71 Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 11:71–75, 2006 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1087-1209 print / 1533-158X online DOI: 10.1080/10871200500471025 UHDW 1087-1209 1533-158X Human Dimensions of Wildlife, Vol. 11, No. 01, December 2005: pp. 0–0 Book Reviews Book Reviews Book Reviews Karen Higginbottom (Ed.). Wildlife Tourism: Impacts, Management and Planning. 2004. Common Ground Publishing, Altona, Victoria, Australia. xv + 277 pp. ISBN: 1-86335-545-6. Reviewed by Glen T. Hvenegaard University of Alberta, Augustana Faculty Camrose, AB, Canada As newly labeled forms of sustainable tourism and ecotourism have grown in popularity, the academic literature designed to evaluate and manage the resulting impacts has also grown. With further narrowing of the focus to wildlife tourism, the topic of this edited volume, one might question the extent to which new insights can be made. However, in Wildlife Tourism: Impacts, Management and Planning, editor Higginbottom capably incorporates new research and evaluates existing models, with a goal of providing direc- tion for planning and management. Overall, she seeks to promote “Triple Bottom Line” sustainability of the wildlife tourism industry (p. 11). This book consists of 13 chapters, organized into 3 sections. The first section covers the key issues associated with the main forms of wildlife tourism under consideration (i.e., wildlife watching, zoo tourism, and hunting/fishing). The second addresses the positive and negative impacts of wildlife tourism on wildlife, host communities, and economies. The final section includes management and planning issues related to markets, business development, impacts on wildlife, and interpretation. An introductory chapter provides a useful classification of wildlife tourism and a good rationale for its management, whereas a concluding chapter integrates themes relevant to the goals of key stakeholders. Higginbottom has considerable experience with wildlife management and tourism, and has published widely on these topics. Previously involved with the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism, she brings together a diverse group of contributors, mostly from Australian universities. Although Australian examples abound, the authors support their chapters with a surprisingly rich range of international examples and case studies. Human dimensions specialists will appreciate this book’s “holistic perspective” (p. 253) on wildlife tourism, recognizing contributions from a wide range of disciplines (e.g., psy- chology to business; biology to anthropology). The successful integration of interdiscipli- nary topics (e.g., chapter 6 on contributions of wildlife tourism to conservation), uncommon in a single edited volume, encourages a thorough assessment of impacts on all related components, and assists wildlife tourism’s goal of enhancing “net benefits to society” (p. 11). Refreshingly, the contributors recognize that not all wildlife tourism has a commercial focus; much of wildlife tourism not involving companies or guides simply has a recreational focus. Both share some common management challenges, but others are unique. This book builds on, and adds to, previous works in this field. It includes analysis of new trends and incorporates much of the new impact research since Shackley’s (1996) first effort. Familiar activities, such as zoo tourism and hunting/fishing, are examined from a well-integrated perspective. The authors use case studies to illustrate major points