ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM
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TOURISM'S THREE MAIN IMPACT AREAS
Negative impacts from tourism occur when the level of visitor use is
greater than the environment's ability to cope with this use within the
acceptable limits of change. Uncontrolled conventional tourism poses potential
threats to many natural areas around the world. It can put enormous pressure
on an area and lead to impacts such as soil erosion, increased pollution,
discharges into the sea, natural habitat loss, increased pressure on endangered
species and heightened vulnerability to forest fires. It often puts a
strain on water resources, and it can force local populations to compete
for the use of critical resources.
DEPLETION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Tourism development can put pressure on natural resources when it increases
consumption in areas where resources are already scarce.
Water resources
Water, and especially fresh water, is one of the most critical natural
resources. The tourism industry generally overuses water resources for
hotels, swimming pools, golf courses and personal use of water by tourists.
This can result in water shortages and degradation of water supplies,
as well as generating a greater volume of waste water..
In dryer regions like the Mediterranean, the issue of water scarcity is
of particular concern. Because of the hot climate and the tendency of
tourists to consume more water when on holiday than they do at home, the
amount used can run up to 440 liters a day. This is almost double what
the inhabitants of an average Spanish city use.
Golf course maintenance can also deplete fresh water resources.
In recent years golf tourism has increased in popularity and the number
of golf courses has grown rapidly. Golf courses require an enormous amount
of water every day and, as with other causes of excessive extraction of
water, this can result in water scarcity. If the water comes from wells,
overpumping can cause saline intrusion into groundwater. Golf resorts
are more and more often situated in or near protected areas or areas where
resources are limited, exacerbating their impacts.
An average golf course in a tropical country such as Thailand
needs 1500kg of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides
per year and uses as much water as 60,000 rural villagers.
Source: Tourism
Concern
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Local resources
Tourism can create great pressure on local resources like
energy, food, and other raw materials that may already be in short supply.
Greater extraction and transport of these resources exacerbates the physical
impacts associated with their exploitation. Because of the seasonal character
of the industry, many destinations have ten times more inhabitants in
the high season as in the low season. A high demand is placed upon these
resources to meet the high expectations tourists often have (proper heating,
hot water, etc.).
Land degradation
Important land resources include minerals, fossil fuels,
fertile soil, forests, wetland and wildlife. Increased construction of
tourism and recreational facilities has increased the pressure on these
resources and on scenic landscapes. Direct impact on natural resources,
both renewable and nonrenewable, in the provision of tourist facilities
can be caused by the use of land for accommodation and other infrastructure
provision, and the use of building materials.
Forests often suffer negative impacts of tourism in the
form of deforestation caused by fuel wood collection and land clearing.
For example, one trekking tourist in Nepal - and area already suffering
the effects of deforestation - can use four to five kilograms of wood
a day.
Tourism can cause the same forms of pollution as any other
industry: air emissions, noise, solid waste and littering, releases of
sewage, oil and chemicals, even architectural/visual pollution.
Air pollution and noise
Transport by air, road, and rail is continuously increasing
in response to the rising numbe reported
that the number of international air passengers worldwide rose from 88
million in 1972 to 344 million in 1994. One consequence of this increase
in air transport is that tourism now accounts for more than 60% of air
travel and is therefore responsible for an important share of air emissions.
One study estimated that a single transatlantic return flight emits almost
half the CO2 emissions produced by all other sources (lighting, heating,
car use, etc.) consumed by an average person yearly. (Mayer Hillman, Town
& Country Planning magazine, September 1996. Source: MFOE
).
Transport emissions and emissions from energy production
and use are linked to acid rain, global warming and photochemical pollution.
Air pollution from tourist transportation has impacts on the global level,
especially from carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions related to transportation
energy use. And it can contribute to severe local air pollution. Some
of these impacts are quite specific to tourist activities. For example,
especially in very hot or cold countries, tour buses often leave their
motors running for hours while the tourists go out for an excursion because
they want to return to a comfortably air-conditioned bus.
Noise pollution from airplanes, cars, and buses, as well
as recreational vehicles such as snowmobiles and jet skis, is an ever-growing
problem of modern life. In addition to causing annoyance, stress, and
even hearing loss for it humans, it causes distress to wildlife, especially
in sensitive areas. For instance, noise generated by snowmobiles can
cause animals to alter their natural activity patterns.
In winter 2000, 76,271 people entered Yellowstone National
Park on snowmobiles, outnumbering the 40,727 visitors who came
in cars, 10,779 in snowcoaches and 512 on skis. A survey of
snowmobile impacts on natural sounds at Yellowstone found that
snowmobile noise could be heard 70% of the time at 11 of 13
sample sites, and 90% of the time at 8 sites. At the Old Faithful
geyser, snowmobiles could be heard 100% of the time during the
daytime period studied. Snowmobile noise drowned out even the
sound of the geyser erupting. (Source: Idahonews)
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Solid waste and littering
In
areas with high concentrations of tourist activities and appealing natural
attractions, waste disposal is a serious problem and improper disposal
can be a major despoiler of the natural environment - rivers, scenic
areas, and roadsides. For example, cruise ships in the Caribbean are
estimated to produce more than 70,000 tons of waste each year. Today
some cruise lines
are actively working to reduce waste-related impacts. Solid waste
and littering can degrade the physical appearance of the water and shoreline
and cause the death of marine animals.
In mountain areas, trekking tourists generate a great
deal of waste. Tourists on expedition leave behind their garbage, oxygen
cylinders and even camping equipment. Such practices degrade the environment
with all the detritus typical of the developed world, in remote areas
that have few garbage collection or disposal facilities. Some trails
in the Peruvian Andes and in Nepal frequently visited by tourists have
been nicknamed "Coca-Cola trail" and "Toilet paper trail".
The Wider Caribbean Region, stretching from Florida to French
Guiana, receives 63,000 port calls from ships each year, and
they generate 82,000 tons of garbage. About 77% of all ship
waste comes from cruise vessels. The average cruise ship carries
600 crew members and 1,400 passengers. On average, passengers
on a cruise ship each account for 3.5 kilograms of garbage daily
- compared with the 0.8 kilograms each generated by the less
well-endowed folk on shore.
Source: Our
Planet, UNEP magazine for environmentally sustainable development,
volume 10, no. 3, 1999
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Sewage
Construction
of hotels, recreation and other facilities often leads to increased
sewage pollution. Wastewater has polluted seas and lakes surrounding
tourist attractions, damaging the flora and fauna. Sewage runoff causes
serious damage to coral reefs because it stimulates the growth of algae,
which cover the filter-feeding corals, hindering their ability to survive.
Changes in salinity and siltation can have wide-ranging impacts on coastal
environments. And sewage pollution can threaten the health of humans
and animals.
Aesthetic Pollution
Often tourism fails to integrate its structures with the
natural features and indigenous architectural of the destination. Large,
dominating resorts of disparate design can look out of place in any
natural environment and may clash with the indigenous structural design.
A lack of land-use planning and building regulations in
many destinations has facilitated sprawling developments along coastlines,
valleys and scenic routes. The sprawl includes tourism facilities themselves
and supporting infrastructure such as roads, employee housing, parking,
service areas, and waste disposal.
PHYSICAL IMPACTS
Attractive landscape sites, such as sandy beaches, lakes,
riversides, and mountain tops and slopes, are often transitional zones,
characterized by species-rich ecosystems. Typical physical impacts include
the degradation of such ecosystems.
An ecosystem is a geographic area including all the living
organisms (people, plants, animals, and microorganisms), their physical
surroundings (such as soil, water, and air), and the natural cycles
that sustain them. The ecosystems most threatened with degradation are
ecologically fragile areas such as alpine regions, rain forests, wetlands,
mangroves, coral reefs and sea grass beds. The threats to and pressures
on these ecosystems are often severe because such places are very attractive
to both tourists and developers.
In industrial countries, mass tourism and recreation are
now fast overtaking the extractive industries as the largest
threat to mountain communities and environments. Since 1945,
visits to the 10 most popular mountainous national parks in
the United States have increased twelve-fold. In the European
Alps, tourism now exceeds 100 million visitor-days. Every year
in the Indian Himalaya, more than 250,000 Hindu pilgrims, 25,000
trekkers, and 75 mountaineering expeditions climb to the sacred
source of the Ganges River, the Gangotri Glacier. They deplete
local forests for firewood, trample riparian vegetation, and
strew litter. Even worse, this tourism frequently induces poorly
planned, land-intensive development.
(Source: People
and the Planet)
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Physical impacts are caused not only by tourism-related land clearing
and construction, but by continuing tourist activities and long-term
changes in local economies and ecologies.
Physical impacts of tourism development
- Construction activities and infrastructure development
The development of tourism facilities such as accommodation, water
supplies, restaurants and recreation facilities can involve sand
mining, beach and sand dune erosion, soil erosion and extensive
paving. In addition, road and airport construction can lead to land
degradation and loss of wildlife habitats and deterioration of scenery.
In Yosemite National Park (US), for instance, the number
of roads and facilities have been increased to keep pace with the
growing visitor numbers and to supply amenities, infrastructure and
parking lots for all these tourists. These actions have caused habitat
loss in the park and are accompanied by various forms of pollution
including air pollution from automobile emissions; the Sierra Club
has reported "smog so thick that Yosemite Valley could not be seen
from airplanes". This occasional smog is harmful to all species and
vegetation inside the Park. (Source: Trade
and Environment Database)
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Deforestation and intensified or unsustainable
use of land
Construction of ski resort accommodation and facilities frequently
requires clearing forested land. Coastal wetlands are often drained
and filled due to lack of more suitable sites for construction of
tourism facilities and infrastructure. These activities can cause
severe disturbance and erosion of the local ecosystem, even destruction
in the long term.
- Marina development Development of marinas and breakwaters
can cause changes in currents and coastlines. Furthermore, extraction
of building materials such as sand affects coral reefs, mangroves,
and hinterland forests, leading to erosion and destruction of habitats.
In the Philippines and the Maldives, dynamiting and mining of coral
for resort building materials has damaged fragile coral reefs and
depleted the fisheries that sustain local people and attract tourists.
Overbuilding and extensive paving of shorelines can result in destruction
of habitats and disruption of land-sea connections (such as sea-turtle
nesting spots). Coral reefs
are especially fragile marine ecosystems and are suffering worldwide
from reef-based tourism developments. Evidence suggests a variety
of impacts to coral result from shoreline development, increased
sediments in the water, trampling by tourists and divers, ship groundings,
pollution from sewage, overfishing, and fishing with poisons and
explosives that destroy coral habitat.
Physical impacts from tourist activities
- Trampling Tourists using the same trail over and over again
trample the vegetation and soil, eventually causing damage that
can lead to loss of biodiversity and other impacts. Such damage
can be even more extensive when visitors frequently stray off established
trails.
Trampling impacts on vegetation
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Trampling impacts on soil
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Breakage and bruising of stems
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Loss of organic matter
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Reduced plant vigor
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Reduction in soil macro porosity
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Reduced regeneration
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Decrease in air and water permeability
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Loss of ground cover
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Increase in run off
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Change in species composition
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Accelerated erosion
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Source: University
of Idaho
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- Anchoring and other marine activities In marine areas (around
coastal waters, reefs, beach and shoreline, offshore waters, uplands
and lagoons) many tourist activities occur in or around fragile
ecosystems. Anchoring, snorkeling, sport fishing and scuba diving,
yachting, and cruising are some of the activities that can cause
direct degradation of marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, and
subsequent impacts on coastal protection and fisheries.
There are 109 countries with coral reefs. In 90 of them
reefs are being damaged by cruise ship anchors and sewage, by
tourists breaking off chunks of coral, and by commercial harvesting
for sale to tourists. One study of a cruise ship anchor dropped
in a coral reef for one day found an area about half the size
of a football field completely destroyed, and half again as
much covered by rubble that died later. It was estimated that
coral recovery would take fifty years.
Source: Ocean
Planet
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- Alteration of ecosystems by tourist activities Habitat
can be degraded by tourism leisure activities. For example, wildlife
viewing can bring about stress for the animals and alter their natural
behavior when tourists come too close. Safaris and wildlife watching
activities have a degrading effect on habitat as they often are
accompanied by the noise and commotion created by tourists as they
chase wild animals in their trucks and aircraft. This puts high
pressure on animal habits and behaviors and tends to bring about
behavioral changes. In some cases, as in Kenya, it has led to animals
becoming so disturbed that at times they neglect their young or
fail to mate.
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