Best job in the world? Maybe, but at what cost to the environment?

Photo: Leonard Low

The Best Job in the World promotion is a worldwide sensation: applications have been received from over 160 countries. Although only one person can win the position, the PR machine has been successful in attracting significant attention to the unique Queensland coast.

But environmental and cultural issues have been ignored by many in the frenzy of applications and paradisaical dreams.

What’s at risk?

The jewel in Queensland’s crown is the Great Barrier Reef.

Photo: Wibble Roisin

Covering 345,000 square kilometers, it’s the largest living structure on the planet. Changing weather conditions are threatening the existence of reefs around the world, but Nicole McNaughton, Tourism Queensland’s PR project manager, is positive about the outlook:

“…The Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest and healthiest reef systems in the world. While it can cope with stress better than most reefs, the Great Barrier Reef is not immune to climate change.”

Environmental concerns

Rising water temperatures cause coral to expel certain algae, destroying themselves in the process. The dead coral quickly become bleached and start to erode.

I was concerned that further promoting mass fly-in tourism could do more harm than good. Nicole, however, was quick to point out air travel makes up a very small percentage of carbon emissions– around three percent.

Reynaldo Ramos is a civil engineer applying for the Best Job in the World with the handle ““digital environmentalist.” He outlined three activities which impact the marine environment:

1. water-based activities (diving, snorkeling, fishing);

2. marine life interaction (watching of whales, turtles, seabirds, fish feeding);

3. ship/boat-related activities (anchoring, mooring, fishing, racing); and waste generation (liquid and solid wastes from the above activities)

These activities are likely to increase as Queensland heavily promotes the recreational opportunities available.

Green credentials

Ramos emphasized that these problems are not unique to Queensland and that the island ecosystems of his home, the Philippines, are under much greater threat due to large-scale commercial fishing and the illegal use of explosives by fishermen.

Can the winning applicant do anything to mitigate the environmental effects of mass tourism? Ramos believes:

“A six-month contract is not enough to focus on the environmental issues and challenges that this marine ecosystem is facing. But in my own little way, taking advantage of my position as the island caretaker, I will do my best to identify short term strategies to mitigate these impacts for Tourism Queensland; to implement [strategies] towards proper long term management of this heritage site.”

Tourism operations in Queensland do seem to have very respectable “green” credentials. Just under half their tour operators are certified under the Australian ECO system, which promotes guidelines for sustainable travel. This is a higher percentage of certification than any of Australia’s other states.

Marine research is also partly funded through tourism income and marine biologists are directly employed by some companies. Nicole McNaughton emphasises, “By showcasing the Great Barrier Reef to the world, we are actually helping protect it by building a love and respect for what is one of the world’s greatest natural wonders in visitors from around the globe.”

But recent public awareness of environmental issues hasn’t led to the drastic policy changes necessary for determined change.

A missing piece

Photo: spudmurphy

Prior to European colonisation the land and “sea territories” surrounding the Great Barrier Reef were used by over 40 Aborigine and Torres Strait Island groups.

Indigenous Australians have struggled with displacement and institutional discrimination to a much greater extent than neighbouring New Zealand, which was colonised just a little later.

Last year saw the first-ever apology from the Australian government for the atrocities of the Stolen Generation.

One year later, little seems to have improved. There seems to be little direct gain for indigenous groups from the best job in the world. I failed to discover a single mention or image featuring indigenous culture on the Island Reef Job site.

Questioning this, I was told that Tourism Australia,

“encourages the increase of Indigenous people in all facets of tourism in Queensland and to encourage economic and socially sustainable Indigenous tourism ventures. There are a number of indigenous tourism products within the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef region and the successful candidate will have the opportunity to visit many of these and experience indigenous culture first-hand.”

An amazing opportunity…

Whoever wins the best job in the world will be given a very large soap-box from which to speak. We hope they don’t stay silent regarding the urgent issues of the global environment or fair compensation for those who lived amongst the islands for thousands of years before video applications were possible.

Community connection

Want to know more about the best job in the world? Find out how to win, meet an applicant or find out what it’s all about.