Conservation or cultural heritage? Cattle grazing in the Victoria Alpine National Park

The recent decision to continue cattle grazing in the VANP has not been uniformly welcomed. There exists significant scientific evidence detailing the environmental impact of grazing. This paper examines whether an opportunity has been missed to resolve the ongoing conflict that accompanies the continuation of grazing in the VANP. The potential of economic instruments in resolving this unique land use conflict is examined. It is argued unambiguously that the compensation of graziers for a change in existing institutional alpine grazing arrangement can help to facilitate a resolution of the conflict. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.