Leave Only Footprints
The environmental components of TOMM will be strengthened through the implementation of a program that aims to develop partnerships between the natural resource management sector and tourism industry. The Leave Only Footprints program is co-funded by the State and Commonwealth Government’s Natural Heritage Trust through the Kangaroo Island Natural Resource Management Board and TOMM Stakeholders (Kangaroo Island Council, Tourism Kangaroo Island, Kangaroo Island Development Board, Department for Environment and Heritage, Kangaroo Island Natural Resource Management Board, Industry and Community).
An outcome of the Leave Only Footprints program will be an environmental reporting program that value adds to the information already being collected by TOMM and natural resource managers. The existing TOMM framework will be used to draw together information, which is currently being collected through a variety of mechanisms, to form a picture of how/where tourism is actually impacting on the environment. This information will then be used to identify where impacts are occurring, and through TOMM possible management solutions can be identified. Another important outcome will be the reporting of this information to the tourism industry and the community in an understandable and actionable fashion.
The Leave Only Footprints project is important in boosting the knowledge and participation of the tourism industry in managing impacts on the environment. It is anticipated that the ultimate outcome of this project will be greater active participation of tourism operators in the management and care of the environment.
The Leave Only Footprints Program aims to contribute to the following outcome:
A sustainable tourism industry on Kangaroo Island responsible for the natural resources it depends upon through an on-going monitoring program, environmentally sustainable practice and opportunities for participation in environmental repair and management programs.
It is also anticipated that the Kangaroo Island TOMM becomes the “Landcare of tourism” through:
- The development of a set of suitable and measurable environmental indicators that monitor the impact of tourism on the environment and link to the existing KI TOMM indicator program.
- A reporting procedure that allows environmental data (including existing data) to be reported through KI TOMM to tourism operators in an understandable and actionable fashion.
- The establishment of a set of networks that enable key natural resource management personnel to feed information into the tourism industry to develop an understanding of environmentally sustainable practice and opportunities for participation in environmental repair and management programs.
- The identification of knowledge gaps in environmental data collection and the development of a process for these to be addressed, to ensure a big picture approach is taken to monitoring our environmental health.
There are several Leave Only Footprints Fact Sheets which are currently available to download. There are also several other Fact Sheets currently being produced, which will cover a range of issues, and will be published as soon as they become available.