ABSTRACT
Following the successful application of the buffer zone planning (BZP) model to Tatry and Gorce national parks in the 1980s, several theoretical applications were developed in Australia in the late 1980s and 1990s, the purpose being to apply the model, and evaluate and refine it, where necessary. This chapter provides a brief overview of the application of the BZP model within the Great Sandy World Heritage Area, one being to the Cooloola section of the park (Peterson 1991) and the other to Fraser Island (Hruza 1993). The Cooloola sandmass system has been a focus of attention since the 1960s. The chapter provides the similarities between Fraser Island's core and that of Cooloola, in relation to the structure and method of formation of the island's physical resources and the subsequent sensory values. The external threats to the core's soil resources were identified as removal of vegetation and water pollution.
