BML 111
Student Number: 0904366
Islands and the Environmental Impacts of Tourism Tourism and the changes of the environment. The growth of tourism globally in the last few decades has been argued to have many impacts, including those concerning the environment. Page and Connell (2006: 374) state that, ‘the growth of tourism has promoted debate about environmental consequences’ and that ‘in many locations, tourism development has taken place with little regard for the natural environment’ Page and Connell (2006: 373). Why concentrate on islands in particular? Although tourism can have environmental impacts globally, the impacts are more evident on islands, ‘as island ecosystems are characterised by limited space and species, the impacts are very obvious’ (Page, 2007: 404). Islands are also of particular interest in terms of environmental impacts of tourism because island communities are searching for alternative types of tourism to avoid the, ‘growing disenchantment with crowding and ecosystem degradation,’ (Smith and Eadington, 1992, as cited in Conlin and Baum, 1995: 23) to adhere to, ‘world-wide environmentalists who call for sustainable development’ (de Kadt, 1992, as cited in Conlin and Baum, 1995: 23) and because there is, ‘an increasing demand among select vacationers for pristine natural experiences’ (Johnson, 1990, as cited in Conlin and Baum, 1995: 23). The Environmental Impacts. Page and Connell (2006: 374) identify that tourism and the environment have a symbiotic relationship, meaning that ‘each is dependent on the other for maintaining a balance’ because, ‘without tourism, environmental conservation can be at risk and without an attractive environment, tourism cannot succeed.’ This is especially true of islands as, ‘tourism is normally based on the island’s natural attractions (often being remote, attractive scenery and wildlife)’ (Macleod, 2004: 14). There are many environmental impacts which can be caused by tourism on an island and some of the more common positive and negative ones are illustrated below. Protection of wildlife
Pollution
Conservation
The Environmental Impacts of tourism on Islands
Loss of natural habitat
Enhancement of the local environment
Geographical spread of disease
Inappropriate development
Loss of Natural Habitat is a common impact of tourism on island destinations and in many cases, when no action is taken against it, it leads to the extinction of species. A key example of tourism decreasing natural habitats is that of the Loggerhead Turtle who nest off the coast of the Greek island, Zakynthos during the peak tourist season. Page and Connell (2006: 380) identify the concern expressed for this endangered species as only one or two out of every thousand turtles reaches adulthood and tourism is part of the reason for this low figure for the following reasons: Loss of beach nesting areas - developers and tourists encroach on the habitat and trees providing shade for tourists causes barriers to successful nesting. Nesting females and young disorientated by artificial illumination -lights from beachfront attract turtles inland where they often die. Noise -turtles are confused by loud noises. Traffic -traffic on the beach causes sand compaction which can cause the eggs to hatch at the wrong time. Pollution -litter and boat oil may be consumed and cause chocking and death. The loggerhead Turtle Activities in the water -turtles often become entangled Source: http://www.e-zaknthos.com/ecology/ in fishing lines, drown in nets and are injured in collisions zante.zakynthos.caretta.caretta.turtle.php. with watercrafts (Page and Connell, 2006: 380.)
Conservation While tourism has been named as the cause for many negative environmental impacts, it is responsible for many positive outcomes too, such as conservation. When talking about the small islands of Greece, Dieterich and Van der Straaten (2004: 111) note that ‘there should always be linkages between tourism policy and policies that favour landscape conservation’ and in many destinations, there are. Page and Connell (2007: 384) identify examples of conservation which is brought about by tourism and they include providing, ’the impetus for converting disused buildings into foci for tourism activity’ and providing the ’financial means to restore and/or maintain historic buildings in an appropriate way.’ An example of this would be St Agatha’s Tower or the Red Tower in Mellieħa, Malta. It was originally completed in 1649 and was used by both the Knights of St John and in both world wars. By 1999, the tower had fallen into disrepair but St Agatha’s Tower, Mellieħa, Malta. Source: http://www.dinlarthelwa.org/content/ Malta’s National Trust organisation, Din L-Art Ħelwa view/46/55/. restored the entire building by 2001 and it is now open to the public as a tourist attraction.
Inappropriate Development is defined by Page and Connell (2006: 339) as development which, ’fails to be sensitive to the natural environment and it has been evident on many islands, including Mallorca and The Waikiki area of Honolulu, Hawaii. The highly developed area of Waikiki has had high density tourism development which has lead to ‘skyscraper hotels obscuring views of the coast.’ Inappropriate development can also lead to or increase pollution, erosion, impacts on ground water and the destruction of habitats and ecosystems (Page, 2007).
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Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii. Source: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/3cabc/ bcac9/.
BML 111
Student Number: 0904366
Protection of Wildlife. Although there are many cases where tourism on island destinations harms and destroys natural wildlife, it can also cause or contribute to the protection of it. For example, the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador have been labelled a model island in ecotourism with their ‘well-run National Park, low-impact floating hotels and environmentally aware tourists’ (Honey, 1999: 123). Tom Fritts, a wildlife biologist (cited in Honey, 1999: 124) stated that ‘the Galapagos still have about 90 percent of their native The Galapagos Islands National Park. flora and fauna’ and Honey (1999) argues that Source: http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/8/13/204738/736/ conservation is possible because of the high visi- travel/World's+Best+National+Parks:+Galapagos+Islands. tor numbers and the high entrance fees to National Parks and states that the islands bring in 60% of Ecuador’s government’s tourism revenue. The islands are an example of where tourists paying to experience a natural environment conserve it with their funding.
Pollution is another negative impact which can effect islands in particular. Gössling and Hall (2006:116) identify that ‘sewage, grey water discharges and litter are those most likely forms of pollution to be associated with tourism activity’ and the impacts can be heightened by an island’s isolation and by how little their waste disposal system is developed in comparison with mainland destinations. Unfortunately, pollution is an impact which nearly always causes further impacts for a destination and can include the increased nutrients in the water which cause ‘eutrophication in lakes and subsequent death of aquatic life’ and which also cause plagues of jellyfish which harm and repel and bathers and there is the impact of an increased risk of bathers contracting typhoid or diarrhoea, Page and Connell (2006: Algae-covered reefs in the Perhentian Islands 381). Another impact was witnessed in the Perhentian Source: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp? islands off the coast of Malaysia where the reefs only have file=/2008/12/27/lifetravel/2051843&sec=lifetravel. 34% live coral because as shown in the image, they are smothered which algae, caused by an increase in nutrients, which is in turn caused by pollution.
Enhancement of Local environment As already identified by Johnson (1990, cited in Conlin and Baum, 1995: 23) more and more vacationers demand ‘pristine natural experiences.’ Page and Connell (2006: 384) argue that where this is the case and when tourism is an important source of income –as it is on many island destinations– ‘local government will seek to retain and increase visitor numbers by improving the general amenity value of the local environment.’ This was shown by the Centre Parcs development in Sherwood Forest, UK who state that their aim is to increase biodiversity on all of the sites they own and that the sites were placed ‘in areas of low or damaged biodiverCentre Parcs, Sherwood Forest. sity with the result being a significant enhancement of the biodiSource: http://www.centerparcs.co.uk/ versity’ (Centre Parcs, 2008). Page and Connell (2006: 384) sherwoodphotogallery.jsp. support this by stating the development resulted in ‘the planting of 500,000 trees, the seeding of native grasses and wild flower species and the overall increase in ecological diversity’. This has since lead to the return of species such as the Nightjar and the Grass Wave Moth and the first recorded sighting of an Emperor Dragonfly.
How can the impacts be managed? Many island destinations have attempted to manage the environmental impacts of tourism in many ways and examples of how only the impacts caused by the visitor can be managed in a destination are shown below. Page and Dowling (2002, cited in Page, 2007: 426) identify how impacts can also be managed in terms of the destination itself. They state that types of zones where ecotourism or environmental issues are critical must be identified, such as sanctuary zones - with special preservation provisions nature conservation zones - where protection and conservation are balanced outdoor recreation zones - where a wide range of activities are accommodated tourism development zones - with clusters of tourist activities and attractions/infrastructure other land used to accommodate social and economic activity. Technique
Examples
Regulating access by area
Excluding visitors from sacred sites such as aboriginal lands
Regulating access by transport
Park and ride schemes to prevent in-town use of cars, or car-free environments
Regulating visitor numbers & group size
Group size restrictions in Antarctica
Regulating types of visitors permitted
Discouraging certain groups through marketing
Regulating visitor behaviour
Zoning of visitor activities to allocate certain activities to certain areas
Regulating equipment
Prohibiting off-road driving except in permitted areas
The use of entry or user fees
Charging visitors to National Parks and Reserves so some of the fee is for conservation
Modifications to sites
Constructing hardened paths to direct visitors
Market research
To identify reasons for visiting and so develop tools to modify visitor behaviour
Promotional marketing campaigns
The provision of alternative destinations to relieve pressure on congested sites
Provision of interpretation programmes
Provision of guided tours or guides to avoid congestion at key sites.
Visitor management techniques in tourism (Hall and McArthur, 1998, cited in Page, 2007: 408).
Summary There has been a significant increase in emphasis on being environmentally friendly and sustainable in the tourism industry in recent years. It can be argued that the industry is now at the point when it has acknowledged the problems, found numerous solutions which could work and in some places, the solutions are being put into practise. However, it will be a long time before tourism can be entirely sustainable, simply because of its nature and the amount of resources it has to use to function. Instead, companies in the tourism industry should aim to be as sustainable as possible in order to preserve the environments which the tourists are drawn to in the first place.
References Centre Parcs, (2008) Biodiversity and Forest Management. Accessed: 04/05/2010, from: http:// www.centerparcs.co.uk/company/biodiversity.jsp. Conlin, M.V. & Baum, T. (1995) Island Tourism: Management Principles and Practice. Chichester: Wiley. Dieterich, M. & Van der Straaten, J. (2004) Cultural landscapes and land use: the nature conservation-society interface. : Springer. Gössling, S. & Hall, C.M. (2006) Tourism & Global Environmental Change: Ecological, Social, Economic and Political Interrelationships. USA and Canada: Routledge. Honey, M. (1999) Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who owns Paradise? USA: Island Press. Macleod, D.V.L. (2004) Tourism, Globalisation and Cultural Change: An Island Community Perspective. Clevedon: Channel View. Page. S. (2007) Tourism Management: Managing for Change, 2nd Edition. Italy: ButterworthHeinemann. Page, S.J. & Connell, J. (2006) Tourism: A Modern Synthesis, 2nd Edition. London: Thompson
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