CAUSE, EFFECTS & ANALYSIS

               Unfortunately this will be my last post on my Blog entries on, The Environmental Impacts of Tourism, but I would like to finish this blog with restating the cause and effects of these environmental issues.  I would also like to share my personal feelings and opinions within these matters of what society can do as a whole to help mitigate and minimize these impacts.  If we do not start to take a stand now on laying out strict environmental guidelines and laws within the realms of sustainable development than we will continue to destroy this beautiful world that gives us life and replace it with death.

                It is quite obvious that greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of global warming which is the catalyst to many preceding, contemporary and imminent catastrophic events.  As stated in previous blogs, global warming is the facilitator of receding glaciers, rising sea temperatures (causing the destruction of coral reefs around the world), and the migration of invasive species to new locations.  For example the receding Mt. Kilimanjaro glacier will likely be gone by 2020 (independent.co.uk), The Maldives Islands will fall due to the rising sea levels (guardian.co.uk.com), and polar bears are beginning to migrate to land earlier in the year and leaving later as a result of climate change.

                I personally believe that society as a whole and worldwide, should implement strict laws and regulations regarding the amount of greenhouse gas emissions the one nation is allowed to emit. But also keeping in mind and striving for the lowest amounts of emissions expelled possible.  We need to understand that there will one day be no more oil to burn.  In 100 years we have used 50% of the world’s easily accessible oil reserves (Billy Collins) and have completely relied on oil to make our world turn.  If we ran out of oil tomorrow the world would stop in a halt and fall into complete and utter chaos.  We need to begin using and implementing the new technology we have discovered that does not rely on and result in the depletion of our worlds natural resources.  Some of these new technological advances include electric cars, solar power, wind power, carbon based waste being turned into oil through a process called thermo-depolymerisation, desalination (the process of removing the salt and minerals from sea water), harnessing waves and tides to store energy through turbines and by making paper obsolete with a new electronic paper that can be reused over and over.

I hope you have enjoyed my blogs and hope you managed to learn something new from them! REMEMBER TO BE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY!

The following link is an interesting article/site which inderlines the top 10 emerging environmental technologies that can help get you thinking green! Enjoy

http://www.livescience.com/11334-top-10-emerging-environmental-technologies.html

Impacts of Mass Tourism Continued...

             

           Another example I would like to look at is the impacts that improper sanitation systems have on the environment.  In the town of Goa, India they do not have proper sanitation systems so the general public and any tourists visiting that location must use the beach in order to answer nature`s call.  This has shown on some studies to be one of the many causes in the decline in fish populations and fish diversity within daily catches.  The combination of human waste and improper disposal of garbage has left an extremely detrimental impact on the environment.  All waste impacts the environment in a negative way but through knowledge and newfound technology we can minimize that impact and further create a more eco-friendly tourist location. 

                Of the 20 favourite long haul tourist destination in the world, 14 of them are in developing countries.  Most of these tourists travelling to these locations are from rich nations and generally these travellers are accustomed to plentiful resources, and due to lack of information, they aren`t always aware about how limited these resources may be.  Therefore problems begin to arise when travellers maintain their normal consumption patterns in places that simply cannot accommodate them. One of the most serious effects mass tourism has had on developing countries has to do with water consumption.  The average amount of water used by one tourist in one day is equivalent to the amount of water used by a villager in a developing country to produce rice for 100 days.  Tourist attractions such as golf courses require a lot of water in order to upkeep the course and can use as much water in a season as a town of 10,000 people.

                In addition, one of the major contributors to environmental problems is greenhouse gases.  The travel and tourism industry is responsible for about 5% of yearly greenhouse gas emissions.  The impact that climate change has had due to the emissions has already damaged some of the worlds most beautiful and pristine tourism destinations and ecosystems. For example the famous snows on Mt. Kilimanjaro will likely be gone by 2020 (source: independant.co.uk). The tranquil Maldives Islands will fall due to the rising sea levels (source: guardian.co.uk.com).  Finally, the glaciers in Glacier National Park in Montana, USA are rapidly disappearing (source: nationalgeographic.com).

The Effects Mass Tourism has had on Developing Countries

Overcrowding, misuse of natural resources, the construction of buildings and infrastructure, and other activities associated with tourism, produce impacts on the environment. These impacts may not only be physical, but also cultural.  In general, impacts of tourism vary according to the number and nature of tourists that travel to any given site.  The individual tourist normally has a relatively small impact but when it is in a place where natural resources are extremely scarce it can begin to have an effect.  Problems may also arise when large groups of tourists travel to a specific area at any given time which puts a huge stress on the natural resources of that area.  Tourism impacts on protected areas can be classified in two categories: direct and indirect. Direct impact is caused by the presence of tourists in an area, indirect impacts of tourism is caused by the construction of building and infrastructure created in connection with tourism activities.  Some examples of direct tourism impacts on the environment are impacts on soils, water resources, vegetation, animal life, sanitation and the impact on the cultural environment. 

One example I am going to look at is the environmental impact of tourism on protected areas in Bahia, Brazil.  In Brazil tourism is believed to be the fourth largest single source of income and the third in the state of Bahia.  It is estimated that tourism revenues amounts to approximately $90 million USD and provides jobs for up to 15,000 people.  Figures from 1985 to 1990 show that there has been a 12% depletion of certain animal species. This is mostly a consequence of the trade in animal skins but some of the consequences are caused because of the high demand for exotic meals sought for by tourists.  Hunting is a popular tourist activity within this area and will commonly occur in protected areas due to the demand of high paying tourists from many of the wealthy nations in order to be guaranteed the catch of a rare species.

This is one example of some illegal hunting going on in un-developed nations which do not have the power, resources or money to control and stop this from happening.

                It is not only animals that suffer from the pressure of high maintenance tourists and large visitor numbers but the depletion of populations of some protected plant species is also occurring within this area.   This is due to large numbers of visitors driving personal vehicles through protected areas and loading their vehicle up with flowers and ornamental plants.  Since Bahia is a very large state, effective monitoring and surveillance of illegal picking and illegal hunting are very difficult.  In protected areas it is a very common site to see personal vehicles loaded up with many of the orchid species found in Diamantina National Park in order to be later traded.  

Environmental Impacts of Cruise Tourism

For this report I will be researching and analyzing the negative impacts that the cruise industry has had on the world.  There are obviously many positive aspects that do come with the expansion of the cruise line industry reaching more exotic and less developed places in the world but there are also very many negative impacts that occur at the same time. The cruise line industry has rapidly increased in popularity all over the world, especially in Asia, Australia and Europe.  The cruise industry is one of the most exciting and fastest growing industries in the tourism world.  Most cruise companies are restructuring their itineraries to include the visitation of exotic parts of the world but this extension has been challenged by the negative impacts that are involved with these destinations.  Cruise tourism has a variety of environmental, social and economic impacts that may be positive or negative.  One side of the spectrum illustrates how cruise tourism can help raise environmental awareness to under developed areas of the world but the other side shows how it also has the ability to disrupt communities, cause mass amounts of pollution and be the source of a loss of culture. 

Pollution is one of the major impacts that are associated with cruise tourism.  The most obvious impact is the burning of fossil fuels in order to propel these large ships through the water. This is largely contributing to the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere which is helping cause global warming.  Researchers have estimated that the average tourist trip to Antarctica results in a total emissions of approximately 5.44 tonnes of CO2 per passenger.  In the 2008-2009 season it was estimated that cruise trips to Antarctic alone contributed to 198, 000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.  Although this is only .02 % of the world-wide tourism related emissions, the per tourist emissions caused by a single Antarctic trip greatly exceeds both the average emissions per international tourist trip, 0.68  tons of CO2,  and the annual per capita emissions of the average world citizen 4.38 tons (Malakoff 2011).

There are many types of pollution that cruises contribute to, these include noise pollution, sewage, garbage, solid waste and people pollution.  Noise pollution includes everything from the noise of the ships to the noise created by the mass amounts of tourists on board.  Mass amounts of tourists to any given location can create an unnecessary amount of sewage and garbage waste in which some communities may not be prepared for.  People pollution is one of the major factors involving social and cultural issues in exotic places of the world.  Due to the large amount of passengers arriving at any given location puts stress on local communities and their people.  There is also an increase in demand for secondary resources (such as water and energy) when large amounts of visitors arrive at any given location. 

In conclusion the environmental and economic issues related with cruise tourism are becoming more and more relevant as the industry continues to grow.  Governments and large firms are a vital component to the progression of sustainable development, rational use of resource and mitigation of negative results of expansion of this tourism industry.

Destruction of Coral Reefs

In this week’s blog I will be analyzing the cause and effects regarding the destruction of coral reefs around the world.  Not only has tourism had a negative impact on coral reefs such as, the Great Barriers Reef, but these impacts have caused a negative decline in ecotourism to these areas over time. Coral Reef tourism is a major source of revenue for many countries and without these reefs countries are losing a huge profitable sector of the tourism industry. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authorities is one example where their 2005-2006 income was approximately 1.259 million dollars less than the year before (Coral Reef).  If coral reefs continue to be negatively impacted the countries that are highly dependent on tourism will experience a huge decline in tourism revenue and a large loss in jobs and economic growth for many communities.  This brings me to my next point of what are the negative factors that is causing the destruction of coral reefs? Coral Reefs are an essential component to the balance of the entire oceanic ecosystem.  Coral Reefs act as a barrier between the island shore and the open ocean.  Therefore if coral reefs are left to die because of human impact then there will be nothing to block the organisms from the deep sea to come into shore. The destruction of Coral Reefs has been caused by a number of factors over a period of time. These factors include pollution, over-fishing, climate change and other human pressures.

Pollution, being one of the major influences in the destruction of coral reefs, has many direct and indirect influences.  Deforestation is one example of an indirect influence on the destruction of coral reefs because sediment runoff from deforestation can bring many toxic components into the coral ecosystem.   Mining and Farming also carries the same negative impacts but on a greater scale because of the pesticides and fertilizers used. The pesticides and fertilizers used add nitrogen and phosphorous into the ecosystem which causes massive growth in algae.  This growth in algae leads to a depletion in the oxygen available for other creatures, reducing the biodiversity of that ecosystem.  Human, land based, pollution has threatened 22% of the world’s coral reefs (Puglise 2007). 

The next major factor which is causing the threatening and destruction of coral reefs all over the world is the over-fishing in areas close by to and in coral reefs. The first part to understand why overfishing causes negative impacts on coral reefs is to understand that each specific plant and animal species has a significant role and function in the coral reef ecosystem. Each organism requires a certain environment, nutrients and is dependent on other organisms within the reef system (The Coral Reef Food Chain).  When you overfish an area or a certain type of fish, no matter it being in a reef or not, you involuntarily create a domino effect on that ecosystem all the way down the food chain.  These effects can be directly seen through fish size, abundance, species composition and diversity within reef ecosystems (Coral Reefs).  In order to help save our coral reef ecosystems we must help stop the overfishing of reefs through designing effective conservation programs, understanding the drivers of overfishing (supply and demand) and putting large consequences/fines on the overfishing and destruction of coral reef ecosystems.

The next factor that leads to the overall depletion of the world’s coral reef ecosystems is climate change.  Climate change has had a significant role in the depletion on the worlds coral systems.  Climate change is the result of global warming which is caused by the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  These greenhouse gases trap in solar radiation to keep within the atmosphere of the earth, thus causing the melting of polar ice caps and raising of the sea level.  This causes a number of problems but for coral reefs in specific the increased UV radiation hinder the ability of the plants and algae to photosynthesize.  The ending result is that there is now a lot less energy available overall in the marine ecosystems.  One example of fatal impacts in which climate change has had on coral reef ecosystems is coral bleaching.  “Coral bleaching” is caused by the increase in warm temperatures, higher UV radiation, sedimentation, and reduced lighting levels.  When temperatures stray too much, the algae disconnect from their host cells because they lose their adhesive cell function (Tchernov 2004).  The result is that the corals become bleached and are left colourless and without the ability to produce energy.

Overview of Environmental Impacts

The topic I have chosen to research throughout this semester is the environmental impact that tourism has had on the world today.  It is obvious that most tourism starts with the burning of fossil fuels in order to travel to a specific area, but how can we as conservationists preserve this beautiful land and still be able to see it all?  How do we create a minimal impact on an area’s environment and still experience it to the fullest?  These are just a few questions I have asked myself when I think of the massive impact that tourism has had on environments all over the world.  In some countries more fresh water is wasted in hotel showers in a week then some villages of their own people get to drink and cook with for a month (UNEP 2001).  Tourism tends to put great stress on local resources which are usually already scarce to begin with. This leads to land degradation in order to exploit more of these resources and expand the touristic horizon.  There are also very many physical impacts I wish to examine such as the impacts on coral reefs, trampling of vegetation and deforestation of an area in order to build infrastructure. There are also many other non-tourism related environmental impacts that our race has had on the world today that I will be discussing such as the oil rigs sinking and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I hope to educate us all on the different types of pollution tourists can create while travelling and what we can do to minimize this footprint.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located within the North Pacific Gyre

When tourism begins to explode in any given area the negative impacts on the environment is usually linked with the deforestation of an area in order for the construction of general infrastructure such as roads, tourism facilities, resorts, golf courses, hotels, airports, hospitals and restaurants. On the other hand some may look at this as a positive aspect because it is helping create jobs in that area and attracting tourists to that location which is revenue for the country itself.  Tourisms relationship with the environment is very complicated and certain activities have very different impacts on an environment. I plan to learn how cultures, ecosystems and habitats have changed over time due to heavy exploitation and study what we must do in order to preserve the natural beauty we are so readily to destroy.  One way we do this is we allow large scale deforestation in order for the building of more infrastructures. This has caused many species of wildlife to be forced to migrate from their original homes. Also when animals are constantly in view of tourists for viewing it can put a heavy stress on that animal and alter their natural behaviours.