Dr Barb Koth

Barb arrived in 2003 from Duluth, Minnesota (USA), a spectacularly wild Far North region of the central U.S. She decided to move to Australia after studying sustainable tourism in Queensland (and the South Island of New Zealand and Chile) on a sabbatical. Barb was previously Research Director for the U.S. National Scenic Byways Program. Previously, she spent 10 years on the University of Minnesota (U.S.) faculty doing outreach education and research for the nature-based tourism industry. Along the way, Barb developed a successful ecotourism consulting business, and has lived or worked in countries including Zanzibar (Tanzania), Ghana, Uganda, Russia, Belarus, Thailand, Malaysia and Jordan.

Barb teaches in the area of human dimensions of environment and sustainability. She is a member of the Barbara Hardy Centre for Sustainable Urban Environments, and is interested in wildland management, nature-based tourism, community sustainability, and behavior change regarding environmental lifestyle practices.

Barbara Hardy Centre for Sustainable Urban Environments

Visit Duluth, Minnesota!

Hear (especially the wail and tremelo) and see Minnesota's state bird, the loon

Ph.D. University of Minnesota, St. Paul (USA) Natural Resource Tourism

M.S. University of Washington, Seattle (USA) Land Use Planning

B.S. Recreation Management B.S.F. Forestry Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana (USA)

• My research focuses on human dimension of environment: management of eco- and wildlife tourism, environmental conflict, and behaviour change related to adoption of environmental best practices. Other interests include land use planning for (rural) tourism, resident attitudes toward tourism, sustainable transportation options that increase liveability, benefits of green/open space and land conservation, community development in poorer international settings, and environmental sustainability of universities.
• Currently studying the effectiveness of various travel behaviour change interventions on reducing the use of vehicles, and increasing transit, cycle and pedestrian traffic, in commuting to the Mawson Lakes areas (DTEI funded). Presently initiating a case study on reducing community conflict regarding land use outside South Australia’s National Parks.
• Have published/working on papers related to assessing the impact of tourists in parks, sustainability in civil engineering education, and public perceptions of culling overpopulated iconic wildlife species.

Bonham, J and B. Koth. 2009 (pending). Universities fostering a culture of cycling. Submitted to Transportation Research Part D.

Koth, Barbara A., M. Woodward and Y. Iversen. 2009 (pending). Civil engineering education for sustainability: faculty perceptions and results of a program audit in Australia. Submitted to Australasian Association for Engineering Education annual meeting. Adelaide, December.

Koth, B. A. and M. Rosewarne. 2006. International tourist response to lethal and non-lethal methods to control overpopulation of wildlife. Presented at Second Australian Wildlife Tourism Conference, Fremantle, WA, 13-15th August 2006.

Koth, B. A. 2006. Student cycle commuting as a spur to bicycle-friendly cities. Road and Transport Research 15(4): 30-42.

Brown, G., B. Koth, G. Kreag and D. Weber. 2006. Protected Area Visitor Impact Modelling in Australia: A Review of Methods and Future Directions. Sustainable Tourism CRC. 98pp.

I am able to provide media comment in the following areas of expertise:

Discipline: Environmental Sciences

• Ecotourism, nature-based tourism
• Sustainable development