Tourism Impacts on the Environment PDF

Chapter 3 TOURISM IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT 3 Dimensions of Tourism CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENT The scope of the concept of environment covers the following aspects (Swarbrooke 1999):  Natural Environment (caves, mountains, beaches, seas)  Wildlife (flora and fauna)  Farms  Built E...

Chapter 3 TOURISM IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT 3 Dimensions of Tourism CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENT The scope of the concept of environment covers the following aspects (Swarbrooke 1999):  Natural Environment (caves, mountains, beaches, seas)  Wildlife (flora and fauna)  Farms  Built Environment (Infrastructures, villages and cities, building)  Natural Resources (climate, water, air)  Weather/ Climate  Natural Phenomena (eclipses, volcanic eruptions, animal migration) 2 Major types of Ecosystems:  Terrestrial Ecosystems - forests, desert, grassland and mountain ecosystems  Aquatic Ecosystems - either marine (saltwater) or freshwater ecosystems Terrestrial Ecosystems  Forest ecosystems - ecosystems in which there abundance of flora and fauna in relatively small space, or where the density of living organisms is quite high. A small change in this ecosystem could affect the whole balance, effectively bringing down the whole ecosystems.  Itcan maybe used for a variety of tourism or leisure activities, including camping, hunting.  Desert ecosystems  located in regions that receive an annual rainfall less than 25 inches  They occupy about 17% of all the land on our planet  They are characterized extremely high temperature, low water availability, intense sunlight, and consequently scarce fauna and flora  It can be utilized for dune bashing, caravanning or motor rallies  Grasslands  Located in the tropical and temperate regions  Main plants are grasses, plants and legumes that belong to the composite family  A lot of grazing animals, insectivores and herbivores inhabit the grasslands  Main types of grassland ecosystems:  Savanna ( tropical grasslands, which are dry seasonally and have few individual trees and prairies.  Prairiestemperate grasslands which only have different type of grasses. Grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.  Mountain Ecosystems  Providediverse habitats for large number of animals and plants  Highaltitude mountains are homes to thick-furred animals, who hibernate in the winter season  Lower slopes are covered with coniferous forests  Mountains could be used for mountaineering, skiing, rock-wall climbing, base jumping, camping. Aquatic Ecosystems  Marine ecosystems  Cover about 71% of the earth’s surface and 97% of the planets water  It could be oceanic, profundal, inter-tidal estuaries and coral reefs, salt marshes and hydrothermal vents  Oceanic- relatively shallow part of oceans which lies on the continental shelf  Profundal- refers to deep or bottom water part of the sea  Many fish and other marine animals live in marine ecosystems  It can be used for such tourism activities as sailing, diving, snorkelling, fishing, parasailing, jet skiing  Fresh water ecosystems  Coveronly 0.8% of Earth’s surface and contain 0.009% of the total water  Ecosystems are home of reptiles, amphibians and about 40% of fish species  Turbulent waters contain a greater concentration of dissolved oxygen, which can support greater biodiversity than slow-moving waters  Fresh ecosystems may be used for fishing, camping, sailing, whitewater rafting, canoeing  The environment plays a significant role in the tourism industry. Several tourism forms and activities are nature-related, such as ecotourism, wildlife tourism (hunting and photo safari), ski tourism, mountain tourism, cruise tourism, coastal tourism, marine tourism, trekking, camping and glamping. NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF TOURISM ON THE ENVIRONMENT  Hunter and Green in Swarbrooke identified the impacts of tourism on the physical environment to be the  disruption of breeding habits of animals  the killing of animals in hunting or as source of souvenirs, migration of animals,  trampling of vegetation  clearing of vegetation to accommodate tourist facilities  creation of sanctuary for animal conservation.  they noted that tourism also produces pollution of various types ( air, water, noise and light ) and contributes to erosion, depletion of water, fossil fuels, and fish stocks.  there are visual impacts of tourism caused by litter, sewage and algal blooms.  Huttche, White and Flores observed the following effects of tourism on coastal areas:  bacterial contamination  siltation from dredging or construction  pollution  excess nutrients from poor waste disposal and sewerage  overfishing to provide fish to tourist  coral breakage from diving or for sale as souvenirs  Warnken and Pratt  found out that recreational vessels contribute significantly to overall levels of microbial sewage indicators  Bridle, Kirkpatrick and Von Platen  studied the effect of human defecation in campsited in Australia. The results indicate that human wastes were not only unsightly but also contaminated water supply especially after periods of heavy rainfall.  LAND DEGRADATION - “temporary or permanent lowering of the productive capacity of land”  It covers soil degradation, adverse human impacts on water resources, deforestation and lowering of the productive capacity of rangelands  Land degradation on-site effects include the lowering of the productive capacity of the land which leads to reduced outputs of crops and livestocks.  Other causes of land degradation is the build up of non-biodegradable trash such as plastic bottles.  WASTES - due to careless behavior or utter disregard for the environment.  Sometimes, it is due to lack of facilities and trash bins in parks, campsites, beach resorts and other areas frequented by tourists.  Common types of solid waste: plastic bottles cigarette butts aluminum foil packaging disposable diapers  POLLUTION  Types of Pollution Air Pollution caused by release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere. Tourism contributes to the production of greenhouse gasses through exhaust from cars, buses and airplanes used by tourists and other travelers.  Light Pollution “excessive, misdirected, or obtrusive artificial light”. Light pollution from tourism can emanate from strong lights from airports, seaports, beach resorts and hotels, streetlights and neon signage in entertainment districts. Poses a serious threat to nocturnal wildlife. Glare from unshielded lighting is a public health hazard; it can cause loss of contrast, sometimes, blinds people temporarily, and makes driving difficult.  Noise Pollution includes roadway noise, aircraft noise, industrial noise as well as high-intensity sonar. Noise pollution in tourism may be generated by transportation, road traffic, appliances (vaccuum cleaner) and industrial equipment. Noice level exceeds from the standards due to heavy use of speakers, the presence of sounds, and the concentration of locals and visitors at the site. Constant exposure to noise can induce hearing loss, stress and cardiovascular diseases. Animals also avoid noisy habitats.  Water Pollution is caused by discharging wastewater from commercial and industrial sources into surface waters discharges of untreated domestic sewage and chemical contaminants release of waste and contaminants into surface run-off flowing to surface waters waste disposal and leaching into groundwater eutrophication littering. Ha Long Bay - northeast Vietnam, is known for its emerald waters and thousands of towering limestone islands topped by rainforests.  CLIMATE CHANGE - according to UNEP tourism linked to climate change as many aspects of the industry are accompanied by heavy carbon footprint. With increase leisure activity, tourism industry will be contributing more to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Tourism is the 5th biggest polluter worldwide. The emissions produced by tourism of 4-5 week of duration are bigger than the emissions produced by billions of people leaving and working for 1 year in industrialized countries or emerging economies.  WATER STRESS water scarcity is attributed partly to tourism-generated pollution, unregulated tourism development, and population growth and fluctuations during tourism high seasons. Tourism contributes to natural resource depletion. According to Tapper, Hadjikaku, Noble and Jenkinson, countries in the Carribean, Mediterranian and North Africa are suffering from severe water stress caused in part by tourism development.  HABITAT FRAGMENTATION frequently caused by humans when native vegetation is cleared for human activities which include construction of theme parks, resorts, hotels and airports. Habitat Fragmentation and destruction cause plants, animals and other organisms that occupied the habitat to have a reduced carrying capacity. For example, when forests are cleared, animals that depend on trees, such as monkeys, eventually die for lack of food and protection from predators.  ANIMAL SPECIES EXTINCTION - tourism can contribute to the animal extinction in many ways. Offering animal products as food. Commercial hunting of wild animals for meat has decimated endangered populations of certain species of animals. Sea turtle eggs and meats are sometimes offered as delicacies in some places. Angono, Rizal has a restaurant that offers snakes and monitor lizards. Animal parts such as skin, claws, feet, teeth and horns are popular souvenir items. This actions lead to extinction of these animals.  TOURISM IMPACTS ON CORAL REEFS physical damage of corals, such as breakage and lesions, may be caused by actions by snorkelers and scuba divers. BEACH ENCROACHMENT AND CROWDING an impact that has been observed in Boracay by resort owners, abetted by beach setbacks that got smaller and smaller over the years. The mandatory setback from the shoreline for buildings in the 1970s was 100 meters. POSITIVE IMPACTS OF TOURISM ON THE ENVIRONMENT Environmental Quality and Infrastructure Improvement Tourism has the potential to improve environmental quality in many ways. First, tourism can provide the incentive to develop land for commercial development.  Areas, which were once occupied by informal settlers, such as some parts of Intramuros, are earmarked for promenade construction by the Pasig River, which will widen the leisure options of city residents.  Abandoned mines are converted into tourism-oriented facilities, such as golf course.  Infrastructure improvement, such as airports, seaports, expressways and nautical highway systems not only benefits tourist but the local population as well. Not long ago, tourists to Boracay had to hire privately owned bancas to bring them to the island from the mainland. These days, there are daily scheduled trips provided by the transport business. Towns and cities that eye to be tourist destinations tend to beautify their areas, such as by constructing beautiful boundary markers, lanscaping, painted fences, and manicured hedges along the main roads. They also exert effort to make their places clean and orderly. Species Regeneration Infrastructure built for travel and tourism could actually be designed to enhance or create habitats for animals. For example, in the construction work of the Kansai International Airport, the perimeter of the man-made island shoreline was protected by gently sloping rock-piled embankment. This type of embankment was a suitable insertion ground for algae and encouraged the growth of fish and shellfish. During the 1989- 1990 monitoring of the airport's impact, 69 kinds of plants, 271 kinds of animals, and 59 kinds of fishes and shellfishes were observed. Furthermore, certain kinds of fish and shellfish which previously had not been observed in the sea area before were found. The airport island is providing a new living environment for ocean life forms.