% 10.4%
World Employment 3.8% 11.7%

19. Actual
Forecasts
1980 1990197019601950 2000 2010 20302020
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
Year
InternationalTouristArrivalsreceived(million)
Africa
Asia and the Pacific
Middle East
Americas
Europe
940 mn
1.4 bn
1.8 bn
Global
Financial
Crisis
Terrorist
Attacks
11th
September
2001
Impacts to Tourism (UNWTO, 2012, p. 14)

20. Overtourism / Loss of Social License
Source | LinkedIn, 2017

21. Growth in nationally designated PAs 1911-2011
(IUCN and UNEP-WCMC, 2012)
21

22. 22
FDN Archipelago Terrestrial and Marine Zoning 1500 – June 1986
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)

23. 23
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
FDN Archipelago Terrestrial and Marine Zoning June 1986 – April 1988

24. 24
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
FDN Archipelago Terrestrial and Marine Zoning April – September 1988

25. 25
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
FDN Archipelago Terrestrial and Marine Zoning September 1988 – October 1990

26. 26
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
FDN Archipelago Terrestrial and Marine Zoning October 1990 – October 2002

27. 27
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
FDN Archipelago Terrestrial and Marine Zoning October 2002 – June 2005

28. 28
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
FDN Archipelago Terrestrial and Marine Zoning June 2005 – October 2007

29. 29
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
FDN Archipelago Terrestrial and Marine Zoning Since October 2007

30. FDN Archipelago Terrestrial and Marine Zoning Contextualised
30
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)

31. Land Management Responsible Organisations in FDN
31
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)

32. Yearly Tourist Flows to FDN and LHI
32
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)

33. Seasonality
33
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014) (Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
LHIFDN

34. Tourist Carrying Capacity
34
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014) (Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
LHIFDN

35. “In response to the sudden and concentrated growth
experienced in 2005 and 2006, when single cruiseships were
bringing more that 600 simultaneous tourists to FDN (instead
of traditional 400) (CONAPA-FN, 2005a), new restrictions
were put forward in 2007 by CONAPA-FDN, including the limit
of 450 cruiseline tourists per visit and the limits of 300
simultaneous cruiseline tourists in marine tours and 360 in
land tours (ICMBio-MMA, APA-FN, PARNAMAR-FN, CMA, &
TAMAR, 2007). In 2008, the limit of cruiseline tourists per visit
was lifted and the number of simultaneous tourists in land and
marine tours was adjusted to 350 each, but the frequency of
visitation was restricted to a maximum of 1 visit each 7 days,
no visits to occur during peak times such as the periods of
New Years Eve, Carnival and Easter and no navigation to
occur in APA-FDN waters shallower than 100 metres and
PARNAMAR-FDN waters between 6pm and 8am (ICMBio-
MMA, APA-FN, PARNAMAR-FN, CMA, & TAMAR, 2008)”
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014).
35
Passenger Arrivals and Cruiseline
Tourists FDN
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)
(Nogueira de Moraes, 2014)

36. Establishment
of LHIB
Land Tenure
Provisions
Pushes
For
LHI
Settlement
Whaling
Decline
Leads
To
Kentia Palm
Exploration
Whaling
Development
Leads
To
Leads
To
Pushes
For
Economic
Development
Greater
Connections to
the Mainland
Leads
To
Assent of
LHI Act
1953Kentia
Palm
Crises
Tourism
Development
Allow
Diversity of
Unique Species
& Ecosystems
Environmental
Fragility
Scientific
Interest
Need to
Protect
World
Heritage
Listing
Proclamation
of LHI Permanent
Park Preserve
Proclamation
of Forest
Reserve
Institution of
Tourist
Bed Cap
Restrictions to
Cruiseship
Operation
Proclamation
of LHI Marine
Park (Comm. W.)
Proclamation
of LHI Marine
Park (State W.)
Institution of the
10-Year-Residency
Islander Status Provision
Pushes
For
Economic
Value
Portrays Sparks
Restricts
Pushes
For
Allows
Pushes
For
Pushes
For
Amend
High-
light
Influence
Rein-
forces
Amends
Influence
Localised Conservation
Axial Coding
Adapted from Nogueira de Moraes (2014)

37. Land Use & Sea Use
Regulations
LHIB
Administration
Conservation
Movement
Islanders
Entry of External
Capital
Control of Invasive
Species, Caps, LEP
& LC
Federal GovernmentLocal
Government NSW
Government
LHIB
Commonwealth
Government
NSW Department of Planning
and Environment
Tourism
Development
10-Year Islander
Status Regulation
Commonwealth Dep.
of Environment
State Government
Part
of
Defines Defines
Defines
Deter-
mines
Divides
Unites &
Divides
Unites &
Divides
Pushes
for
Pushes
for
Directs DirectsDirects
Part
of
Funds
Selective
Coding
Adapted from Nogueira
de Moraes (2014)

38. Global
Structures
Global-Local
Structures
Local
Structures
Intensifies
Entry
Barriers
Affects
Affects
Reinforces
AffectsAffects
Local
Social
Cohesion
Local
Empowerment
Affects
Global
Social
Cohesion
Global
Empowerment
Affects
Global
Benchmarking
Reinforces
Pushes
For
Pushes
For
Pushes
For
Intensifies
Intensifies Fosters
Pushes
For
Pushes
For
Global-Local
Cooperation
Global
Competition
Global
Cooperation
Local
Competition
Local
Cooperation
Global-Local
Competition
Global-Local
Benchmarking
Local
Benchmarking
Reinforces
Theoretical Coding
Adapted from Nogueira de Moraes (2014)

39. Thesis Argument Local Empowerment, Local Social Cohesion, Attachment
to Place and Local Identity are fundamental to the resilience
of Local Social Ecological Complex Adaptive Systems and
therefore to the sustainability of Tourism Development
Along with local social cohesion, local empowerment is
driven by (whilst also influence) the way competition and
cooperation take place in those islands;
By reconfiguring land tenure and occupation at the local level,
World Heritage Listing is a global strategy that can
influence the balance between global and local
empowerment;
Promoting greater global connectivity, Tourism in itself is a
globalising force manifesting at the local level that can
promote both global and local empowerment.

40. Conclusion
Small oceanic islands are territories portraying clear boundaries and geographical isolation exhibiting human-environmental
relations that can foster greater social cohesion, community identity and resilience. Historically highly connected to global
environmental systems (climate is an example), many of these islands have also started to experience accelerated globalisation
of their economies, mainly through tourism development. As they become more dependent on the global economy, they are
also subject to greater state and/or market regulation that raise the benchmark for the local production of economic offerings. Their
local social-ecological insurance–or the strong local social-ecological relationships that form the basis of local resilience–start to be
replaced by financial insurance, usually withheld globally rather than locally. As the Anthropocene unfolds, global climate change
brings another layer of complexity to these island communities. The extent to which they can retain strong local social cohesion and
local empowerment in face of global economic and environmental threats is a significant challenge to their survival. This is a
fundamental question of scales. To thrive in a globalising world and to withstand the threats posed by uncertain behaviour of ever-
changing global systems to which they are increasingly connected, island communities are forced to leverage their capacity to
operate in global environmental and economic systems.

41. References
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42. Dr Leonardo Nogueira de Moraes
leonardo.moraes@unimelb.edu.au