2.4 Envrionmental impacts of tourism

Question 1

Impacts on environment

Answer 1

• Nature provides important provisioning (e.g. provides freshwater and food for people and regulating ecosystem services /e.g. protecting air and water quality).
• Environmental degradation due to tourism may bring about negative environmental impacts, and affect ecosystem services (e.g. reduced supply of freshwater and food, and lower air and water quality).
  • The impacts are mostly felt by the destination region where local communities reside.
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  Positive impacts:
• conservation of natural environments and preservation of biodiversity
• restoration of degraded aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
  ———
  Negative impacts:
• pollution
• depletion of natural resources and threats to wildlife habitats

Question 2

Conservation of natural environments and preservation of biodiversity

Answer 2

• Local communities and governments in destination regions maintain a pristine environment to attract tourists to visit.
• Tourism revenue generated in the destination regions may be used to fund the protection of the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, protecting biodiversity.
• This could be done through:
  1. Establishing protected areas or National Parks where development is restricted in order to ensure the habitats are undisturbed.
  2. Employing and training specialised staff to run these parks to care for these ecosystems.
  3. Setting up environmental education programmes for tourists to encourage them to care for these ecosystems.
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  Example:
• An entrance fee of US$100 is charged to visitors entering the Galapagos National Park in Ecuador.
• The revenue generated from the fees are channelled to the conservation and upkeep of the park, including the hiring of park rangers.

Question 3

Restoration of degraded aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems

Answer 3

• Aquatic and terrestrial sites have the potential to be tourist attractions, providing motivation to restore degraded aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems to create new natural attractions, such as marine or national parks.
• This can be done by stopping and reversing degradation to these ecosystems through reforestation.
  ———
  Example:
• In Mauritius and Seychelles, coral reefs have been negatively affected by overfishing, unsustainable fishing methods and improper waste disposal.
• However, coral reefs are economically significant for local livelihoods, as well as the tourism industry.
• A regional project led by the United Nations Development Fund has been initiated to restore the coral reef ecosystem.

Question 4

Pollution

Answer 4

Due to:
1. Greenhouse emissions
2. Inadequate sewage facilities and improper waste disposal

Question 5

Greenhouse emissions

Answer 5

• Travelling by air, sea, or land requires large amounts of fossil fuels to be burned, which generates a significant amount of greenhouse gases.
• Services provided by tourism such as air-conditioned accommodation can also contribute to the increase of greenhouse gases, which can lead to enhanced greenhouse effect.
• Greenhouse gases such as **sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides* can also cause respiratory illnesses such as asthma.
• Often, air pollution can circulate over a large area, and impact areas and people far from where it originated.

Question 6

Inadequate sewage facilities and improper waste disposal

Answer 6

• The tourism industry generates a significant amount of waste.
• In places with no proper waste disposal systems, tourists may leave litter behind, leading to environmental degradation such as land and water pollution.
  ——
  Example:
• Climbers that climb Mount Everest discard tents, food containers and even human waste on the slopes in the area.
• The chemicals from the trash can contaminate the soil and groundwater, thus leading to land and water pollution.
  ——————
• Many accommodations in tourist destination regions may not have the proper sewage systems, such as wastewater treatment facilities.
• Sewage generated is not treated and may be improperly disposed of to the sea, causing water pollution
  ——
  Example:
• Boracay Island is a popular tourist destination in the Philippines.
• More than 200 local businesses, including accommodations, were not connected to the underground sewage line.
• Sewage was not treated and was dumped directly back into the sea, leading to a degradation of the water quality in the sea, threatening aquatic ecosystems.

Question 7

Depletion of natural resources and threats to wildlife habitats.

Answer 7

Construction of tourist facilities and attractions to accommodate more tourists in the destination regions can lead to:
1. Depletion in natural resources
2. Threats to wildlife habitats

Question 8

Depletion in natural resources

Answer 8

• Tourism may result in an overuse of natural resources such as water, leading to depletion of natural resources.
• These may lead to negative environmental impacts such as droughts, which may harm people and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
  ————
  Example:
• The booming tourist industry in Bali draws approximately 3 million litres of water per day
• Hotels and resorts take water from the public water supply system and large amounts of groundwater to meet the tourists’ demand.
• This leads to the rivers in the regions drying up, reducing the water resource availability for locals, and terrestrial and aquatic species.
• Due to the limited supply of water to meet the rising demand, water prices have increased
• Hence, agriculture is being increasingly unprofitable due to the rising water costs and resulting in local farmers experiencing a loss of livelihood.

Question 9

Threats of wildlife habitats

Answer 9

• construction of tourist facilities may encroach on natural areas, destroying natural environments and threatening wildlife habitats.
• Careless tourists may trample on plants, or make too much noise which can disturb and frighten off animals.
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  Example:
• In the Maldives, the government built large-scale facilities for accommodation, food and recreation for tourists, threatening the coastal environment.
• Rock and sand are dumped into the sea during the
  construction process, covering and suffocating the corals.
• It has been observed that there is a lack of big corals near the newer resorts.
• In the long term, animals dependent on the coral reefs for food and shelter, such as reef sharks, may lose their habitats and source of food.