Effective Environmental Impact Management through Ecotourism

The world has seen the offshoot of rubistry f every outgrowth dramatically in the retiring(a) fifty years and with this growth comes a concern for the cultural and environmental jars associated with it. Eco charming carry is the overbold breed of touristry ground just ab break the judgment of char good turner and cultural appreciation, espoused by many to bring signifi lavisternistert scotch gain grounds to the legion countries as hearty as creation a vexable election to mass tourism. The aim of this penning is to refresh the literary reapingions that heightenes on the environmental doctors of ecotourism. This bequeath be get tod finished the watchword of five dollar bill identify argonas.First, the multitude of translations surrounding ecotourism bequeathing be examined with a moot to identifying the meaning concepts. Second, the key players involved in the ecotourism manuf performanceure exit be pull. Third, the positive and contradict relates associated with ecotourism will be discussed. Fourth, the contrisolelying factors that occurrenceize the level of environmental impact. Fifth, the future(a) of ecotourism and how it can be managed. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for future explore.World tourism is maturement in equipment casualty of spell of trip outlers as well as in scotch expansion (World touristry disposal (W. T. O), 1997) and as the worlds largest diligence (Nelson, 1993) it earns approximately $US 2. 5 trillion annually (Dearden, 1993). Tourism takes on many opposite pretensions and nature-tourism is integrity and and(a) of these, which, in its just approximately sustainable act upon has been labelled ecotourism. Within the worldwide tourism effort ecotourism is unity of the fastest growing sectors (Eagles, 1995) and fit to a 2001 W. T. O and united Nations Environment Programme adopt ecotourism may represent amongst two and quadruplet percent of global tourism (W. T. O, 1997).Although this is a comparatively small percentage overlap it is not the volume that is significant but the fact that it is a type of tourism that tests to minimise the negative effect of traditional mass tourism, be these economic, social or environmental (Doan, 2000). in that respect has been a proliferation of ecotourism-related articles in professional journals since the late 1980s (Sirakaya, 1999) and receivable to the expansive nature of ecotourism the books covers a multitude of topics. It is for this reason that for the tar prevail of this paper I take in decocted on the journals that atomic weigh 18 concerned particularly with the environmental impacts of ecotourism.These journals take the form of rendering articles (Edwards, 1998 Sirakaya, 1999 Fennel, 2000), articles on particular episode studies (Burton, 1998 Doan, 2000 Thomlinson, 1996 Obua, 1997 Nianyong, 2001 chin up, 2000), and articles on impact related aspects from more(prenominal) of a imaginativeness point of view (Beaumont, 2001 Tyler, 1999 Acott, 1998). comp angiotensin-converting enzyment 1 Defining the Concept of Ecotourism Before raze beginning to identify what environmental impacts ecotourism is having on the environment it is key to clarify the concept of what it is.The problems of defining ecotourism energise been debated at continuance (Blamey, 1997), and on that point is a tremendous metre of literary productions exploring the definitions of ecotourism. It can be discover that Ceballos-Lascurain (1983) was one of the first people to rise a working definition (Sirakaya, 1999 Thomlinson, 1996 Edwards, 1998 Fennel, 2001). His definition was normative and he suggested that ecotourism incorporates the notions of travelling to relatively untouched essential atomic bod 18as with the objective of enjoying and admiring the argonas intrinsic and cultural manifestations.From that period on the definitions came to take on the notion of ecologic sustainability and that ecotourism should provide economic benefits for topical anaesthetic people, as well as provide funds for conservation of the visited beas ( darn, 1990 Lindberg and Hawkins, 1993 Tyler, 1996). Researchers from the firmament of biological search tend to focus master(prenominal)ly on the environmental aspects of the definition (Tyler, 1999 Nianyong, 2001 Acott et al. , 1998) when exploitation the term ecotourism in their seek papers.While parvenue(prenominal)s submit not include a definition of what they consider ecotourism to stand for (Obua, 1997 Burton, 1998), suggesting that people reading articles in the tourism journals be assumed to lead a comprehensive understanding of what the term ecotourism means. In the recent years investigate focusing on the definitions of ecotourism harbour been performed finished sate abbreviation of pre-existing definitions, one frequently(prenominal) being by Sirakaya (1999) who looked at it from a suppl y side view and identified whether tour-operators in the Americas viewed themselves in fit with their sustain ecotourism definitions and policies.These definitions to a faultk a normative and positive stall that can besides be seen in Fennels (2001) article. He as well used a centre analysis method and integrated the concept of definition alterations over beat as well as differentiating between definitions provided by regime and individuals (researchers) of importly in the Americas. by chance the more or little exhaustive prove of definitions was undertaken by Edwards et al (1998), who conducted a content analysis of the ecotourism policies employed by the presidential term agencies of all the countries in the Americas.All these content analyses provide a fresh appreciation into the definition of ecotourism although they are biased out-of-pocket to the fact that they use genuinely hardly a(prenominal) definitions provided by researchers and governments outside of the Americas. A usually cited definition that I think encapsulates the main findings of the three content analysis studies anteriorly described (Sirakaya, 1999 Fennels, 2001 Edwards et al. , 1998) is one that originated from the Ecotourism Society (1993), and for the purpose of this review is the definition I shall be using. It is-Purposeful travel to natural areas to understand the cultural and natural history of the environment, fetching care not to alter the unity of the ecosystem, while producing opportunities that make the conservation of natural resources beneficial to topical anaesthetic citizens. Section 2 Identification of the Key Players in the Ecotourism industry In this function I will identify cardinal different groups who have key roles to play in the ecotourism industry the communities residing in the host ecotourism hoidenish/area, the tourists, the tour operators, and the government agencies.All of the above groups are interconnected and affect each oth er(a) and in turn effect the environmental impact on ecotourism destinations, this will be discussed merely in section four. The belles-lettres tho provides very fleeting raiseences into the nature of the communities that are affected by ecotourism. The main way that local communities would appear to get involved in the ecotourism industry is by dint of being employed in the local tourist activities.Be it with expression accommodation (Obua, 1997), guiding (Chin et al. , 2000), or by being involved in local conservation projects (Nianyong, 2001). even even descriptions of these activities are very minimal and so will not be communicate advertise in this review. On a planetary level of description about the tourist group the authors tend to refer to them as eco-tourists (Beumont, 2001 Acott, 1998), and they are detect to be chiefly westerners (Chin et al. , 2000).It is agreed that all eco-tourists have the inherent wish to travel to natural areas with a view to appreciat ing the unspoilt environment (Tyler, 1999 Beumont, 2001 Acott, 1998) and at bottom this concept is the discussion in the books concerning the spectrum of nature shewd tourists (Burton, 1998). Beumont (2001) identified a range of different types of nature ground travellers by suggesting that each eco-tourist is unique in cost of their knowledge of the nature and view towards it.This idea can be seen in a moderately different guise in Acotts (1998) research which takes a much more phenomenological approach and segments eco-tourists into sh go away and deep groups. Shallow eco-tourists are of an anthropocentric frame of mind in that they view pieces as ruin from nature and that nature is an instrument that serves human ends. Deep eco-tourists adopt a much more holistic view of the world and view humans to be intrinsically linked with the environment.Burton (1998) identifies these differing types as casual and dedicated eco-tourists with dedicated ones having higher expectation s in terms of the quality of the ecotourism experience. Eco-tourism as a product is delivered by the ecotour operators and companies (Thomlinson, 1996). They characteristically have the bring up caper located in the base country (preponderantly western) who prepare nature tour packages and then co-ordinate with the other one-half of their business in the destination country (Higgins, 1996). The majority are small- scale of measurement operations (Blamey, 1995 McArthur, 1994).This enables the operators to practice environmentally responsible practices and to contain high quality experiences for the tourists (Burton 1998 Thomlinson, 1996). In accord with the definition of ecotourism ecotour operators ideally should act in an environmentally responsible manner insofar many researchers suggest that they are masquerading as ecotour companies and use the term ecotourism as a marketing similarlyl (Nianyong, 2001 Thomlinson, 1996 Beaumont, 2001 Burton, 1998).With re moulde to govern ment agencies involvement and attitudes towards ecotourism the content analysis theater of operations conducted by Edwards et al. 1998) provides the nigh comprehensive sixth sense into their agendas. As well as this empiric study the literature identifies them as vie an important role in the counseling of the ecotourism industry with them being the creators of the policies which control the using of natural areas (Nianyong, 2001 Chin et al. , 2000 Beaumont, 2001 Burton, 1998). This is especially genuine when the ecotourism activities take place in matter parks as designated by governments (Obua, 1997 Nianyong, 2001 Woodward, 1996).The specify they have on environmental impact management will be discussed go on in section 4. Section 3 The Positive and Negative environmental Impacts. The positive environmental impacts are essentially mediate benefits that are derived from educating tourists on environmental issues, and providing economic benefits for the destination count ry/area to tutelage in conservation of their natural resources. With respect to issue of education Beumont (1998) cites the writings of sibilation (1991) and Goudberg et al. 1991) who argue that ecotourism provides environmental education or interpretation for participants which in turn creates consciousness and understanding of the natural environment and so creating support for conservation.This idea is supported by Chin et al. (2000 31) whose qualitative study establish around a questionnaire completed by 210 eco-tourists who visited Bako national park in Borneo. It showed that 90% of respondents indicated the importance of learning about nature as part of their experience, suggesting that visitants to Bako would be super receptive to educational strategies. It is the ecotour operators who are essentially the main providers of the environmental education and Blamey (1995) notes that ecotour operators in Australia primarily set up their businesses because of their individua l(prenominal) interest in the environment. Economic benefits derived from ecotourism and that positively impact the environment take a number of forms. Boo (1990) argues that ecotourism can get down the economy and in turn give back direct funding for conservation.An example of this is where Doan (2000) cites well (1993) who expresss about mountaineering fees that are being used for the cleanup of Sagmarth discipline Park in Nepal, and has led to development ecological quality. An verificatory environmental benefit derived from ecotourism is that it provides an alternative to more damaging types of industry (Thomlinson, 1996). This can be seen in a case study (Obua, 1997) where lumber ecotourism was introduced in the Kibale National Park as a sustainable industry instead of repeal the environment finished logging.The definition provided by the Ecotourism Society suggests that ecotourism should not alter the oneness of the ecosystem, yet as Tyler and Dangerfield (1999) arg ue closely any level of human development has impacts on an ecosystem. His qualitative research took the tie-up of resource management, the resource being the ecosystems that are exploited by ecotourism, and points out that most of the ecosytems that are visited have developed severally of human interaction and have to oblige rapidly to deal with the human incursion, depending on the level of human disturbance.Tyler (1999) does point out that marine environments are particularly temptable to the teaching of ecotourism, a topic researched at length by Mason (1998) who, through the use of a qualitative research cock assessed the potential effects on two marine environments and found that predominantly negative biophysical effects occurred overdue to development of ecotourism. A study on forest degradation due to ecotourism (Obua, 1997) was the only valued research on the subject of environmental impact that was found in the literature.Perhaps an area for future research? sep arate environmental impacts of ecotourism outlined in the literature take the form of general comments about how animal behaviour is disrupted with particular extension to altered eating habits (Burger, 1998 Tyler, 1999 Thomlinson, 1996). pollution created in the forms of rubbish as well as water and vehicle pollution which is similarly mentioned in the literature (Mason, 1998 Chin et al. , 2000 Nianyong, 2001) as well as molest done to vegetation due to trampling.An indirect environmental impact that is discussed in or so depth by Burton (1998) and to a lesser design Beaumont (2001) is the fact that most eco-tourists have the expectation of appreciating the natural environment without the nominal head of large numbers pool of people. This has led to the growth of previously untouched area in an attempt to provide ecotourists with quality experiences. Section 4 Determining the level of Environmental Impact In the literature one of the biggest debates is whether eco-tourism trails to mass-tourism and its associated environmental problems (Beaumont, 2001 Doan, 2000 Mason, 1998 Obua, 1997).Even if it does not lead to fully-fledged mass-tourism it agreed throughout the literature that an increase in visitors to sensitive natural environments causes an increase in associated environmental impacts. Discussion on at what point the number of tourists is too much for a destination focuses on the concept of carrying capacity (Doan, 2000 Thomlinson, 1996). This is the theoretical localize to the number of tourists that an area can sustain without deleterious effects (Boo, 1990).They likewise refer to Butlers life cycle model and Burton (1998) cites Thomlinsons (1996) observational evidence, and argues that once the number of tourists reach a certain level then ecotourism turns into mass-tourism. So as described, the number of tourists converging on a destination is a key factor on the level of environmental impact, yet what factors contribute to the differin g numbers of ecotourists? A common idea in the literature is the attitudes of the governing bodies towards the development of ecotourism sites (Thomlinson, 1996 Obua, 1997 Chin et al. 2000 Nianyong, 2001). A common theme is that governments have been tempted by the prospect of making a fast-flying buck, and therefore do not put in place policies check exploitation of their countries natural resources, and policies bound numbers of tourists. Although one country that has minimised environmental impacts through limiting the number of western tourists is Bhutan (Brunet, 2001), yet not totally as they still allow an unlimited number of Indians to cross their borders, a policy controlled by the governmentNianyong (2001) alike illustrates that governments should be instrumental in luck to develop environmentally responsible policies within their country as well as providing funds for research. further in the case of Nianyongs research which was a survey conducted in China, he point s out that a hand of ecotourism destinations are in the three world, this is can be seen in the way that most of the case studies on ecotourism are based in the third world. These host countries cant move over to provide funds for appropriate ecotourism development, a point corroborated by Chin et al. 2000) whose study was based in Malaysia. til now paradoxically politics were responsible for increasing the number of eco-tourists to the Bako national park in 1988 through tourism promotion. Chin et al. (2000) suggests that this was driven by economic interests. The next area of discussion focuses on how eco-tour operators affect the level of environmental impact that ecotourism destinations experience. As previously mentioned it is suggested that eco-tour operators are simply exploiting the concept of ecotourism by using it as a marketing tool.Burton (1998) cites a number of researchers who suggest that surveys indicate that a large number of eco-tour operators cannot be conside red to act in an environmentally responsible manner (Botrill and Pearce, 1995 Weiler, 1992 Holden & Kealy, 1996 Jones, 1993). This obviously has serious implications for the level of environmental impact and in Belize supposedly ecotourism companies have destroyed large swaths of mangrove swamps in order to develop luxury bungalows (Thomlinson, 1996). besides although most eco-tour operators are small businesses there are so many of them they can negatively impact the environment through a cumulative effect (Thomlinson, 1996 Beaumont, 2001). As illustrated the number of ecotourists descending upon an area is one of the main factors determining the level of environmental impact Yet there are references in the literature that point out that it is the innate attitude of the actual eco-tourist towards pro-environmental causes that plays an important part in the level of environmental impact that ecotourism destinations experience (Acott, 1998 Chin et al. 2000 Beaumont, 2001). Acott (199 8) who discusses ecotourism in terms of shallow and deep differentiates different types of eco-tourists in terms of the level to what extent they pursue environmentally sustainable lifestyles. He uses the example of a low impact eco-traveller who stays in very basic accommodation and pursues a minimal impact experience compared to a large group of bird watchers staying in a luxury hotel with the expectation of a westernised ecotourism experience.Section 5 The Future of Ecotourism The focus of this section is to identify the numerous variables correlate with the victory of ecotourism as a sustainable option for the future, and the recommendations documented in the literature to ensure the long-term success of ecotourism. As it is recognised that large numbers of tourists have detrimental affects on the environment, many of the researchers talk about limiting visitor numbers (Burton, 1998 Thomlinson, 1996 Nianyong, 2001 Chin et al. 2000). Yet how many is too many? Tyler (1999) and t o a lesser extent Doan (2000) suggest that the resource base (the ecotourism destination) as an ecosystem penurys to be considered primarily, and to define merchantable products that will have an absorbable impact. In relation to really controlling the number of visitors it is generally agreed that government tourism agencies are ones who have the power to machine these controls.Thomlinson (1996) suggests that infrastructure should be limited and then discouraging large scale tours, this was actually achieved in Bako National Park Malaysia, whereby the authorities decided not to build a main road into the park and only allow tourists access to the park via river boats. Nianyong (2001) as well as suggests that operators wishing to establish ecotourism businesses in national parks should have to obtain licenses thereby maintaining the integrity of the industry.There are also suggestions that as ecotourism is after all a business, causing smaller eco-tour operators (who have les s of an impact on the evironment) being compel out of the market by larger operators. These larger operators are seen to be the ahead(p) edge of mass tourism and achieve greater profits through economies of scale (Burton, 1998, Thomlinson, 1996). Therefore they argue that government agencies need to promote and perhaps subsidise the smaller operatives and restrict the growth of larger operators.Yet the tension that exists with governments, especially in third world countries, is that they lack funds and by limiting the number tourists they are limiting the economic benefits provided by the ecotourism industry. These government agencies have to realise that although increase in visitor numbers means greater profits, eco-tourists call for to experience nature without being move by other humans (Burton, 1998). Boo (1990 96) noted in reference to the environmental effects of ecotourism that tourism, if not managed properly, can destroy tourism.The issue of educating eco-tourists is the other fundamental tool that can be used in maintaining the sustainability of ecotourism. By creating positive attitudes towards environmental rescue amongst tourists it fosters awareness about the future implications of ecotourism amongst the very people who are the consumers of the product, and who directly impact the environment they are visiting. Fortunately according to Sirakayas (1999) research according to tour operators, ecotourism also includes involvement in after travel to inspire personal obligation.The raises the point addressed at length by Beaumont (2001) that it is the responsibility of the eco-tour operators to provide quality education to the tourists. Nianyong (2001) also points out that local communities in the host destination need to be ameliorate and involved and encouraged to participate in environmental conservation. A point only briefly touched upon in other articles. Section 6 Conlusion Five lines of doubt were discussed, each focusing on different aspects. However, these aspects are highly interconnected.The first section outlined how research into the definitions of ecotourism had mainly been qualitative. recently however the research has tended to be functionalist in nature with quantitative studies employing content analysis techniques as a means to attempt to settle the definition debate. I observed definite core themes in the research yet felt as did the most recent researchers did that pinpointing an exact definition was act of futility, due to the global nature of ecotourism.Yet the definition I used at the bottom of section 1 provided the undercoat of reference for the duration of the review. In the irregular and third section the research findings illustrated the interconnectedness of the key players in the ecotourism industry and the effects they are having as a full-page on the environment. The articles that were found to provide the beaver insight into the comminuted effects of what environmental impacts ec otourism has on host countries were found in Case Study articles, where various regions were examined in depth.Although a problem with these case studies was that they were slightly limited in that they all examined ecotourism activities in national parks. I would suggest future research that focuses on areas that are not national parks, but which do resign ecotourism, one such place being Kodaikanal in southern India, a place where as an ecotourist myself, inspired this review. There was also a distinct lack of detailed quantitative research of a geographic nature into environmental impacts, yet research of this nature is inherently difficult due to the complex nature of ecosystems.Section four and five viewed ecotourism and its capacity to minimise environmental damage in the context of the larger picture by pulling together the previous sections. The literature acknowledged that ecotourism is a business after all and that market forces as with nearly everything in this world ar e driving factors behind whether ecotourism is a success or not in the future. Yet it can be seen just through observing the recent initiation of new journals such as the Journal of sustainable Tourism that there is concern for the benefit the environment, especially with the dramatic annual growth of tourism.Therefore research into the ecotourism industry will almost certainly continue apace. This is golden as Tyler (1999) points out there are a multitude of dimensions and paradigms associated with ecotourism research, ranging from philosophy to ecological economics. To conclude, the future of ecotourism is an uncertain one. Negative environmental impacts have definitely been observed, although in other areas where effective policies have been implemented the environment has apparently not suffered and the sustainability of the industry is assured.There is evidence that supports the theory that ecotourism leads to mass tourism and its associated problems. Yet, I would observe that the commonality amongst all these issues is that geographical location causes the differing variables associated with ecotourism development and is the deciding factor as to whether ecotourism can be implemented successfully to protect the environment. This is where further research should be directed enable future ecotourism planners to have a reference point according to their global location.