Community Expectations and Capturing Community Values in Conservation Management Plans

Abstract

This paper explores the interaction between strong community expectations and industry-approved conservation management planning. It draws on a case study of Benalla Migrant Camp in regional Australia and the community of "camp kids" that rallied for its conservation. In doing so, it explores issues associated with values-based heritage management approaches, the role of storytelling in conservation practice (especially for marginalised groups), and the discursive limitations of industry documents like Conservation Management Plans (CMPs). Like many analyses in critical heritage studies, it ends by arguing for a new discourse that can more fully centre community values and aspirations and boost the use-value of storytelling. Show more