GORCN welcomes Great Ocean Road uni project

THE Great Ocean Road Communities Network (GORCN) has welcomed plans for a university-led strategy for the Great Ocean Road, saying the project could provide answers to key issues surrounding the road.

The ‘Designing Futures for the GOR’ project will involve hundreds of post-graduate students – initially from The University of Melbourne, Monash, RMIT and Swinburne – who will collaborate with the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) on the project this year.

The students’ task will be to develop new visions and models for “regenerative tourism” and “destination resilience” for the tourist attraction through research and creative problem-solving.

GORCN formed in August 2020 in response to the soon-to-be-launched GORCAPA as a collective body to advocate the interests of its members “guided by the principles of environmental sustainability, community benefit and socially responsible tourism”.

The network comprises seven community groups – the Aireys Inlet and District Association (AIDA), Anglesea Community Network, Friends of Lorne, Greater Torquay Alliance, Save Anglesea, Wye River and Separation Creek Community Association, and the Otway Forum.

In a statement released on Monday this week, GORCN said it was “very pleased” the universities were collaborating with GORCAPA on the strategy for the Great Ocean Road.

“The proposed models of ‘regenerative tourism’ and ‘destination resilience’ are useful ways of indicating a future for tourism which is not only sustainable but looks for ways to safeguard the natural environment and restore degraded areas.”

The Great Ocean Road is highly popular with tourists, particularly from overseas, and community groups including AIDA have repeatedly questioned whether it is desirable the number of tourists to the Great Ocean Road continues to grow.

“There has been a consistent call for an urgent and independent study of the road’s carrying capacity and the impact of tourist numbers on the communities along the road and on the environment. There has also been a call for the need to consider and understand the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels,” GORCN said in its statement.

“GORCN believes this university study will provide expert and detailed answers on these key issues that can feed into GORCAPA’s strategies for the GOR. The study highlights the rich external scientific and environmental resources that GORCAPA will draw upon.

“GORCN will encourage the project participants to invite all the communities along the GOR to take part and have their views heard.”

The ‘Designing Futures for the GOR’ organisers say all work will be publicly accessible as it progresses, with presentations and exhibitions both online and in the coastal towns along the Great Ocean Road to ensure community consultation is at the core of any work carried out by GORCAPA.