5.1 Specific Aims.
5.1.1 To determine the extent to which Darwin Harbour mangroves are used for recreational purposes.
5.1.2 To list areas of conservation significance for recreational activities;
5.1.3 To document a bibliography of related books, journals, papers, articles, electronically stored documents and theses available regarding environmental and ecological values of the mangroves in relation to recreational activities and
5.1.4 To make management recommendations which will address as far as possible the needs of this sector.
5.2. Tasks to be Completed.
5.2.1 Determine the extent of mangrove habitats for the study area;
5.2.2 Determine the roles flora, fauna and associated vegetation and grasslands play in the natural environment's role for recreational interests for this area;
5.2.3 Determine if Darwin Harbour is suitable for sustaining human effort in the sphere of the development of future leisure pursuits;
5.2.4 Determine bibliographic details of the literature available regarding mangrove management in relation to recreation and leisure activities in this area; and
5.2.5 To ascertain this sector's views on the management of the mangal forests in the Darwin Harbour region.
5.3 The Expected Outcome.
In the previously mentioned study by
Brown and Reynolds (1997),
the following request of random survey of people was made. "Of the following non-commercial uses of Darwin Harbour, please indicate how important you think these are (Appendix 3, p 44). A list of some twenty activities was then attributed to Darwin Harbour as human activities and a scale of concern was rated as being between "Not Important", "Important" and "Very Important" and shown in Table 1. I intend to use the data obtained in the Brown et al study to give an indication of how important the respondents believed certain water/marine leisure actions are to the management of the Darwin Harbour.
The activity of fishing, sailing, and mangrove boardwalks, I considered to be recreational activities by themselves, that is, no change from the Brown et al representations, for this present study. They were placed into Table 1 as collected by Brown et al. However, I joined together swimming and SCUBA diving; motor boating, water and jet skiing; picnics/outings, public access and outdoors entertainment/festivals; and natural landscapes/scenery, habitat for wildlife, bird breeding grounds and fish feeding grounds became sightseeing/bird watching, as these events are somewhat similar. Scores for each adapted from Brown et al were averaged and placed into Table 1.
Likewise, I consequently deleted educational activities, bush tucker and medicine, native title and cultural aspects as these phenomena are technically not categorised as recreation and/or leisure. Moreover, other researchers for this study are addressing them. The resultant Table 1 is a list of the activities, with their perceived importance rating to the Darwin Harbour, as an initial starting point for this present research program. By calculating the percentages for the "Not Important", "Important" and the "Very Important" columns we have a ratio of 16:38:46. Consequently, the majority of the respondents in the Brown et al investigation believe that recreational activities have a consequential and significant role in the human recreational use of the Darwin Harbour. It is therefore expected that this inquiry could yield similar results or give an indication of each person's views on recreation in this area.
5.4 Methodology of the Report:
A map of the Darwin Harbour to the scale of 1:100.000 will also be marked as to the responding views and perceptions of mangrove areas, which should be preserved. Previous research papers published in various journals should also be obtained to distinguish the physical characteristics and attributes of the harbour and environs; eg, how the mangroves work and the food chain generated by the mangrove vegetation decomposition. Media articles should also be consulted in the daily press, both local and national, should also be used for recognition of people's topical perceptions as to the harbour's recreational environment and other issues.
There are three primary directions for this report:
The following tasks should be completed to achieve the best possible results from the Specific Objectives of the report.
The report will be based on written material found in libraries and on both academic and government generated literature situated within the greater Darwin metropolitan area. It shall also consider written articles published on the Internet, theses by various authors, especially those whom are supported or backed by any of the various faculties of the Northern Territory University. Telephone and personal interviews with service clubs, recreation clubs and businesses which have an active role in supplying leisure services to the public in the Darwin Harbour area. There will also be some discussion by spontaneous interviews with members of the general public who are experiencing their chosen leisure activity.
The methodology of obtaining data for the study will firstly be by conducting telephone interviews with the member clubs, private associations and public utilities listed in Appendix 1, with regards to inquiring about the existence of written material concerning the subject of the report. Personal interviews will also be requested at this stage to see the written material requested and to ask for and to obtain individual and group opinions as to how Darwin Harbour mangroves should be preserved and the areas that should be preserved. The findings here should be electronically stored for future reference when compiling the document for the report.
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