Our national parks must be more than playgrounds or paddocks

Written in 2013, the situation has worsened since then.

It’s make or break time for Australia’s national parks.

National parks on land and in the ocean are dying a death of a thousand cuts, in the form of bullets, hooks, hotels, logging concessions and grazing licences (and cableways. It’s been an extraordinary last few months, with various governments in eastern states proposing new uses for these critically important areas.

 

Australia’s first “National Park”, established in 1879, was akin to a glorified country club. Now called the “Royal National Park” on the outskirts of Sydney, it was created as a recreational escape for Sydney-siders, with ornamental plantations, a zoo, race courses, artillery ranges, livestock paddocks, deer farms, logging leases and mines.

Australians since realised that national parks should focus on protecting the species and natural landscapes they contain. However, we are now in danger of regressing to the misguided ideals of the 19th Century.
read more…

https://theconversation.com/our-national-parks-must-be-more-than-playgrounds-or-paddocks-14389