Sharron Pfueller
Senior Lecturer, Coordinator, Master of Environment and Sustainability Program
Fields of interest:
- Multistakeholder partnerships in environmental governance
- Community participation in environmental assessment, monitoring and natural area management
- Tourism and sustainability
- Environment and health
- Community environmental education
Research
Multistakeholder partnerships in environmental governance.
Participation of a range of stakeholders in all aspects of environmental management is increasingly important in achieving environmental sustainability. The processes for facilitating this are diverse and contested.
One project is investigating the structures and processes involved in the coordination and management of biosphere reserves which combine, conservation, education, scientific research and sustainable development in areas which include both natural and urbanised landscapes. Community and institutional enthusiasm has frequently been dampened by governance processes and the challenge is to understand why and how to achieve optimal environmental outcomes.
Projects with research students:
- Monitoring of protected natural areas by local communities
- Community participation in environmental impact assessment in Thailand
- Role of community gardens in urban sustainability
Tourism and sustainability
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries and in many natural areas is regarded as a means of providing income for communities and having lower environmental impacts than many other land uses. However, reducing tourism's own impacts is a challenge. As a member of Monash University's Tourism Research Unit, two projects funded by the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre are being conducted:
Community values for the Murray River Reserves
Communities value natural locations in different ways: from recreational, tourism, economic or natural resource perspectives. These perspectives are based on many factors including familiarity with the area, its intrinsic appeal, available facilities and desired recreational activities of that community. This collaborative project with Victoria and Latrobe Universities aims to provide insight into these values with respect to sites for conservation, camping, tourism and recreation along the Victorian bank of the Murray River. It is providing strategic knowledge to Parks Victoria and other government bodies on which to base decisions for future management of tourism and of natural areas.
Developing effective partnerships for facilitating sustainable tourism in and around protected areas
This project aims to explore a range of partnerships between natural resource managers, communities and the tourism industry to understand how these can be best managed to yield environmental, social and economic sustainability. It is being conducted in collaboration with researchers in the Faculty of Business and Economics and at Murdoch University.
Projects with research students:
- the effects of the social impacts of National Parks and associated tourism on the capacity and willingness of local communities to undertake conservation activities
- the nature of conflict between recreational users of National Parks
- sustainability of seal tourism
- potential for tourism in forested areas
- relationship of safari tourism in outback Australia to adventure and ecotourism
Current Teaching
- ENV4030/5030
Environmental Analysis - ENV433E/533E
Environmental Internship - GES2320/3220
Tourism and environment
Selected recent publications:
- Pfueller, S.L. 2008, The Role of Bioregionalism in Bookmark Biosphere Reserve, Australia, Environmental Conservation, 35 (2), 173-186.
- Arcari, P. J, Tapper, N. J, Pfueller, S. L, 2007, Regional variability in relationships between climate and dengue/DHF in Indonesia, Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 28 (3), 251-272
- Pfueller, S. L, 2001, The nature of health: embodying mythology, PAN: Philosophy Activism Nature, vol 1, pp. 35-41
- Arcari, P. J, Tapper, N. J, Pfueller, S. L, 2005, The Relationships between Dengue/Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) and Climate in Indonesia, Annals of Meteorologie 41, 17th Intl Congress of Biometeorology, Deutscher Wetterdienst, Offenbach am Main 2005, pp. 324-327
- Loughnan, M., Tapper, N. J, Pfueller, S. L, 2005, Seasonal Variation in hospital admissions for Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) in Melbourne 1993 - 2003, Annals of Meteorologie 41, 17th Intl Congress of Biometeorology, Deutscher Wetterdienst, Offenbach am Main, pp. 421-424
- Pfueller SL and Cock PH. 2000. Ecotourism: approaches to sustainability through Australian best practice, Monash Publications in Geography and Environmental Science.
- Pfueller SL, Innes-Wardell I, Skondras H, Marshall D, Kruger T. 1997. An evaluation of Saltwatch - a school and community action research environmental project. Australian Journal of Environmental Education 13: 61 - 68.
- Monash Ecotourism Team. 1997. (In alphabetical order: Staff: P Cock, S Pfueller; Students: A Cook, A Curlewis, R Guevara, T Plumridge). Community ecotourism planning: partnerships for sustainable futures. Monash Publications in Geography and Environmental Science.
- Pfueller SL and Cock PH. 1997. Conservation and community: developing partnership between National Parks and regional tourism development plans through ecotourism. Report to Shearwater Consultants for the Department Natural Resources and Environment.
- Pfueller SL, Taylor D and Fawkes S. 1997. Imagine the future: health futures project. Proceedings of World Futures Studies Federation XV World Conference.
- Pfueller SL and Cock PH. 1996. Stakes in tourism. Community Quarterly 39: 3-8.
- Curlewis AB, Cook AJ, Guevara JR, Plumridge T, Pfueller S, Cock PH. 1996. Community research and planning for ecotourism in Halls Gap and the Grampians/Gariwerd region. In Ecotourism and Nature-based tourism: taking the next steps. The Ecotourism Association of Australia. Proceedings of the National Conference pp. 103-108.
- Guevara J, Cook A, Curlewis A, Plumridge T, Cock P, Pfueller S. 1996. Co-learning in community ecotourism planning. Windows on the World. 28th International Conference of the Community Development Society.
- Plumridge T, James R, Whitelaw P, Curlewis A, Cock PH, Pfueller SL. 1996. Ecotourist profiles at Halls Gap. Proceedings of the Ecotourism Association of Australia pp. 55 - 60.
- Pfueller SL. 1995. Community and water quality - initiatives in Gippsland. Australian Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 8: 26 - 32.
- Hooper MA, Pfueller, SL. Community consultation. 1993. Australian Institute for Energy News Journal 12 (2):54-56.
- Pfueller SL, Hooper MA, Harvey DHP. (Editors). 1993. Proceedings of the Conference Greenhouse and the Energy Regions.
- Pfueller SL and Hooper MA. 1993. Greenhouse and the Energy regions - a community view. In Greenhouse and the Energy Regions. Conference Report.
Address
- Room No: S216, Menzies Building
- Telephone No: +61 3 990 54619
- Sharron.Pfueller@arts.monash.edu.au