| |
Abstract |
National parks and protected areas in Victoria, Australia, are managed by a state government agency, Parks Victoria.Parks Victoria was established in 1998 and are responsible for managing an expanding and diverse estate covering more than 4 million hectares, or about 17 per cent, of the state.In 2002, the Victorian Government established the Marine National Park system, including 13 Marine National Parks (MPAs) and 11 Marine Sanctuaries.MPAs span Victorias five marine bioregions and aim to conserve and protect ecological processes, habitats and associated flora and fauna. With 2022 signalling the 20-year anniversary of the Victorian Marine National Park system, there was a desire to better understand Victorians current awareness, usage and perceptions of marine parks and sanctuaries.Specific aims of this research include to: Measure recent community visitation to the MNPS Understand community awareness of, and key perceived benefits of the MNPS Identify differences in perceptions, if any, between users, non-users and their respective segments Identify indicators and metrics that could measure the social, ecological and/or economic value provided by the MNPS Understand awareness and reception of current communication tools, and identify avenues to develop and refine communications in general |
|
