Peter enjoying field research

Associate Professor Peter Valentine

Associate Professor of Environmental Science

BA Hons (UWA)

Visit: Room DB034-236, Townsville campus

Call: (+61) 7 4781 4441

Fax (+61) 7 4781 4020

Email: Peter Valentine

EV2201: Tourism and the Environment

EV5208: World Heritage and National Estate Processes

EV5209: Principles and Practices of Protected Area Management

Research Interests

Environmental management issues for protected areas (including National Parks and Reserves, Marine National Parks, World Heritage Areas, etc.) and related nature conservation issues, with particular interest in the integration of social science and ecotourism (especially in poorer Asian-Pacific countries) in natural resource management. Research includes environmental processes such as the effects of fire, interactions between tourism and wildlife, including marine mammals, biogeography and the ecology and conservation of butterflies.

Brief description of research impact:

  • Development of potential sustainability indicators for management of Dwarf Minke Whale swim with tourism. Combining behavioural observations of Dwarf Minke Whales and tourists interactions with visitor studies, we were able to develop an initial set of guidelines to assist manage this industry. These guidelines were adopted by the GBRMPA and have been further developed and modified by us in following years. This work is seen as a benchmark for specific management integration and for the partnership approach between researchers, industry and management.

  • Development of National Turtle and Dugong Tourism Guidelines. The JCU research team (led by Birtles) was commissioned by the Commonwealth DEH to undertake a nationwide survey of dugong and turtle tourism and to develop potential guidelines towards sustainable management of this newly emerging industry. Some of these were tested during 2005 and the final recommendations went to DEH in October 2005.

Selected Publications:

Valentine PS, Birtles RA, Curnock MI, Arnold PW & Dunstan AJ (2004) Getting closer to whales - passenger expectations and experiences, and the management of swim with dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef.Tourism Management, 25 (6), 647 – 655

Valentine PS (2004) The demise of mass migration of the Brown Awl Badamia exclamationis (Fabricius 1775) (Lepidoptera:Hesperiidae): a consequence of land clearing in Queensland?Pacific Conservation Biology, 10 (1), 67 – 69

Valentine PS & Birtles RA (2004) Chapter 2 - Wildlife Watching.In: Wildlife Tourism: Impacts, management and planning (ed K Higginbottom), 15 - 34. Common Ground Publishing Pty Ltd, Altona, Vic

Birtles RA, Valentine PS, Curnock MI, Arnold PW & Dunstan AJ (2002) Incorporating visitor experience into ecological sustainable dwarf minke whale tourism in the northern Great Barrier Reef.CRC Reef Research Centre Technical Report No 42 1 - 64. CRC Reef Research Centre Ltd

For a full list of Publications browse ResearchOnline@JCU

Personal research web site

Adella Edwards of 6630staff last updated this page on 8 Apr 2013.