ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM
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HOW TOURISM CAN CONTRIBUTE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
The tourism industry can contribute to conservation through:
Financial contributions
- Direct financial contributions
Tourism can contribute directly to the conservation of sensitive areas
and habitat. Revenue from park-entrance fees and similar sources can
be allocated specifically to pay for the protection and management of
environmentally sensitive areas. Special fees for park operations or
conservation activities can be collected from tourists or tour operators.
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The tour operator Discovery
Initiatives, which is a member of the Tour
Operators Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development, makes
an annual financial contribution to the Orangutan Foundation of
some US$ 45,000. The money is earned from only 5 tour groups of
10 people each visiting the Tanjing Putting National Park in Central
Kalimantan. The park is under huge pressures from deforestation
and river pollution from unrestricted gold mining. This money directly
funds park staff and rangers, rehabilitation efforts for young orangutans,
and the care center. It provides almost the only economic support
for saving this park, where the park fees are officially only the
equivalent of 12 pence a day.
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- Contributions to government revenues
Some governments collect money in more far-reaching and indirect ways
that are not linked to specific parks or conservation areas. User fees,
income taxes, taxes on sales or rental of recreation equipment, and
license fees for activities such as hunting and fishing can provide
governments with the funds needed to manage natural resources. Such
funds can be used for overall conservation programs and activities,
such as park ranger salaries and park maintenance.
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The Seychelles in the Indian Ocean is introducing a US$ 90 tax
on travelers entering the Seychelles. Revenue will be used to preserve
the environment and improve tourism facilities. (UNEP,
report to the CSD, 1999)
In West Virginia (US) a whitewater rafting tax is collected
from everyone who participates in a commercial rafting trip. The
fee goes toward studying the environmental impacts of rafting. In
addition, the rafting companies participate in several river cleanup
days each year. (EPA)
In Belize, a US$ 3.75 departure tax goes directly to the Protected
Area Conservation Trust, a Belizean fund dedicated to the conservation
of the barrier reef and rainforest. (The
International Ecotourism Society)
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For Costa Rica, for example, tourism represents 72% of national monetary
reserves, generates 140,000 jobs and produces 8.4% of the gross domestic
product. The country has 25% of its territory classified under some category
of conservation management. In 1999, protected areas welcomed 866,083
national and foreign tourists, who generated about US$ 2.5 million in
admission fees and payment of services.
Improved environmental management and planning
Sound environmental management of tourism facilities and especially hotels
can increase the benefits to natural areas. But this requires careful
planning for controlled development, based on analysis of the environmental
resources of the area. Planning helps to make choices between conflicting
uses, or to find ways to make them compatible. By planning early for tourism
development, damaging and expensive mistakes can be prevented, avoiding
the gradual deterioration of environmental assets significant to tourism.
Cleaner
production techniques can be important tools for planning and operating
tourism facilities in a way that minimizes their environmental impacts.
For example, green building (using energy-efficient and non-polluting
construction materials, sewage systems and energy sources) is an increasingly
important way for the tourism industry to decrease its impact on the environment.
And because waste treatment and disposal are often major, long-term environmental
problems in the tourism industry, pollution
prevention and waste minimization techniques are especially important
for the tourism industry. A guide to sources of information on cleaner
production (free) is available here.
Environmental awareness raising
Tourism has the potential to increase public appreciation of the environment
and to spread awareness of environmental problems when it brings people
into closer contact with nature and the environment. This confrontation
may heighten awareness of the value of nature and lead to environmentally
conscious behavior and activities to preserve the environment. For instance,
Honduran schoolchildren from the capital city of Tegucigalpa are routinely
taken to visit La Tigra cloud forest visitor center, funded in part by
eco-tourist dollars, to learn about the intricacies of the rainforest.
If it is to be sustainable in the long run, tourism must incorporate
the principles and practices of sustainable
consumption. Sustainable consumption includes building consumer demand
for products that have been made using cleaner production techniques,
and for services - including tourism services - that are provided in a
way that minimizes environmental impacts. The tourism industry can play
a key role in providing environmental information and raising awareness
among tourists of the environmental consequences of their actions. Tourists
and tourism-related businesses consume an enormous quantity of goods and
services; moving them toward using those that are produced and provided
in an environmentally sustainable way, from cradle to grave, could have
an enormous positive impact on the planet's environment.
Protection and preservation
Tourism can significantly contribute to environmental protection, conservation
and restoration of biological diversity and sustainable use of natural
resources. Because of their attractiveness, pristine sites and natural
areas are identified as valuable and the need to keep the attraction alive
can lead to creation of national parks and wildlife parks.
In Hawaii, new laws and regulations have been enacted to preserve the
Hawaiian rainforest and to protect native species. The coral reefs around
the islands and the marine life that depend on them for survival are also
protected. Hawaii now has become an international center for research
on ecological systems - and the promotion and preservation of the islands'
tourism industry was the main motivation for these actions. (Source: Mundus)
Grupo Punta Cana, a resort in
the Dominican Republic, offers an example of how luxury tourism development
and conservation can be combined. The high-end resort was established
with the goal of catering to luxury-class tourists while respecting the
natural habitat of Punta Cana. The developers have set aside 10,000 hectares
(24,700 acres) of land as a nature reserve and native fruit tree garden.
The Punta Cana Nature Reserve includes 11 fresh water springs surrounded
by a subtropical forest where many species of unusual Caribbean flora
and fauna live in their natural state. Guests can explore a "nature path"
leading from the beach through mangroves, lagoons of fresh water springs
and dozens of species of Caribbean bird and plant life. The Punta Cana
Ecological Foundation has begun reforesting some parts of the reserve
that had been stripped of their native mahogany and other trees in the
past. Other environmentally protective policies have been put into effect
at the resort, such as programs to protect the offshore barrier reefs
and the recycling of wastewater for use in irrigating the grounds. The
fairways of the resort's new golf course were planted with a hybrid grass
that can be irrigated with sea water The grass also requires less than
half the usual amounts of fertilizer and pesticides. The resort has also
established a biodiversity
laboratory run by Cornell University.
Tourism has had a positive effect on wildlife preservation and protection
efforts, notably in Africa but also in South America, Asia, Australia,
and the South Pacific. Numerous animal and plant species have already
become extinct or may become extinct soon. Many countries have therefore
established wildlife reserves and enacted strict laws protecting the animals
that draw nature-loving tourists. As a result of these measures, several
endangered species have begun to thrive again.
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In the Great Lakes region of Africa, mountain gorillas, one
of the world's most endangered great apes, play a critical ecological,
economic and political role. Their habitat lies on the borders of
northwestern Rwanda, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and southwestern
Uganda. Despite 10 years of political crisis and civil war in the
region, the need for revenue from ape-related tourism has led all
sides in the conflict to cooperate in protecting the apes and their
habitat.
Establishment of a gorilla tracking permit, which costs US$
250 plus park fees, means that just three habituated gorilla groups
of about 38 individuals in total can generate over US$ 3 million
in revenue per year, making each individual worth nearly US$ 90,000
a year to Uganda. Tourism funds have contributed to development
at the local, national and regional level. The presence of such
a valuable tourism revenue source in the fragile afromontane forests
ensures that these critical habitats are protected, thus fulfilling
their valuable ecological function including local climate regulation,
water catchment,and natural resources for local communities.
Source: UNEP
Great Apes Survival Project and Discovery
Initiatives
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Alternative employment
Tourism can provide an alternative to development scenarios that may
have greater environmental impacts. The Eco-escuela de Espaņol, a Spanish
language school created in 1996 as part of a Conservation International
project in the Guatemalan village of San Andres, is an example. The community-owned
school, located in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, combines individual language
courses with home stay opportunities and community-led eco-tours. It receives
around 1,800 tourists yearly, mostly from the US and Europe, and employs
almost 100 residents, of whom around 60% were previously engaged in mostly
illegal timber extraction, hunting and milpas, or slash-and-burn
agriculture. Careful monitoring in 2000 has shown that, among the families
benefiting from the business, the majority has significantly reduced hunting
practices, and the number and extension of "slash-and-burn" agricultural
plots. Furthermore, as most families in the village benefit directly or
indirectly from the school, community-managed private reserves have been
established, and social pressure against hunting has increased.
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Awareness raising and alternative employment: the orangutan
viewing centre at Bohorok, Indonesia
Observing wild and semi-wild orangutans in their natural habitat
is a significant environmental education opportunity for large numbers
of domestic visitors. To enhance this education experience, the
existing station at Bohorok, North Sumatra is to be transformed
from a rehabilitation center into an orangutan viewing center, thus
offering another, crucial contribution to the sustainable conservation
of the rainforest ecosystem. By developing ecotourism for orangutan
viewing under the new project, all visitors will gain a rewarding
personal experience from orangutans, wildlife and the rainforest
ecosystem in general. This will increase their awareness of the
importance of rainforest conservation. Moreover, tourism will continue
to provide a major source of income for the local population, thus
promoting sustainable forest utilization as a genuine alternative
to timber exploitation and the poaching and trade of wildlife.
Source: Sumatran
orangutan conservation programme
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Regulatory measures
Regulatory measures help offset negative impacts; for instance, controls
on the number of tourist activities and movement of visitors within protected
areas can limit impacts on the ecosystem and help maintain the integrity
and vitality of the site. Such limits can also reduce the negative impacts
on resources.
Limits should be established after an in-depth analysis of the maximum
sustainable visitor capacity. This strategy is being used in the Galapagos
Islands, where the number of ships allowed to cruise this remote archipelago
is limited, and only designated islands can be visited, ensuring visitors
have little impact on the sensitive environment and animal habitats.
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