National recreation plan needed

Press, 30 August 1977, Page 31

National recreation plan needed

Wellington reporter The need for a national recreation plan — particularly for outdoor recreation — was the main point to emerge from the three-day symposium on outdoor recreational planning in Wellington last week. Recreation planning was suffering because there was no plan and also because it was hard to add up the value of recreation, compared with farming, mining and forestry, which competed with outdoor recreation for land and water. Delegates agreed that too much attention had been paid to research into the physical resources available and need for outdoor recreation, and too little to its social aspects.

But as 70 per cent of those involved in outdoor recreation belonged to no organised group or club, assessing their needs would be difficult. Many recommendations emerged from the symposium, which will be passed over to the Council for Recreation and Sport for action or evaluation. A statement of the Government’s views on suitable aims and goals for reCurfew again The Sri Lanka Government has begun a mass resettlement of 25,000 of its Tamil-speaking minority in an attempt to solve widespread violence which has claimed at least 54 lives. The Prime Minister (Mr Junius Jayewardene) also reimposed a general eighthour night curfew on the island and round-the-clock curfew in the east coast town of Trincomalee, where the situation was reported to be very tense. — Colombo.

creational planning was also sought. The major document of the symposium was a “Marlborough Recreation Plan,” the first full look at an area’s potential and its likely needs. Other such plans can be expected now that a pilot plan has been completed.