Category: Conservation of Forest

Abstract

Endangered means to be under threat or near extinction. When a species or an animal is endangered, it means that they are disappearing fast or a very small population, is not large enough to survive. The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) has compiled a Red List. This red list is a guide to how the endangered species are measured on a scale ranging from “Least Concern” to the worst “Extinct”. The scale includes “Least concern”, “Near Threatened”, “Vulnerable”, “Endangered”, “Critically endangered”, “Extinct in the wild”, and finally, “Extinct”. Many species are endangered both at the national as well as at the global level. Several factors contribute to the endangering or near extinction of species. These factors include habitat destruction, fragmentation, degradation, pollution, the introduction of ‘non–native’ species, diseases, climate change, overexploitation, etc. To become ‘extinct’ is to be gone forever. “Natural extinction” happens when a species declines gradually but steadily in number at the end of its evolutionary period on Earth. The case of ‘dinosaurs’ is the most well-known example of natural extinction. ‘Dodo’, a turkey-sized flightless pigeon that lived on Mauritius’s island, has become a symbol of extinction. There are several methods implemented to save endangered species. Some of these include the creation of protected areas, captive breeding and reintroduction, conservation legislation, and increased public awareness.

Introduction

The topic gives an in-depth analysis of endangered species both at the national level as well as at the global level. Well-planned and managed protected areas benefit species at risk as well as other species associated with them. Currently, there are over 1,20,000 protected areas according to the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) records. There are two main causes of extinction: indirect destruction and direct destruction. Indirect destruction means taking over the habitat of the species, forcing them to confine themselves to smaller areas. The use of chemicals and pesticides results in making the species unfit for that habitat. Direct destruction is because of the hunting and capturing of animals. The extinction of at least 500 species of animals has been caused by humans, most of them in the twentieth century. Today, there are about 5000 endangered animals and at least one species dies out every year. There are probably many more which end up becoming extinct without anyone knowing. People all over the world are working on helping to save endangered animals from extinction. Some of how they can be saved are habitat protection, captive breeding, setting up nature reserves and parks, and using products made from an alternative material in place of products from exotic animals.

The government on its part can help by making international agreements between countries to protect animals and their habitats. In June 2010, an agreement had taken place between several countries through financial banking to protect the rainforests and prevent deforestation.

Scientists are setting up gene banks to retrieve and preserve a particular species’ genetic material. This technique may make it possible in the future to artificially bring into existence a new animal of the same species. Kew Gardens, London has a seed bank in case any particular species becomes extinct in the wild. Some species of plants are also endangered like the Venus flytrap and some tropical orchids. In the case of orchids, they are collected from rainforests to become household favorites. This process caused many species of orchids to become endangered.

The status of the endangered species at a national and global level will enable us to revive their population to the least concerned level.

Discussion

There are 920 threatened species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, conifers, and corals. The most influential law to protect biodiversity is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This law is an agreement between governments that controls international trade in wild animals, plants, and their parts to ensure their survival.

The public is unaware of the current extinction crisis. Public awareness can be increased through education and citizen science programs. Conservation education should begin at the elementary school level and can be enhanced through summer camps or family vacations that are nature-oriented, etc.

I Global status of endangered species:

1) Greater Horse Shoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum):

The reason for their population decline is the destruction of roosting sites and the use of pesticides. With the efforts made for conservation, its population increased to 6600.

2) Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris):

The current population is 540. It is a highly endangered species whose population went to an all-time low of 40 individuals in 1940.

3) Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta):

This species comes under the endangered category as it was hunted for its shell and meat.

4) Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) :

The current population is 500. The use of pesticides on the marshes and grasslands where it lives is rapidly reducing its number.

5) Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis):

This is a critically endangered species. The number decreased from 70,000 in the 1960s to 2410 in 1995. It was declared extinct in West Africa in 2011. Poaching is one of the main threats. It is carried out as the Rhino horn forms an important ingredient in Chinese medicine.

6) Lion – tailed macaque (Macaca silenus):

This is a small monkey found only in Southwest India’s tropical rainforests.

7) Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata):

The population trend of this species is decreasing. It may be seen on ponds and lakes in Britain.

8) Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei):

This is a critically endangered species. Earlier, there were just 620 gorillas left in 1989, but because of the continuous conservation efforts, their number increased to 880.

9) Jackass Penguin (Spheniscus demersus):

Oil pollution has threatened their existence. Their eggs are also being used as food.

10) Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus):

It has been a protected species since 1966. During 1930 – 31, 30,000 blue whales were killed by Antarctic whales. The current population of blue whales stands at 10,000 – 25,000. This is about 3 to 11 % of the 1911 population.

11) Banded anteater (Myrmecobius fasciatus):

This species is presently found in the westernmost part of eastern Australia. The current population is under 1000.

12) Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis):

This species is the largest species of lizard in the world and is found in a few small Indonesian islands. According to National Geographic Channel, its present population is between 3000 to 5000

13) Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia):

This tiny monkey is one of the most endangered of all animals in South America. The captive breeding and reintroduction program has increased its number from 250 to 1000.

14) Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus):

This species is said to likely meet IUCN’s criteria for endangered species by 2030.

15) California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus):

Currently, there are only 104 adults, but only 44 are known to be producing offspring.

16) Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes):

This species is America’s rarest mammal. Currently, there are only 500 breeding adults. The decline in their population is mainly due to predators like prairie dogs.

II National status of endangered species:

According to IUCN, there are 47 critically endangered species in India. 132 species of plants and animals from India have been listed as critically endangered on the Red List.

1) Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigricaps):

This bird is among the heaviest flying birds.

2) Jerdon’s Courser (Cursorious bitorquatus):

This species of bird has been mentioned as one of the rarest birds in the world.

3) Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus):

The feathers of this bird were used for ornamental hats of Himachal men until 1982 when legal was officially banned.

4) Sarus Crane (Grus antigone antigone) :

It is a large, non–migratory crane. The current population is recorded to be one-tenth of the numbers that existed in the 1850s.

5) Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica):

This animal is one of the five major big cats found in India.

6) The Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra):

This species has been classified as endangered by the IUCN since 2003. Poaching, predation, habitat destruction, overgrazing, diseases, inbreeding, and sanctuary visitors form some of the major threats.

7) Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) :

This animal is being killed mercilessly for its fat and oil.

8) Hoolock Gibbon (Hylobates hoolock):

This animal is the only ape found in India. It is known to be the most accomplished acrobat of all apes.

9) Nilgiri langur (Presbytis johni):

This species is endangered mainly due to deforestation and poaching.

10) Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur):

This species is mainly found in Southern Asia. IUCN has listed this animal as near threatened. Currently, around 4000 Indian wild asses have been estimated to be existing.

11) Lion tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus (Linnaeus)) :

This species is endemic to the Western Ghats of South India.

12) Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea):

Olive ridleys are considered a rarity in most areas of the Indian Ocean.

13) The Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata):

This species is characterized by large overlapping scales on its body which act as protective armor.

14) The Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius):

These are stocky goats with short, coarse fur and a bristly mane. The current number of these species existing is around 2500.

15) The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis):

It is a small wild cat found in South and East Asia. Since 2002, it has been listed as the least concern by IUCN.

16) Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica):

The number of Asiatic lions left in India now is a mere 650.

17) Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris):

The overall number of these tigers in India is down to around 2000.

18) Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia):

The number of snow leopards in our country has drastically dropped down to approximately 500.

19) Kashmiri red stag (Cervus elaphus hangul):

Its number had fallen as low as 150 in 1970. From then on, many conservation drives have been conducted.

20) One – horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis):

Due to constant poaching, the number has significantly decreased to 2000.

Conclusion

It is extremely necessary and important to maintain and enrich Earth’s biodiversity. The richness of animal and plant life, its abundance, and wild habitats should be conserved to maintain a healthy coexistence of humans and nature. Constant efforts should be made by us humans to save endangered species.

The most successful metropolis in the history of the world has 39 million residents, 50% more people than any other urban area. It is the safest big city on the planet, and with a two trillion dollars GDP, its economy is larger than all but eight entire countries. This is Tokyo, Earth’s model megacity.

Our story begins 561 years ago when a samurai warrior built a castle on the shore of a fishing village called Edo. Its rich soil was ideal for growing rice and attracted farmers from far and wide. In 1600, the great commander Tokugawa Ieyasu won the Battle of Sekigahara, a pivotal moment in history that secured Edo’s status as the most important place in Japan. Unfortunately, the buildings of the expanding city were made of wood and paper, a dangerous combination to confront the warm winds of summer. Legend has it that on one particularly dry afternoon in 1657, a priest made the deadly mistake of burning an unlucky kimono. The fire flared up, ignited his temple, and engulfed 70% of the city. 100,000 people lost their lives. Despite the disaster, by the middle of the19th century Edo’s population was in the millions. That’s when the military shogunate system that had ruled for almost 700 years ended. A new government led by a young emperor finally made Edo the official capital of Japan, renamed it Tokyo, and made the castle his imperial palace. To celebrate his arrival, everyone toasted with rounds of sake on the house. Around this time Japan opened up to foreign trade and influence, with Tokyo driving the industrial revolution that was modernizing the country.

But rapid development had a cost: a strained natural environment. Forests were razed, pollutants choked the air, and Tokyo’s once pristine waterways grew increasingly toxic. It was time for a more conscientious approach. The principle of Satoyama was born, promoting sustainable coexistence with nature, especially in the rice paddy fields covering Japan’s sprawling foothills. Today, a century of conservation has resulted in parks covering 20% of the land in the Tokyo metropolitan area. But while the danger from pollution has been largely overcome, one natural phenomenon poses an unavoidable threat: earthquakes. In 1923, an 8.0 magnitude quake rocked Tokyo, devastating the geologically unstable eastern wards of the city. As firestorms engulfed whole neighborhoods, some took advantage of the chaos to target political enemies and minority groups, like Koreans. When the smoke finally cleared, 140,000 people had perished.

Just twenty-two years later, in 1944, Tokyo was hit again. This time from above by allied air forces who waged a relentless nine-month campaign that lasted until Japan’s surrender to end the World War II following America’s detonation of two atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On the worst night of the onslaught, 279 BoeingB-29 Superfortress heavy bombers dropped more than 1,600 tons of explosives on Eastern Tokyo. It is regarded as the single most destructive bombing raid in human history, leaving more than 100,000 dead and more than 1 million homeless. It took generations for Tokyo to completely recover, but today – after more than seven decades at peace – Tokyo is thriving. Its dense metropolitan area now stretches an incredible 32 uninterrupted kilometers all the way to Japan’s second largest city, Yokohama.

While roads and highways are how many get around, the arteries that set Tokyo apart from other megacities are its extensive rail lines. After the World War II, Japan didn’t have access to the oil reserves an automobile-focused transport system required, so the government wisely invested heavily in rail projects to connect central Tokyo with surrounding towns and cities. In October 1964, just in time for Tokyo to host the summer Olympics, Japan debuted the world’s first modern high-speed rail line to Osaka, the Tokaido Shinkansen, with trains reaching speeds of 256 km/hr. Today, Tokyo’s urban rail network serves a world-leading 40 million passengers a day. Compare that to America’s car-dominated system where space for roads and parking can take up to 60% of a city’s available land. Of course, Tokyo has innovative ways of storing the cars that it does have, and its bikes. Congestion has also been eased by an $11 billion megaproject. The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line is one-thirds bridge, two-thirds tunnel. It has turned what was a 90-minute drive through downtown and around the shore of the bay, into a 15-minute sprint through it instead. The project took 30 years to design and complete because it has to withstand the ever-present danger of earthquakes. That’s also why buildings in Tokyo cost an extra 50 percent to construct and why they tend to be shorter than the skyscrapers in other economic capitals, two factors that drive up real estate prices and add to urban sprawl.

From above, Tokyo seems like an unnavigable maze. But on the ground, life for many is lived locally within their own neighborhoods. Shops and businesses to obtain day-to-day essentials can usually be reached within a short walk, including many of the world’s greatest sushi restaurants. Japan runs on seafood. Along Tokyo’s harbor lies Tsukiji, the largest fish market on Earth. Every day, more than 50,000 people come to buy and sell 400 different types of seafood. Among the buyers are the chefs of the 227 restaurants with at least one Michelin star, making Tokyo the city with the most of these prestigious marks of excellence. In fact, when President Obama visited Tokyo, he ate handcrafted sushi prepared by the great Jiro himself. He also played football with a humanoid robot, just one example of how Japan is leading the global transition to automation.

As a technology superpower, Tokyo is home to the most non-state-owned Fortune 500 companies of any city in the world and – along with New York and London – is considered one of three command centers of the global economy.

All of these factors make Tokyo the most advanced major city, and it’s getting ready to put on a show for the entire world. In the summer of 2020, it will host the Olympic Games. This is motivating Tokyo’s metropolitan government to use its massive annual budget, which is larger than the country of Saudi Arabia, to fast-track its progress. Among the achievements that are already complete, or that officials are hoping to showcase to the world, include: a program to have functioning robots installed throughout the city to assist people regardless of age, nationality, or disability. The 920,000 expected daily visitors during the Olympics could ask nearby robots to help with language translation, directions, or transportation. Robots are just one example of how hosting the games could benefit Tokyo’s citizens long after the closing ceremony.

With an aging population projected to peak in 2020, and then decline, Tokyo is experiencing a graying of its society on a scale that no city has experienced before. And because there will be fewer workers paying taxes, and more elderly living on government pensions requiring care, the government is heavily encouraging volunteerism. This shouldn’t be too hard for the citizens of Tokyo, some of the most considerate people on Earth. They routinely rank first in helpfulness, ease of local public transportation, and cleanliness of streets. Amid the turmoil following the March 2011earthquake, visitors praised Tokyoites for their orderliness. This is part of Gaman, the Japanese spirit of self-control-a dedication to the greater good through self-discipline.

Of course, well-planned and maintained infrastructure is the main reason why Tokyo works so well. Recent and soon-to-be-completed projects include: a bold, $350 million plan to jump-start a hydrogen-powered transportation system by increasing the number of hydrogen stations from eight to 35, while putting 6,000 fuel cell cars and 100 fuel cell buses on the road by 2020. A network of fuel cell vehicles – which can double as mobile electricity generators – could be a gamechanger in an emergency. Just two of these buses can power an entire hospital for a day. Other transportation upgrades include the three-ring expressway that’s cut many trips throughout the region in half; repairing and reinforcing bridges, tunnels, and roads using advanced laser scanning technology and carbon fiber with the aim of detecting problematic infrastructure before it fails, while extending its life up to 100 years; installing more solar heat-blocking pavement that’s up to 8°C cooler than asphalt to help solve Tokyo’s heat island problem—a challenge faced by many other cities around the world; transferring as many power lines underground as possible, widening sidewalks, doubling the amount of dedicated bike lanes, and opening outdoor cafes in an initiative dubbed the Tokyo Champs Elysees project.

The city is aggressively reducing CO2 emissions through the first urban cap and trade system covering factories and commercial facilities, like office buildings. To reduce the danger of heavy flooding from rainfall, massive underground chambers and tunnels have been installed to regulate and divert waters from rivers, channels, and sewers that have traditionally overflowed. These measures go hand-in-hand with an integrated series of floodwall gates, rain gauges, and river level monitoring cameras that are watched 24/7 by engineers at two command centers that can each operate the entire system remotely in case either one of them fails. With so much historical damage from fire, officials are pushing to replace old wooden houses with fireproof ones, creating entire zones where residents wouldn’t have to evacuate during a nearby blaze, and ensuring that major routes are lined with fire and earthquake proof buildings so emergency vehicles can move freely.

Amplifying the appeal of hosting the Olympics is the opportunity to share these advancements with their guests, who are encouraged to implement these best practices in their own cities. Tokyo already does this by hosting and teaching foreign first responders the most advanced search and rescue techniques, sharing infrastructure best practices with officials visiting from abroad, and helping engineers from Kuala Lumpur update their wastewater management system.

Tokyo is also a pioneer in land reclamation. With mountains hemming its growth, adding land to the bay is an increasingly attractive option, particularly if that land is made of trash. The Sea Forest area is a former landfill that is being converted to parkland and will even host Olympic events. In the coming years, population growth and rising seas will force the entire world to do more with less.

And while Tokyo isn’t perfect, by using its resources wisely, planning for the future, and sharing what it learns with the rest of the world, it should be a model for cities of all sizes, everywhere.

In the Tourism Review 2018, tour and activity operators were asked to consider implementing sustainable initiatives in their own tour company. A sustain majority 91.3% of participants inserted yes. In the tourism industry eco-friendly tourism is becoming one of the largest, a key element in the understanding the tourism industry is to recognize and deal with the change in the global trends of behavioral, environmental and technological factors. The trends fall under neath these factors which include: social, political, environment, technological economic trends. This essay will look at the history of tours, how ecotourism is used in the industry, and the impact and future impact that eco-friendly tourism has on the industry.

Nowadays, the world has become much smaller and the potential to explore its surface is much greater. With the evolution of the tourism industry increasing, and tours becoming more common, they will investigate the history of tours dating back to the Middle Ages through to contemporary tourism. From the beginning of the seventeenth century, a new type of tourism was created called the Grand Tour, for instructional and cultural reasons, young men often spent two to four years accompanied by a tutor travelling around Europe. The custom had become institutionalized by the end of the eighteenth century, and gradually pleasure travel had been subsumed by educational travel. Weaver, D., & Lawton, L. (2014, p. 58) has suggested that along with several contemporaries from the mainland of Europe, Thomas Cook is associated with the emergence of tourism as a modern, large-scale industry. On July 5th 1841 Thomas Cook had organized his first railway journey for workers from Leicester to temperance meeting and bible camps in the countryside. Continuously, these excursions expanded in the number of participants and destinations offered. Due to the rise of passengers, it soon started shifting from spiritual purposes to sightseeing and pleasure. By 1845 Cook was offering regular tours between Leicester and London. In 1863 the first international excursion was undertaken (to the Swiss Alps), and in 1872 the first round-the-world excursion was organized with an itinerary that included Australia and New Zealand (Weaver, & Lawton, 2014, p. 58).

Tourists are now looking for new experiences off the beaten track to accommodate demand, tour operators are taking the initiative to offer environmentally friendly tours that provide something unique to the customer, but also preserve and, in some cases, reinvest in the destination (Kutschera, 2019). Ecological tours are more essential for those sites that are suffering from global warming or could have a noticeable effect for the environment. These tours could include water-based activities, cycling, climbing or wildlife that is unmotorized. A popular ecological tour is the EcoZip in New Zealand North Island. The zip-line tour funds the conservation and restoration of Waiheke Island Forest, which has now become a site for environmental significance (Kutschera, 2019).

Accommodation is another way eco-tourism is being used in the travel industry, as they have made advancements to the building to minimize the impact on the natural environment. The Singita Pamushana Lodge provides local wellness tours. The lodge, which provides access to the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve, aims to benefit an increasingly fragile landscape to habitat loss. The owners of the Singita Pamushana Lodge, gets the lodge’s earnings to invest in conservation programs and reintroduce endangered wildlife into the region.

When travelling to new places you always want to bring something back that reminds you of your travels. But so many souvenir places are detrimental to the local environment, like purchases products with palm oil is sending a message to companies to keep destroying the forest in Indonesia, or buying a necklace that is made from turtle shell sends a message to keep killing turtles to help provide and sell for the tourist. Even though there are still places that aren’t helping there are plenty of shops that are. Lee (2018) who explored a boho-styled jewels bands based in Ubud, that focuses on ethical production, fair pay, employing underprivileged women, going vegan in its products and packing, crafting jewelry from green recycled silver, selling apparel made from organic cotton and bamboo, and striving to keep its carbon footprint as small as possible. It is important to pay attention to the souvenirs your purchase, by purchasing the right kind you can encourage the local craftspeople to only use sustainable materials and to not stock anything that is illegal.

More people are becoming aware of the impact tourism is having on the world. Ecotourism “is a form of tourism that fosters learning experiences and appreciation of the natural environment” (Weaver, 2001, p. 15) and “conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people” (‘The International Ecotourism Society’, 1990). Ecotourism helps allow countries to build their economies without harming the environment. Tour operators and local people have started to establish sustainable actives and awareness program to help protect the natural habitats. Hence, providing local people for leading, operating and managing of these activities which impacted local communities to have significant improvement in the ecology and environment of the destination. This trend created a positive result making eco-tourism a sensation, which has allowed the environment and wildlife to thrive and allow tourist to experience the untouched destinations.

Ecotourism is promoted as a company that will only have beneficial finical effects in the tourism growth. For many destinations ecotourism is an important generator for employment, with ecotourism becoming more advanced it has helped local communities. For example, Biosphere Tourism (2015) wrote about L’Avenc de Tavertet, which is an eco-friendly run hotel that focuses on the inclusion of the local economy. As they not only employed a local team of workers, they also involve over 80% of local stakeholder. It also is a direct economic benefit to local people by complement rather than replace traditions practices such as farming and fishing (Rosaleen Duffy, 2002). As a result of keeping traditions, motivations for buying local crafts come from seeking out authentic or intrinsic beauty. Ecotourism has the potential to be positive or negative impact on cultural communities depending on the activities and ethical behavior tourist and tour operators presents when visiting ecotourism destinations. But keeping with the local culture and heritage of places educated tourist to be aware.

A company called International Ecotourism Society have established standards for eco-friendly tourism. They are a non-profit organization that creates trips that involve visiting natural environments, which do nothing or affect these areas and proving cultural respect and economic advantages to local communities. These types of organizations help cola communities keep their culture alive without having tourist and tour operators exploited and detonate it.

Ecotourism for the future depends on governments to create well-planned destinations, without local planning ecotourism could be another problem on the landscape. More hotels and accommodation are changing, creating and marketing environmentally sustainable accommodations, tour companies are creating eco-friendly tours by not using motorized vehicles through forests and endangered waters. It was found by Waiting for Rain (2018) that 5% of the world’s total CO2 emissions came from the tourism sector, which means if we don’t start to change the way we travel it could result in 164% growth in CO2 emissions. By implanting ecological initiatives could help reduce this and have a positive future for tourism.

Despite the fact that ecotourism is becoming one of the largest industries and has an important role in the economic, environment and cultural development of societies, especially in developing countries, it does still have many concerns for the future in the tourism industry. Environmental concerns are the main critics as majority of ecotourists come to be involved in seeing the natural environment, volunteering, building and serving communities. Many of natural attracts at the ecological places have/will been overused which will disrupt the wildlife feeding and mating habits. From the 1980s the Galapagos Islands have had to cope with a variety of complex problems as Condon and Honey (2008, pp.121-124) proposed that the breeding of captive endangered tortoises and land iguanas and reintroduction to their native islands has aided in the recovery of species on the brink of extinction. The extraordinary biodiversity of the islands is highly susceptible to a number of forces, including introduced species, over harvesting of limited resources, natural and manmade disasters, and climate change. The long-term future of the biodiversity of the islands may well depend on decisions about sustainable development that are made during the next few years. Corrupted governments are taking large cuts of profit from ecotourism which leaves negative economic issues on local communities. The main losers from ecotourism can be local people when ecotourism is controlled by outside developers and locals do not obtain adequate economic benefits such as employment (Wen, Julie Jie and Tisdell, C. A., 2001, pp. 165-166). For example, in Maasai research claims that in East Africa 70% of all national parks and game reserves are occupying land that was illegally taken away (Noah Clayton, 2017) to build friendly hotels, ecotourism expansions and natural resource excavations. Maasai did not receive any finical compensation for their loss, let alone the employment opportunities benefited educated professionals rather than the native people of East Africa. Cultural exploitation can be caused by ecotourism, governments and foreign companies in Tanzania are suing ecotourism and conversation laws to remove indigenous Maasai people. Their cultural practices are becoming like candy for tourists’ entertainment, destroying the traditional importance and meaning.

These concerns and actions taking place should open your perspective on eco-friendly tourism ensure you footsteps do not leave a permeant mark, that your money goes into the right hands and that your travels are supporting local community and conservations.

What is sustainable development? Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Moreover, sustainable development is a program for changing the process of economic development so that it ensures a basic quality of life for all people and at the same time protects the ecosystems and community systems that make life possible and worthwhile. Sustainability and sustainable tourism are becoming more and more common. But they can be opaque to the average person. Thankfully, the concept of sustainability is straight to the point. In short, it’s all about conserving resources or preventing resource depletion, be it environmental, economic or cultural. Sustainable tourism is a way of traveling and exploring a destination while respecting its culture, environment, and people.

My essay focuses on environmental sustainability in tourism, namely ecotourism, its economic aspects, ethics and opportunities. Ecotourism is now defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education” (TIES, 2015). Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This means that those who implement, participate in and market ecotourism activities should adopt these ecotourism principles, minimize physical, social, behavioral, and psychological impacts. Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect. Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts. Provide direct financial benefits for conservation. Generate financial benefits for both local people and private industry.

The main idea behind ecotourism is to educate tourists about conservation efforts and research developments in fragile natural areas, while also offering travelers a chance to experience those areas first hand. Ideally, the efforts work for both the travelers and the environments they visit. Eco tourists gain knowledge of ecosystems, biology and geology of specific natural locations, which in turn informs their conservation efforts. Some of the money that goes into ecotourism also goes to conservation efforts, such as repopulating endangered species and reforestation.

Ecotourism aims to teach as well as to entertain and relax. This objective applies to environmental as well as cultural matters. Visitors who participate in ecotourism projects should receive information on the ecology and conservation issues pertinent to the local area. Guides and other staff should be able to effectively communicate with the tourists, helping them to interpret the natural environment and pointing out the sensitive areas and fragile ecosystems. The cultural exchange important to ecotourism through which visitors learn about local customs and social mores should, ideally, involve sensitivity and balance. In many situations, traditions function as exotic backdrop for tourists, with locals compelled toward primitive and folksy affectation for the benefit of tourists seeking authenticity.

Scientific research is crucial to locals as ecotourism will gain and develop a sounder understanding of how the environment effects the habitats of wildlife, hence fundamental changes can be made to preserve and protect their environment.

Ecotourism predominantly involves travel excursions to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the main source of attractions. Ecotourism is aimed at introducing tourist’s valuable information and insight into the impact of how human beings can affect the environment, and to promote a more valuable understanding and appreciation of our world’s natural habitats.

Ecotourism helps protect natural habitats and pristine environments. The wealth of poorer countries is often tied up in natural resources like forests, minerals and land that could be used for agriculture. Exploiting these resources often means altering or destroying wildlife habitats and beautiful natural landscapes. Ecotourism allows countries and communities to build their economies without harming the environment, which means that local wildlife can thrive and visitors can enjoy untouched destinations.

Good ecotourism consists of relevant programs promoting the use of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, air pollution and soil erosion Conservation or preservation projects are an essential part of Ecotourism and such programs are offered to travelers in order to give them the opportunity to participate and get involved more. One of the most important aspects of this sort of project is education. The intended outcome is that participation will not only enhance the awareness of eco travelers.

The role of ecotourism operators is to introduce relevant and also up to date information to travelers on how they can minimize prospective and unnecessary negative effects on the ecosystem, including – how they can contribute to protecting and preserving fragile ecosystems at the same time. Ecotourism operators encourage and teach eco travelers how to travel with an environmentally friendly attitude and to take responsibility for their actions as visitors.

Ecotourism is a sub-component of the field of sustainable tourism. Ecotourism’s perceived potential as an effective tool for sustainable development is the main reason why developing countries are now embracing it and including it in their economic development and conservation strategies. Ecotourism, as an alternative tourism, involves visiting natural areas in order to learn, to study, or to carry out activities environmentally friendly, that is, a tourism based on the nature experience, which enables the economic and social development of local communities. It focuses primarily on experiencing and learning about nature, its landscape, flora, fauna and their habitats, as well as cultural artifacts from the locality.

Ecotourism tries to raise environmental consciousness by exploring ecology and ecosystems and by providing environmental type experiences. Taking part in ecology actively and getting first hand impressions of how ecosystems work influence people’s ways of thinking, which finally raises awareness of conservation and protection.

Ecotourism can offer a viable combination of ecological and cultural protection, increase local awareness of the value of preserving the natural and cultural environments, and aid in economic development. However, many sources suggest that most ecotourism efforts have focused towards advancing the economic objectives rather than protecting the very resources that attract visitors.

The advantages that ecotourism offer travelers are personal, but their effects are widespread. Through visiting areas of stunning natural beauty, seeing animals in their native habitats and meeting members of local communities, travelers can increase their awareness of the importance of conserving resources and avoiding waste. They’re encouraged to live more sustainably at home, and they can also increase their understanding of and sensitivity toward other cultures. Additionally, travelers learn how to help support other communities, not by handing out free gifts like toys and stationery, but by buying local produce and goods. When ecotourists return home, they spread the message to their families, friends and co-workers.

Ecotourism, a unique subset of the tourism industry is focused on the enhancement or maintenance of natural systems through tourism. Ecotourism means different things to different people. To some, it is the general term that encompasses nature‐based, adventure, soft adventure, and cultural tourism. In 1983 Mexican environmentalist Hector Ceballos Lascurain describe nature-based travel to relatively undisturbed areas with an emphasis on education.

Environments provide the resources base essential for many forms of tourism, particularly nature-based tourism, adventure tourism and ecotourism. On the other hand, the environment can be positively or negatively impacted by tourism. Tourism development and tourists’ activities can positively impact environments by facilitating nature conservation and ecological restoration efforts.

Furthermore, ecotourism helps in community development by providing the alternate source of livelihood to local community which is more sustainable. Its aim is to conserve resources, especially biological diversity, and maintain sustainable use of resources, which can bring ecological experience to travelers, conserve the ecological environment and gain economic benefit. However, achieving the aims in ecotourism depends on whether they are environmentally and ecologically sustainable and economically applicable. Ecotourism can increase the level of education and activism amongst travelers, making them more enthusiastic and effective agents of conservation (The Nature Conservancy, 2016).

Ecological tourism can provide much-needed revenues for the protection of national parks and other natural areas (The Nature Conservancy, 2016). It creates jobs and income without destroying and degrading the natural and cultural assets of the environment, as well as increasing the funding for protected areas and local communities. Ecotourism is also an effective vehicle for empowering local communities around the world to fight against poverty and to achieve sustainable development. This is because it can provide a viable economic development alternative for local communities with few other income-generating options (The Nature Conservancy, 2016).

Undesirable effects on ecological components diminished ecological integrity or degraded natural processes may also result from tourism development and operations. Tourism impacts may take a variety of forms including habitat demoralization and loss due to infrastructure development, travel related air pollution, facility related water and land pollution, and activity related soil and vegetation damage including wildlife harassment.

Moreover, education can play an important role to reduce the environmental impacts from tourism. Tourism developers, tour operators and tourists are the three-target group that need to be given extra educational exposure towards sustainable ecological tourism, so that tourists will know what the positive and negative impacts of not protecting the environment.

Ecotourism, helps in involving local community for the conservation of the ecology and biodiversity of the area that biodiversity in return provides the economic incentives to the local community. Ecotourism contributes to conservation of biodiversity, sustains the well-being of local people, involves responsible action on the part of tourist and the tourism industry, promotes small and medium tourism enterprises, requires lowest possible consumption of natural resources, stresses local participation, ownership, and business opportunities, particularly for rural people, and above all includes the learning experiences.

Local jobs are only one of the economic benefits of ecotourism. As well as providing an income for staff who works at ecotourism sites, ecotourism allows them the opportunity to receive training in skills that can transfer to other areas of employment and even nutrition when they receive meals at work. Surplus income allows workers or their family members to start up small businesses or to pass on the money to other community members by buying local goods and paying for child care and other services. Ecotourism companies can also help give back to the community by offering training in useful skills.

Developing countries have benefited immensely on their Wildlife and natural habitats. They have become more appealing and popular among international tourists. Ecotourism is particularly flourishing in developing countries as a result of their natural environments and ecotourists are selecting such countries as their favorite destinations.

Ecotourism aims to reduce environmental impact that comes with mass tourism and its vast, often resource-heavy, infrastructure. This impact reduction includes using locally available, often traditional and, at other times, recycled materials and supporting designs of infrastructure that are environmentally friendly and that fit within traditions and sensibilities of local culture. Minimizing impact also means controlling numbers and acceptable behavior of tourists. These efforts can range from limiting traffic on national park trails to controlling the numbers of game shot during community-run hunting expeditions.

Another way to lessen the impact of tourism is to use renewable energy and to carefully dispose of waste. Culturally, ecotourism aims to respect the local communities and traditions, to alleviate the exploitive aspects of leisure travel and to benefit, rather than damage the communities.

In the ecotourism plans, diversifying economic and ecologic activities by starting and developing organized ecotourism practice, enhancing the life quality of the locals with the economic gains provided by ecotourism, increasing the participation of habitat conservation, improving environmental conscious, conserving natural, cultural and historical landscape values and passing them onto the next generation and popularizing ecotourism planning with the support and participation of responsible and related organizations should be aimed. Good planning of natural and cultural elements that create resources for eco-tourism activities and their management will make important contributions to the local public (Gültekin, 2010).

Undesirable effects on ecological components diminished ecological integrity or degraded natural processes may also result from ecotourism development and operations as well. Tourism impacts may take a variety of forms including habitat demoralization and loss due to infrastructure development, travel related air pollution, facility related water and land pollution, and activity related soil and vegetation damage including wildlife harassment.

Finally, it may be concluded that ecotourism is a form of sustainable travel that supports the local environment instead of putting more pressure on it and exploiting its resources. With ecotourism, people will have the opportunity to further their research efforts and learn better practices for management, as more people will be able to experience nature up close. Furthermore, ecotourism is regarded as a sustainable solution to preserve ecosystems around the world, all the while offering a good source of income for locals living in the communities in and around them. If people involved are able to properly manage activities, ecotourism will be able to offer sustainable local communities and even provide incentives for environmental protection.

References

1. Kiper, T. (2013). Role of Ecotourism in Sustainable Development. In Advances in Landscape Architecture. https://doi.org/10.5772/55749
2. Leung, Y., Marion, J. L., & Farrell, T. A. (2017). The Role of Recreation Ecology in Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism. In Tourism, Recreation and Sustainability: Linking Culture and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1079/9780851995052.0021
3. Saadatian, O., Haw, L., Mat, S., & Sopian, K. (2012). Perspective of Sustainable Development in Malaysia. International Journal of Energy and Environment.

The current assignment report is to highlight wildlife and cultural heritage visits in Ranthambore National Park and Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.

Some time ago known as Bharatpur Fledgling Haven, Keoladeo Ghana National Park is situated in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. It is a man-made wetland made in the mid-eighteenth century. During the 1850s, the territory remained as a waterfowl chasing ground for the Royals of Bharatpur. It was built up as a national park on 10 Walk 1982 and appointed as a feathered creature asylum on 13 Walk 1976. It was proclaimed a World Legacy Site by UNESCO in 1985. Keoladeo National Park is arranged toward the eastern piece of Rajasthan and is roughly 2 kms south-east of Bharatpur. The Recreation center is spread over a territory of 29 sq. kilometers. The zone is secured with dry fields, forests, forest marshes and wetlands. It is home to more than 300 species of flying creatures and another 300 types of verdure. The region has a large number of transient winged animals for the winters and the rearing season. It has been an unparallel reproducing site for neighborhood winged creatures like herons, storks and cormorants. Additionally, it is a significant wintering ground for enormous quantities of transient ducks. It has been expressed as one of the most extravagant feathered creature territories of the world. Be that as it may, because of expanding populace thickness and settlement of around 15 towns in the fringe of the recreation center, the specialists are confronting an extraordinary trouble in keeping up a cradle zone and thus the greenery has endured a shot. This park was once home to the uncommon Siberian cranes. They were known to live all through the Indo-Gangetic fields of India, however is accounted for to be scarcely found in the region now. On account of its notoriety of being probably the best fledgling watching locales of Asia, the territory is visited by in excess of 100,000 guests consistently, of which, around 45,000 are remote voyagers. The recreation center stays open from dawn to nightfall around the year. Despite the fact that the best time to visit the Asylum is from August to November to observe the occupant winged creatures and from October to February to get seeing transitory winged creatures. The sorts of safaris gave at the recreation center are elephant safaris, jeep rides and rickshaw safaris. The specialists have likewise as of late presented cycling administrations costing Rs. 50 for 4hrs.

Ranthambore National Park is one of the most famous and greatest national parks of northern India. Situated in the southeastern region of Rajasthan, Sawai Madhopur, it is arranged where the Aravali run meets the level of Vindhyas. It is a good way off of around 130 km from Jaipur. Before being built up as a secured region, this spot used to be the chasing justification for the royals of Jaipur. It was proclaimed as an untamed life asylum in 1957 and was added to ‘Undertaking Tiger’ in 1974 with the attention on assurance of the imperiled tigers. The recreation center got its status of a National Park in 1981. After 10 years, in 1992, Keladevi Asylum in the north and Sawai Man Singh Haven in the south were added to the national park making an all-out land inclusion of 1334 sq. kilometers. Ranthambore National Park is celebrated for its Bengal tigers. It is probably the best spot to see these glorious creatures in its characteristic environment. The best occasions for tiger sightings are in the long stretches of November to May. Other fauna incorporates the Indian panther, nilgai, wild hog, sambar, mugger crocodile and chital. The recreation center is loaded up with deciduous woodlands which are trademark instances of the kind of wilderness found in Focal India. Ranthambore has two sorts of safaris, that are the Jeep safaris (06seater) and Lope safaris (20seater) working both in the first part of the day and night. During our outing, we went for an early morning trot safari. Trots oblige pretty much 20 individuals and are joined by visit.

Research Methodology

The methodology used in order to achieve our objectives: 1) observational skills; 2) communication with locals and tour guides; 3) photography; 4) secondary source (Internet for information).

The objective of the field trip was to make ourselves more and more familiar with the nature especially the wildlife of Keoladeo Ghana National Park and Ranthambore National and Heritage visible in Ranthambore Fort.

I gathered theoretical knowledge through books and scholarly articles written by various researchers on Wildlife and Heritage. We worked in groups to understand the characteristics of a rich biodiversity and rich heritage, studying the ecology and heritage of Keoladeo Ghana National Park and Ranthambore National and Heritage at Ranthambore Fort. It really helped us to understand area from the perspective of the biodiversity and rich heritage.

The objectives that we had in mind for this field trip were:

1. To discover the uniqueness of Keoladeo Ghana National Park.
2. To understand the importance of ‘Tiger Project’ through Ranthambore National Park.
3. To analyze the conservation work of ASI in the Ranthambore Fort.

Field Visit

The departure of Amity Institute of Travel and Tourism had organized a field trip to Ranthambore for masters in travel and tourism management 2nd semester student. The trip was in accordance with our curriculum. Our filed trip was confined of following destination: Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Ranthambore Tiger Reserver and Ranthambore Fort.

Primary Data

Data observed or collected directly from first-hand experience is called primary data. This report consists of some primary data collection in the form of interaction with tourist and service providers of tourism industry. Sightseeing during the educational tour further helped in believing to the information provided by them. I tried to interact with the foreign tourist on the attractions about their views and also interacted with the local people.

Secondary Data

Published data and data collected in the past is called secondary data. This report also consists of secondary data featured in a magazine, pamphlets and website to provide import details regarding the visit. The communication with the local community and getting knowledge about their livelihood activities. Accumulating of abstract through Internet like ‘Incredible India’, travel forums, journals and newspapers.

Leaning Outcome

This field trip conducted as part of our curriculum has been a learning experience. It has provided us with some much needed on field skills and gave us a practical experience on how tours are conducted and various other related topics. Following are the learning outcomes from this field trip:

• Basics on conducting a group tour. As we were a strength of 120 students along with 5 faculties, planning this trip has given us an idea on how to conduct group tours and activities.
• It has helped us understand bulk bookings and benefits related of it.
• We have learnt the importance of time management while dealing with large group on tours.
• We have learnt the importance of ‘Tiger Project’ through the functioning of Ranthambore National Park.
• We have also gathered information on how ASI is working towards conservation of the heritage sites from the visit to Ranthambore Fort.
• It was an opportunity to learn and experience the rich heritage of Rajasthan and its wildlife.

Limitations

Although the whole tour was well planned and executed in an organized manner. It covered all the major attractions along with historical temples and Fort which fulfils the purpose of the field trip for students. Our faculties took care of our preference during the meals.

But yes, the field trip suffered from small number of limitations, which are as follows:

• The money taken for the field trip was not worth it.
• Lack of time management.
• Travelling to the destination took much time than exploring the destination.
• Group tour lacked coordination among members, hence time management became difficult.

Field Trip to Ranthambore and Bharatpur

Getting its name from the pictorial fortification inside, Ranthambore National Park is one of the most prestigious national parks. Found where the Aravali Range and level of the Vindhyas meet, Ranthambore National Park was once where the royals of Jaipur chased. The national park is additionally viewed as an unmistakable legacy site because of the antiquated remains discovered inside. The town of Sawai Madhopur is the portal to the national park with a flourishing biodiversity set among old strict structures, a few man-made lakes and stylishly disintegrating cenotaphs. In spite of the fact that flanked by the Banas Stream toward the north and the Chambal Waterway toward the south, the numerous lakes inside are not taken care of by both of the waterways’ waters. Keoladeo National Park or Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary sometimes in Rajasthan, India is popular bird sanctuary that has a large number of birds particularly throughout the winter season. Numerous types of winged animals are known to be lasting inhabitant here and visiting transitory fowls including water feathered creatures are generally observed. It has migratory birds from November to February.

We reached Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary around 1 pm on 3rd of march. We collected entry ticket which costed 20 rupees for students. We could either walk, take a rickshaw or cycle inside the bird sanctuary. The cost of cycle was 50 rupees for4 hours and the cost of rickshaw was rupees 150 per person for 1 hour. I personally took a cycle and was riding the entire tour of the bird sanctuary. I cycled for 5 kms and reached a lake where there were few birds and lots of buffaloes. And on top each buffalo there was a bird sitting on top. With the help of binoculars, we spotted a few Siberian cranes in the bird sanctuary. We spent around 2 hours in the bird sanctuary. And then we proceeded to have lunch.

We reached Ranthambore 9 pm at night on 3rd march. We ate dinner and directly proceeded to our allocated rooms and slept. The next morning at 7 am we went for jeep safari to Ranthambore tiger reserve. In our jeep there were 21 members along with our tour guide. There were only few classmates of mine, rest were foreigners. We went to Zone 2. There are 10 gates for the tiger reserve. There are more than 70 tigers in this reserve. 80% of the land of the tiger reserve is owned by the govt of India. Each tiger has its own area or plot of land. They mark their territory was urinating on the boundary of their land. A family of tiger shares their territory with each other. We saw 3 tigers in our jeep safari. One was a female tiger. Her number was 84. And later on, we saw 2 female tiger cubs. They were daughter of 84 number tiger. Her name is arrowhead, this name is given to her because she has an arrow type mark on her forehead.

Our guide was D.P Sharma. He is a local of Ranthambore. He has worked for 10 years as a guide. He was an excellent guide. He knew which zone to go and when to go to the place where we could locate tigers. The safari was for 3 hours. After that we came back to the hotel and had breakfast and took rest. After having lunch, we went to see the Ranthambore Fort. We went by jeep to see the fort. After stopping at the we went walking. The fort was in ruins. There was nothing much to see. There were 2 temples inside the fort. One was Lord Shiva Temple and another was Lord Hanuman’s Temple. There was big garden inside the fort. The view from the fort was breathtaking. We could see Padam Paloa Lake. There were lots of monkeys and parrots in the fort. There were local vendors selling souvenirs to the tourist. We spent around 3 hours in the fort.

We came back to the hotel and freshened up had dinner and slept. next morning by 9 am we left Bharatpur and headed towards our college.

Itinerary

Field Trip to Ranthambore (3th March, 2020 to 5th March, 2020):

• Day 1: Bus will be waiting at Gate NO 4A. Amity University. Pick up time: 5:30 am. Drive for 8 to 9 hours depending on the traffic. check in upon arrival. Tea will be served. Dinner at hotel. Overnight stay at hotel.
• Day 2: Morning safari at 7 am to 10 am. Back to hotel after safari. Breakfast at hotel. Lunch at hotel. Trip to Ranthambore Fort. Tea will be served later in the evening. Bonfire at the hotel, DJ evening and dinner.
• Day 3: Breakfast at hotel. Check out from hotel. Drive back to original pick-up point.

Conclusion

Rajasthan is known for its culture and heritage and has achieved the status of one of the nation’s most fascinating tourist site on the world tourism map. In light of its rich historical, cultural and natural legacy, combined with different fairs and festivals, Rajasthan has become one of the most visited tourist destinations of the country. Through this trip we had the opportunity to experience this richness and culture.

Also, we had hands on experience on operations management and tour planning. As the bookings, transportation and accommodation were all done by the students, this trip proved to be a learning experience on how to conduct a group tour. This trip also helped us understand crowd management and the various benefits and difficulties that comes with it. This trip gave us the opportunity to witness the hard work done by the forest department and ‘Tiger Project’ and learn about the workings of a national park. We had to opportunity to interact with the tour guides and gather some first-hand information. And to witness the tigers in their natural hebetate in Ranthambore National Park was astounding.

Overall, it was a fulfilling trip both from educational and enjoyment point of view. It was also a bonding experience for the students.

Pollution is the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects (Oxford Dictionary). My essay will cover the main causes of pollution in Kenya, specifically air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution. These causes will be sourced from governmental research as well as independent academic research. It will then review how effective the Kenyan government has been in tackling these sources. This research is important because pollution is detrimental to any country’s society and economy. Therefore, the governments and citizens of said countries must go out of their way to find the sources of the types of pollution affecting their countries and suggest effective ways of solving the same. This essay will highlight these sources of pollution and evaluate how effective the measures put up against them actually are. Previous research has been done on the same problem, from governmental research to independent researchers. Their research shall be referred to in the writing of this essay. My work will add value to the environmental bodies and organs who strive to curb pollution in Kenya. At the end of this paper, I anticipate that the Kenyan government will have done a lot to counteract pollution in Kenya but can do much more in the fight against pollution.

Causes of Environmental Pollution

Air Pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter (PM), or biological materials into the atmosphere that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the environment (Agbaire and Esiefarienrhe, 2009). The Kenyan government, through the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has flagged priority air pollutants under their Air Quality Regulations Act, 2014 in the second schedule. These include particulate matter, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, dioxins and furans, perfluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons. They continue to state that these emissions result from extensive industrialization. They also flag domestic pollution through burning of fuels to provide heat and light (National Environment Management Authority, 2014). This conclusion is further supported by Mberu, B. and Muindi, K. who state that the construction boom especially in Nairobi add to pollution levels and go on to cite the research of the World Health Organization who report that the level of fine particulate matter in the country’s air in the densely populated areas such as Nairobi is 17 micrograms per cubic meter; this is 70% above the WHO recommended maximum (World Health Organisation,2017). They continue to state that residents of informal settlements also contribute to air degradation. They have limited access to electricity or liquefied petroleum gas and so primarily burn firewood, charcoal and kerosene. As a last-ditch effort some households burn plastic bags and containers when they can’t buy charcoal or kerosene. Burning these fuels releases pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide as well as particulate matter (Muindi, K. and Mberu, B., 2017).

Water Pollution

Water pollution is any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality of water that has a harmful effect on any living thing that lives in, uses or drinks it (Lenntech,2019). Kenyan waters are plagued by high concentration of heavy metals in the water. Research on Nairobi River by Egerton University has shown that this holds true. Water samples were taken twice during the dry month of June,2013 and twice during the wet season of November, 2013. The water temperature, potential of hydrogen, dissolved oxygen and dissolved solids were measured in situ. Determination of heavy metals presence such as lead or copper was carried out using spectroscopy techniques whereas incubation, reactor digestion, gravimetric, amino acid, sulfaver 4, diazotization and titration methods were used to determine the levels of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids which included phosphate, sulphate, nitrite, fluorides and chlorides respectively. The range observed for pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, sulphate, fluoride, chloride, nitrite, phosphate, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, lead and chromium was 6.89-7.77, 18.3-25.0oC, 8.10-24.29 mg/L, 176-438 mg/L, 40-730 mg/L,10.93-25.26 mg /L, 131- 414 mg/L, 348-881μS/cm, 0- 68 mg/L, 0.39- 2.87 mg/L, 0.0142- 0.886 mg/L, 0.002- 0.55 mg/L,0.03-5.96 mg/L, 0.0974-3.1438 mg/L, 0.0092- 3.6843 mg/L, < 0.01- 0.1799 mg/L,< 0.005-0.0197 mg/L, < 0.05-0.4415 mg/L and < 0.02- 0.0846 mg/L respectively. The concentrations of cations and anions were found to be heavily dependent on the various activities taking place along the river with some pollutant concentrations being higher than the recommended WHO levels (Kibet, J., Kamau, G., Chebet, E. and Mbui, D., 2016). The research paper goes further on to state that although NEMA give industries regulations on how much to emit through pollution permits, the levels indicated show that these regulations are not followed and furthermore the residential units near the river have no such regulations hence freely dump wastes into the water.

Soil Pollution

Soil pollution is defined as the modification of soil features or of its chemical and biological balance, caused by the discharge of polluting substances (Floccia, M., Gisotti, G., Sanna, M., 1985) Kenya’s economic growth is dependent on agricultural production as it is a third world country whose exports are mainly primary products as 24.2% of the global domestic product was gained by the agricultural sector (World Bank, 2019). However, pollution goes in hand with growing population and economic activities. Soil contamination growing rampart now days, but it is not taken as of more concern like water and air pollution. Pollutants are mainly contributed by use of motor vehicles. Heavy metals such as chromium from paint, lead from acid accumulators, and mercury from stabilization system are some of the by-products of car valeting and will end up in soil and hence destroying the soil integrity (International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 2017). Uncontrolled use of agricultural chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides also destroy the soil as the chemicals destroy top soil integrity. Hospital package materials and containers, used syringes and sharp needles, biowaste and pharmaceuticals are wastes released from hospitals. Other contaminants such as dioxins and furans and some toxic metals such as cadmium or manganese are released from incinerators. Kenya’s hospitals generate approximately 10,000 tons of medical wastes per year. Industries also contribute to soil contamination as many industries such as smelting industries release uncontrolled wastes to the environment. According to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, production from agro-based industries such as coffee processing plants deposits excess agro-chemicals such as pesticides into the top soil and sub-soil (Ministry of Environment and Forestry, 2013). There also disposal of small firearms in the military camps, and cattle rustling in some places such as Samburu and Pokot thus the lead from the firearms contaminate the soil. (Koskei, S., Chen, Y. and Shi, W., 2017).

Measures Taken by the Kenyan Government to Curb Pollution

The Kenyan government has taken stringent measures to reduce the polluting of the country’s ecosystem as shown below:

The Air Quality Regulations Act of 2014

The Kenyan government, through the National Environment Management Authority has enacted the Air Quality Regulations Act in 2014 which highlights the priority air pollutants and strictly stipulates the amount of chemicals that industries can emit and goes on to declare the controlled areas such as Nairobi’s Industrial Area and gives an air quality management plan aimed at controlling and reducing the pollution (National Environment Management Authority, 2019).

Real-Time Air Pollution Monitoring

The United Nations Environment Programme developed and gave Kenya’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry Air Quality Monitoring equipment which will provide real time monitoring and thus form a basis for how to curb air pollution. Fifty units of these devices were handed to the ministry (Ministry of Environment and Forestry, 2019).

The ‘Adopt-a-River’ Initiative

The National Environment Management Authority enacted this project, a national citizen-driven wetlands restoration project originally meant for Nairobi River but has progressed to other parts of the country. It entails mobilizing and empowering students and community-based youth groups and other interested institutions to address real sustainability challenges in Kenya. Each of the targeted group is expected to adopt a nearby river, monitor water pollution levels at designated points and undertake its restoration and conservation (National Environment Management Authority, 2019).

The Plastic Bag Ban

On August 28th 2017, the Kenyan Government banned any usage of plastic bags in an attempt to reduce the pollution of rivers by plastics (Kenya Gazzette,2017). They take anywhere between 20-1000 years to biodegrade hence the government of Kenya opted for the use of biodegradable bags.

The Kenya-Denmark Initiative

The Environment and Policy Management Component under the Natural Resource Management Programme (NRMP) supported the Government of Kenya in the implementation of the first medium-term plan (2008-2012) in relation to strategies and goals for environmental planning and governance. It supported key environmental bodies such as NEMA and aims at sustaining natural resources by developing renewable non-pollutive energy sources and so Denmark granted Kenya DKK 26.4 million which is approximately KSH 376.4 million.

The Effectiveness of the Kenyan Government in Curbing Pollution

To evaluate the effectiveness of the government in curbing pollution, the results of the policies implemented by the government must be observed. The Danish government granted Kenya approximately KSH 376.4 million to combat pollution and some of the money has been put to good use as it has been used to provide counties with street cleaners, real time air pollution detectors that detect source pollutants highlighted in the fourth schedule of NEMA’s Air Quality Regulations Act of 2014 and the money has also been used to fund environmental research studies in the country’s universities (Ministry of Environment and Forestry, 2017). Due to this Kenya has reduced the number of deaths due to air pollution from 30,000 per year in 2013 to 19,000 per year in 2016 and has fallen back to the safe zone of presence of particulate matter in the air (Business Daily, 2016). Nevertheless, some of the money has been embezzled by the country’s corrupt officials as 40% of the money went unaccounted for in an audit on government coffers (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Unit, 2017).

The plastic bag ban is quite a severe ban with fines of £31,000 or 4 -year imprisonment if found using a plastic bag (National Environment Management Authority, 2017). This ban has helped transform local waterways as the waters have been clearer and less animal deaths due to plastic asphyxiation have been reported. This comes as a relief as the intention of the ban is working (The Guardian, 2018). Nevertheless, it is slowly becoming ineffective as people are still reported to use them even after the ban and furthermore local suppliers bribe the city officials to turn a blind eye (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Unit, 2018). Nevertheless, even if the ban was to be 100% efficient it would not have helped as Kenyan waters suffer from heavy metal contamination which no plastic bag ban can solve.

NEMA’s ‘Adopt-a-River’ Initiative is arguably very ineffective as no results have been gotten from the initiative. There has been no significant change in water pollution levels since its inception thus has failed in its mission.

The Ministry of Agriculture recognizes the rising soil pollution levels and has devoted funds to research to the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute so that they find efficient and eco-friendly methods to farm that will use less agro-chemicals on the soil (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute,2017). Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture has approached the Ministry of Health and Military contractors so that the disposal of medical supplies and lead firearms into the soil may stop (Worldwide Fund for Nature Kenya, 2018).

Conclusion

The Kenyan government has implemented several objective policies to combat the thriving pollution levels in the country. Some policies such as the Air Quality Regulations Act and launching real-time pollution devices have been highly effective whereas some policies like the plastic bag ban are short-term solutions. Other policies such as the Adopt-a-River initiative have borne no fruit. It is also evident that the government has been widely successful in tackling air pollution but needs to restrategize on how to tackle water pollution and soil pollution. It can therefore be concluded that to effectively tackle pollution as a whole, some resources used in curbing air pollution should be use to tackle water and soil pollution as the policies implemented against the same have been very ineffective.

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world. A vast number of travelers are drawn to visiting national parks, with their beautiful and picturesque scenery. The effects of tourism are sometimes detrimental; causing changes to the landscape and effecting people who habitat it. Some destinations are being restricted and even completely closed off to the public entirely. In some cases, too much of a good thing, can turn into too much of a bad thing. In this assignment I will be looking at the effect that tourism has on Olympic National Park. Specifically, on how tourism effects the park economically, environmentally and socio-culturally. I will also be investigating how tourism here is sustainable and what could be done to further avoid the depletion in order to maintain and ecological balance.

In the state of Washington lies Olympic National Park, situated in the Pacific North West Peninsula. The park stretches across numerous diverse ecosystems, boasting dramatic mountain peaks, lakes and beaches, to ancient forests with trees that can be dated back possibly over a thousand years old. The park is very popular for hikers and backpackers, with many visitors interested in ascending its glacier covered Mount Olympus.

Economic Impacts

The park draws in a huge number of tourists each year, pulling in an estimated “2,824,908 people in 2012 alone”, and it is the 7th most-visited national park in America according to (Scott, 2018). Here is an assessment of the national economic contribution tourism has on Olympic National Park. According to the National Park Service (NPS) an annual report, shows that 3.4 million visitors to Olympic National Park in 2017 spent $279 million in communities neighboring the park, supporting 3,556 jobs in the local area having a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $386 million. Tourism in the national park is a substantial driver in the nation-wide economy, returning $10 for every $1 invested in the national park service (Maynes, 2015). These figures show that national parks across the US, not only bring in enough money through tourism to support the local communities, but these national parks also subsidize to the national economy (Fork Forum, 2018). A visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service. The report presents $18.2 billion of direct expenditure by more than 330 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This cost supported 306,000 jobs nationally; 255,900 of those jobs are found in the gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $35.8 billion. (Forks Forum, 2018). The main revenue comes from the hotel industry taking in 94.5 million. Restaurants were second, followed by transportation, gas, retail and recreation industries. Rounding out the visitor spending was the grocery stores and ending with the camping regions around the Peninsula. The total visitor spending saw in increase from 2015 of £16.2 million, with a $60 million increase from 2012, the visitor spending around Olympic National Park has grown (Scott, 2017)

While these statistics indicate growth in a region that has struggled to maintain a sustainable economy over a period of 40 years, things could be better. There was a downtrend in numbers of visitors in 2017. There was an economic impact of $400 million, in 2016, meaning that the Olympic Peninsular witnessed a 4% loss in tourism revenue during 2017 (Scott, 2017).

The park has helped maintain over 3.8 thousand jobs around the region, far more than the recourse removal jobs of logging, fishing and mining. Hotels and restaurants make up 1,700 jobs, while the remaining jobs go to the recreation industries, retail, transportation, camping, groceries and gas. Like the visitor spending, the growth has remained consistent since 2012, increasing every year. As a remote region, it is even more incredible to think how much of an economic impact Olympic has (Scott, 2017).

The national park suffers from economic dependence as it relies on this source of income to be able to manage the park. This means that that environmental degradation occurs through the need to keep visitor numbers high in order to keep the park maintained.

Environmental Impacts

Many visitors focus on enjoying themselves while visiting the destination and this can lead to intentional or unintentional disrespectful behavior. This can include behaviors such as pollution with what they leave behind, trampling vegetation and parking in undesignated areas bringing further destruction to the land. The negative impacts of tourism effects national parks globally by provoking changes in the ecosystems. Things such as cars, snowmobiles and planes cause the biggest disturbances. Tourism creates land degradation, air and noise pollution, littering, trampling and the change of ecosystems. All these areas of influence not only risk the wellbeing of the land, but also the different types of wildlife that call the park home.

Soil Pollution

The national park service has 300 million people visiting their sites each year leaving a trace of their visit on the ground and the impact on the land is enormously detrimental. Any kind of human involvement in national parks will influence the upkeep of the natural landscapes. Detrimental changes to the eco system can occur through the obvious reason, trampling causing soil erosion. Another major reason is due to litter which takes often hundreds of years to degrade and this can also affect the wildlife as this disrupts their natural ecosystem. Another common reason is because of the soil pollution produced via human food waste and human defecation and urine, as there are long stretches of land without a toilet or bin in the vicinity. This causes toxic pollution of the water table that gets into the streams and rivers, spreading it all around the park and it changes the make-up of the soil, making it very toxic and demineralized, causing imbalances to the soil; which have a major effect on plants being able to grow in future. This then causes a chain reaction, affecting insects and animals further up the food chain. Each individual lifeform that is affected, would have added something to the environment in one form or another, so this can have such a huge effect on the whole site.

When regarding the national park as a world heritage site this Is a devastating thought, but unfortunately the economic dependence of this site means that environmental degradation Is bound to occur.

Impacts on the Nature and Wildlife

Olympis National Park is renowned for being species rich, holding some rare wildlife as well as offering a sanctuary for the animals to go about their daily activities in peace and harmony. It has been a popular site for bird watchers as it’s said to have ‘once in a lifetime’ observations of the birds in natural surroundings. This isn’t the case for all animals though, and this will only get worse as more and more species become affected by various types of pollution factors. This will eventually cause contracting biodiversity from habitat loss. There is also a major issue from a result of humans deliberately feeding the animals which hinders the animals natural foraging ability as they become dependent on human food.

This study examined the negative socio-cultural impacts of ecotourism activities. According to an article by Seattle Times (2018) state experts had to relocate half the estimated 700 goats that had been permanently homed in Olympic National Park, with the remainder having to be killed. The mountain goats were not indigenous to the park and were introduced by a hunting group around a century ago, according to park officials. These goats then multiplied in to the hundreds. Officials became concerned about aggressive behavior after a mountain goat killed an elderly hiker in 2010. The mountain goats are known to seek salt from tourists and hikers, through sweat and urine as Olympic National Park does not have naturally occurring salt sources, and that increases their interactions with pursuing humans. These goats were digging up the soil around where tourists had urinated and effecting the terrain so that some plants and shrubbery failed to grow in those areas. The noise made by humans was enough to entice some other wildlife in the area to investigate the tourist’s camps.

Olympic peninsula was affected greatly by the logging industry and the forests have been slowly returning over the last 32 years but logging still continues by private owners of segments of the land. The peninsula was subjected to sixty years of mass deforestation. This was the result of numerous logging communities. These communities thrived on this industry and it had a very negative affect on the local wildlife in the national park. Essentially destroying some wildlife’s habitats further affecting the food chain. There was a controversy surrounding the adverse effects deforestation had on the spotted owl species.

Noise Pollution

Due to the rise in popularity of national parks, there is a greater need for transportation networks to be expanded. Resulting in heavy noise pollution spreading in to more remote places. This human caused noise has consequences for wildlife resulting in entire ecosystems to change. The human noise pollution reduces many animals’ ability to hear natural sounds, which can be the difference between life or death. Protected natural areas across the world such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are essential for natural resource conservation. “In a 2017 study of the effects of noise pollution in protected areas, a team used millions of hours of acoustic recordings of human caused-noise in national parks. The findings were that noise pollution doubled sound energy in many U.S. protected areas, and that noise was impinging into the furthest reaches of these remote areas” (Buxton, 2017). The amount of noise depends on how a protected area is managed, where a site located and what kinds of activities take place nearby. Protected areas manage by local government had the most noise pollution, since they were in or near to large urban centers. The main sources of noise were, roads, aircraft land conversion and recourse extraction activities such as oil and gas production mining and logging.

Sociocultural Impacts

Social impacts of tourism refer to changes in the lives of people living in destination communities. Cultural impacts of tourism refer to the changes in the arts, artefacts, customs, rituals and architecture of people. The term ‘socio-cultural impacts’ refers to changes to residents’ everyday experiences, as well as to their values, way of life and intellectual and artistic properties.

Land Dispute and Divided Opinions

Another issue that can be considered is a controversial subject regarding plans of ‘land grabbing’ privately owned parts of the Peninsula by volunteers and conservationists who wish to expand the park. The local community that has ownership of this land are troubled by essential leakages from there source of income from timbering and plans to source other fossil fuels as well as fishing. This is a difficult situation as the owners are essentially disrupting the environment, but this is their rightful ownership and taking this away would be a threat to their culture and their source of income. Conservationists supporting Olympic Park had started a campaign back in 2014 called ‘The Wild Olympics’. “The legislation would provide durable, permanent safeguards for the Peninsula’s most priceless natural treasures; our towering ancient forests, free-flowing rivers, critical fish and wildlife habitat and our clean water” (Gallant, 2016) advocating protection of the wilderness and making the Peninsulas wilderness more sustainable. Part of the plan was to buy back land off the private owners to increase the size of the national park. Although there have been adverse petitions created by parts of the community angered towards the campaign, there is a divide of opinions within the neighboring communities of the peninsula. According to Gallant (2016), they have been building connections with fellow citizens with every single community on the Peninsula, to build support from various local voices; to listen to apprehensions and receive feedback to shape the proposal. More than 450 Peninsula businesses, farms, faith leaders, hunting and fishing groups, elected officials, conservation and civic groups support Wild Olympics and over 10,000 Peninsula residents have signed petitions and written letters to back the petition. There is clearly a crucial need for change, but there are these challenging situations whereby we need to consider socio-cultural factors from every angle. This issue involved social dislocation and economic dependence of the private land owners, but as a result of no action taking place, eventually the park will have to close and there will be no income for many more of the people within the neighboring communities as their main source of income is the tourists.

Air and Noise Pollution

A huge factor involved in tourists love for nature is the quiet surroundings untainted by man-made activities. It is supposed to be a short break from the outside world, a space of tranquillity. This has drastically changed since the aircrafts owned by Olympic Park air tours, other transport and machines for fossil fuel extraction cause the silence in the nature to be disrupted as well as contaminating the air with other gases. This affects a large scale of the neighboring communities as well as the park visitors. All these factors also contribute massively to the carbon footprint, speeding up the effects of global warming.

Sustainable Tools Incorporating Theoretical Application

“Evidence suggests that modern tourists are quite environmentally conscious and a responsibility is emerging for new tourists to behave respectfully towards the environment”, – Krippendorf (1987, p.132). Despite this, there’s still many developers who consider tourism to be a relatively non-polluting industry. Regarding resource consumption, tourism is one of the leading malefactors and certainly has a considerable impact upon our environment. Most national parks have adopted ideas to make their location more sustainable when taking into consideration factors such as economics, environmental and socio-cultural. It is becoming increasingly fashionable to visit sustainable tourist destination as more and more people are educated on the effects our generation will have on the future, and the kinds of things we can be doing to prevent further damage.

It appears that the best solution for sustaining Olympic National Park would be to initiate the ideas of the Wild Olympic campaigners to expand the park which would provide a bigger space for a more suitable infrastructure. This could prevent a lot of the environmental issues if incorporating a fallow year in segmented parts of the park so that it has a break from human interaction allowing soil to rebalance its properties as well as allowing flora, fauna and vegetation to grow and wildlife to create sustainable habitats. The expansion would also mean the park has a larger people carrying capacity so that every inch of the park has less erosion and pollution.

In order to do this the main tool would be creating a way to educate the private land owners on the future effects of tourism as well as assuring them that their activities for income could still continue but in more strictly designed, designated parts of the park or by designing other opportunities for these people who would otherwise be dependent on the extraction of local resources (Wearing & Neil, 1999). Creating other forms of financial gains involved in the industries of the parks development. Community-based tourism planning can create opportunities for people to own businesses related to the project, designed to be less harmful to the environment than prior activities. During these industry related employment schemes, employees could receive training to be educated about the role and effects of heritage tourism and going green (Timothy & Boyd 2003). This has the potential to reduce leakages within the community making sure the profits are being poured directly to the proposed business’ created by the expansion of the park and to the neighboring community.

Another educational scheme would be to increase environmental awareness and action among tourists (Wearing & Neil, 1999), this could be applied through multiple schemes. My first idea would be to create a short clip that pops up when booking a visit via the website. The clip could contain tourist responsibilities and expected behavior with an explanation. The video should use lots of persuasive language and have interesting qualities in order to receive the attention off the tourist. The website could have options for travel that reduce the carbon foot print like Lake District National Park advertise. Between 2011 and 2015 they aimed to “generate a step-change in how visitors travel to and around the Central and Southern Lake District, enabling them to make greater use of sustainable modes of travel, creating a network of cycle hire fleets, through integrated ticketing and discounts for those arriving by public transport, targeted marketing and information designed to change visitors’ travel behavior to/from and around the Lakes, and ensure that, as far as possible, local residents and communities benefit from the program”.

Not only have they incorporated schemes that could potentially reduce the carbon footprint, but also initiated a scheme to look after the local communities which respects that it is their home and they should have special treatment for helping in sustaining the park.

Another idea for the education of the tourists is involving a short clip at the entrance of the park that reminds them of the responsibilities they carry and the reasons being.

The park could have more porter loos and bins (that wildlife can’t enter) situated all over the park, or tourists could be offered she-wees and he-wees so they if they need to urinate, they can do so by disposing of it responsibly.

There could also be security cameras situated around the park, as tourists knowingly being watched will be less likely to have disrespectful behavior. This could cause issues though as most people would like the freedom of the park and this would take it away from them.

My last idea would be raising prices as the location is very popular and you could reduce carrying capacity by doing so and increase profits at the same time.

Conclusion

The national park suffers from economic dependence as it relies on this source of income to be able to manage the park. This means that that environmental degradation occurs through the need to keep visitor numbers high in order to keep the park maintained.

Ecotourism can be a motivation for preservation and may also provide socio-cultural impact on the host communities, if the right education of ecotourism is provided to the community and the tourists. A strict scheme should be applied, but if complied to could result in rewards as part of a scheme to get everyone involved. The main ideas put forward involve more facilities, training, opportunities and a fallow year if expansion can be obtained. This strategy could be profitable as ecotourism is something most people who have the money are willing to pay extra for, long term endurance and profitability should be one of the foremost strategic directions of tourism enterprises as the environment is essentially the most important asset.

References

1. Boyd, S. and Timothy, D. 2003. “Heritage tourism”. Pearson educated limited; London.
2. Buxton, R. “Human noise pollution is disrupting parks and wild places”. 18.06.2017 [online]. The Conversation [Available at] https://theconversation.com/human-noise-pollution-is-disrupting-parks-and-wild-places-78074 [Date accessed] 16.02.2019.
3. Coccossis, H. and Nijkamp, P. 1995. “Sustainable Tourism Development”, Ashgate; England.
4. Gallant, C. 2016. “Welcome to the Wild Olympics Campaign: Protecting Our Ancient Forest and Rivers for Future Generations”. [online] Wild Olympics [Available at] http://www.wildolympics.org/ [Date Accessed] 04.03.2019.
5. Krippendorf, J. 1987. “The Holiday Maker: Understanding the Impact of Leisure and Travel”. Heinemann.
6. Maynes, B. 23.04.2015. “Tourism to Olympic National Park Creates $365,559,900 in Economic Benefits – National Park Service”. [Online] Olympic Park: Port Angeles [Available at] https://www.nps.gov/olym/learn/news/tourism-to-olympic-national-park-creates-millions-economic-benefits.htm [date accessed] 17.02.2019.
7. “Mountain Goat Relocation Beings in Olympic National Park”. 13.4.2016. [Online] Seattle Times [Available at] https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/mountain-goat-relocation-begins-in-olympic-national-park/ [Date Accessed] 02.03.2019.
8. Scott, D 20.04.2017. “Olympic Nation Park Added Nearly $400 Million to Local Economy in 2016”. [Online] The Outdoor Society [Available at] society.com/olympic-national-park-added-nearly-400-million-to-local-economy-in-2016/ [Date Accessed] 16.02.2019.
9. Scott, D 2018. “The Olympic Nation Parks 6th Most Popular Year”. [Online] The Outdoor Society [Available at] http://outdoor-society.com/2017-was-olympic-national-parks-6th-most-popular-year/ http://outdoor-society.com/2017-was-olympic-national-parks-6th-most-popular-year/ [Date accessed] 02.03.2019.
10. “Sustainable Tourism”. [Online] Lake District [available at] https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/learning/factstourism/sustainable-tourism/sustainable-tourism-initatives [date accessed] 27.02.2019.
11. “Tourism to Olympic Park Creates 385 Million in Economic Benefits”. 04.05.2018 [Online] Forks Forum: Sound Publishing Inc: West End of the Olympic Peninsula [available at] https://www.forksforum.com/business/tourism-to-olympic-national-park-creates-385-million-in-economic-benefits
12. Wearing, S. and Neil, J. 1999 “Ecotourism: Impacts, Potentials and Possibilities”. Reed educational and professional publishing.
13. Fyall, A. and Leask, A. 2006. “Managing World Heritage Sites”. Elsevier; Oxford.
14. Vanhove, N 2005. “The Economics of Tourism Destinations”. Elsevier; Oxford.
15. Yeoman, I. Rebecca, T. Mars, M. Wouters, M. 2012. “2050 – Tomorrows Tourism”. Channel view publications; Bristol.

Ecotourism is nature-based, it is all about being ecologically sustainable, protecting environmental aspects and providing benefit to the local community. Sustainable development is economic development along with environmental protection and social equity. Sustainable development is guided to meet the needs and aspirations of the present generation without compromising those of future generations. Ecotourism supports in sustainable community development by providing an alternative source of livelihood to the local community. Van der Merwe & Van der Marwe (1999) add that “Sustainable development is a program for changing the process of economic development so that it ensures a basic quality of life for all people and at the same time protects the ecosystems and community systems that make life possible and worthwhile. Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

When Does Ecotourism Sustainability Likely to Happen in the Community?

Ecotourism sustainability is more likely to occur when (1) the community is actively involved in the design and development of an ecotourism project and consequently becomes more environmentally conscious, (2) the community leaders develop and support programs for families and children to learn more about environmental conservation and preservation, and (3) community tourism decision makers recognize the importance of promoting and publicizing the potential economic benefits as a result of a community’s ecotourism.

Why Environmental Problems Should Impact People on a Broad Scale?

Climate change, which is caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels, affects communities worldwide in diverse and often unpredictable ways. Some communities experience increased flooding while others experience increased drought and rapid ecosystem changes. Pollution in the air, water and soil poses a threat to human health, as well as the health of the greater environment that sustains the environment. Caring for environments around the world by keeping biodiversity high and ecosystems intact ensures that people can continue sharing materials through trade to support their needs.

Greater quality of life among people within the community through green outdoor spaces that encourage children to stay active, and the opportunity to explore natural ecosystems fosters a lifelong love of nature and a curiosity about the natural world.

How Does Sustainable Development Help the Community?

1. Maintenance of ecological integrity and diversity;
2. Meet basic human needs;
3. Keep options open for future generations;
4. Reduce injustice;
5. Increase self-determination within the community;
6. Revive economic growth;
7. Change the quality of growth;
8. Meet essential needs such as for jobs, food, energy, water and sanitation;
9. Conserve and enhance the resource base;
10. Reorient technology and manage risk;
11. Merge environment and economics in decision making.

The community will be aware of the commercial and social value placed on their natural and cultural heritage through tourism, and this will foster community-based conservation of these resources.

Role of Community in Ecotourism Sustainability Development

The most important reason for the inclusion of local inhabitants in ecotourism is equity, taking into consideration the conservation of the area through ecotourism development which inevitably entails restrictions in the traditional usage of local resources by the residents (Eagles et al., 1992 cited in Lindberg, 1998). The primary concept for the development of community-based ecotourism is the empowerment of local people. This is only possible when ecotourism planning takes into consideration the views, the perceptions and preferences of the local wellbeing (WWF-International, 2001).

Benefits of Local Community in Sustainable Development

The residents earn income as land managers, entrepreneurs, service and produce providers, and employees. At least part of the tourist income is set aside for projects which provide benefits to the community as a whole. Greater foreign exchange through generation of revenue. Income generated among local people because there will be job opportunities among local people and that will change their standard of living for the better. Local businesses benefit through selling their handcraft. Through cultural exchange local community benefit and gain funds. Also, sustainable development ecotourism contributes to the conservation of biodiversity through the fight against poaching, afforestation and reforestation; improving infrastructure, because old roads are being improved and new ones are being laid.

Empowered communities are able to gain better benefits from tourism development opportunities and utilize those opportunities in an effective. Involving the community in the process of tourism development increases their awareness of the costs and benefits of tourism. Communities with opportunities to participate in decisions affecting their lives mobilize their capacity and pride in their traditional culture and heritage. Involving local residents in decision making is a positive attitude towards tourism and is essential for tourism sustainability.

Conclusion

Ecotourism benefits both the environment and the local community as a whole. We must always remain responsible travelers and remember that by visiting different places, through our actions, we can improve the lives of people around. Our activities must protect the environment, benefit and support the community.

The term ‘tourism’ was coined by Thomas Cook in 1841, who lead the development of commercialized mass tourism. He had taken a number of 571 persons on a trip, supplying meals and music (Gyr, 2010). The term encompasses all activities undertaken by visitors while they travel and stay in places, beyond their normal environment, once their visit does not exceed a one-year time period (Stainton, 2020). Some of these activities undertaken may be touring, sports, research/studies, food related, nature related etc.

Tourism has many benefits which include brining in money to a country’s national budget, into businesses like restaurants and hotels, it also helps to create jobs for local people that work in hotels, bars, transportation and tour guides etc., it provides incentives for both private and public sectors to invest in their infrastructure/physical developments like roads, if managed correctly, incentives can also be encourage preservation and conservation of the natural environment as well that can be used as a different type of tourism called ecotourism, tourism also encourages international relationships among countries and brings about cultural awareness and education, and finally, tourism helps in marketing countries which will be beneficial to the country’s recognition (Goodman, 2020).

However, with all advantages come disadvantages. The major impact of mass tourism would be its destruction to the environment. As more people utilize the resources, there is increased erosion, damage to infrastructure, pollution, loss of biodiversity and habitats and even climate change and disasters eventually. In some instances, culture of local people is misunderstood or disrespected and on the other hand may become hybridized by visiting culture (Goodman, 2020). More often than not, huge foreign businesses make more money than the local businesses so it doesn’t really benefit them.

A pushed ideology as a ‘Hail Mary’, that has been largely considered and implemented by many countries is ‘ecotourism’ which is defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education” (TIES, 2015). It deals with promoting tourism in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way and those are the major differences between ecotourism and mass tourism. That means it utilizes the natural environment as much as possible. This leads to conservation and involvement of the community folks (TIES, 2015).

Recently, Guyana was named as the number one destination for ecotourism in a news article titled ‘Guyana Dubbed World’s Best Ecotourism Destination” (Kaieteur News Online, 2019). It was reported that Guyana possesses “global leadership in offering responsible tourism opportunities”, according to ITB (Internationale Tourismus-Borse) Berlin who were impressed with ecolodges located in the Indigenous communities (Kaieteur News Online, 2019). Guyana is dubbed sustainable due to some key reasons. We have large amounts of land covered by forest. Our population is small, so even if our strategies to maintain ecosystems are small, the impact of human activities on the environment is small and will take longer to cause any devastating damage. But that does not mean that we should not do everything we can to protect and promote ecotourism in our natural locations that have many unique ecotourism opportunities to offer. We currently have six protected areas that are all top tourist attractions such as the Kaieteur Falls and Iwokrama Reserve. We have been identified as a biodiversity hotspot and have the capacity to participate in many nature-related activities such as kayaking etc. Also due to the fact that many of our interior locations are not easily accessible, we stand at an advantage. We also possess many cultural attractions and the presence of the Amerindian culture and foods are very attractive. If we are able to properly manage our ecotourism sites, we can take the lead on the ecotourism sector (Terra Incognita, 2019).

On the other hand, the question lies about whether or not ecotourism is really sustainable or zero impact on the environment or whether it is a better option over mass tourism. It certainly is low impact tourism but it can be criticized. Firstly, ecotourism poses serious threats to the culture of the indigenous people. Sometimes, if the area is not titled Amerindian/native land, we may need to relocate the people which will lead to inconveniences. More importantly though, cultures get hybridized when tourists bring their own culture and teach the village people their ways. This effect is more gradual as indigenous people adapt to behavior seen by tourists. Sometimes the tourists are also disrespectful to the cultures that they do not understand. In an effort to make the cultures more appealing, the native people have to portray it in such a way that it may attract tourists and sometimes it is not always ethical (Clayton, 2017).

Second but very important, ecotourism promotes that it is environment friendly but let us consider that we are increasing traffic and human interaction within otherwise pristine areas with limited interaction. As such, it can be argued that it actually increases environment degradation. In most cases, human presence can interfere with the normal functioning of the ecosystems present. We may see species migrating or reproductive behaviors altered. Pathways encourage erosion from foot traffic and the area can become more prepped or altered to make accommodations for an increased number of people (Clayton, 2017).

Third, most of the exotic and more attractive places may be found further inland or in the remote areas. Now in order for us to access these areas, roads, airstrips, docks or trails may be built. These cause further destruction to habitats and land or aquatic ecosystems. Pollution may also increase causing harm to flora and fauna (Clayton, 2017).

Fourth and final, the management of the ecotourism destinations may develop some questionable, unethical practices which may lead to a jab at their integrity. Many organizations claim to portray green tourism, but is this really the case? The policies guarding the ecosystems are often ignored just so that they may make more money. For example, they can take an increased number of persons into the destination and ignore the accommodation capacity. Many of times also, the money generated is not shared to the local folks to enhance their lives and communities, failing to benefit the communities. Land use changes are made with deep consideration to money making. Funds are being pumped into the sector for aesthetics that should be used for other, more green projects and sectors, for example, renewable energy sector (Clayton, 2017).

One experience was shared by Creative Conservationist and National Geographic Explorer, after she visited an ‘eco resort’ located near Cancun. She described the place as being far from eco-friendly as she mentioned dead squirrels, macaws with clipped wings, for visitors’ amusement, ominously suspended trees and being served hot beverages in polystyrene cups just to mention a few. The marketing is certainly far from the truth of what the destination turned out to be. But she also described the place as being beautiful (not naturally, however). The cost to the environment was great (Jay, 2017).

Recommendations to prevent these occurrences may include: programs that work with local people to teach tourists about their culture, traditions and customs; respecting the rights of indigenous people to their lands and host consultations about projects that may affect them; obey the ecotourism regulations in a strict manner, even if it costs generation of more income; and incorporate more ancient/physical methods of transportation for example, use or horses, camels, walking and hiking so that the carbon footprint may be less.

In conclusion, the fact remains that ecotourism is not the ‘Hail Mary’, not the savior or the greatest concept to be invented since tourism. However, with time, we can work towards strengthening management strategies and policies used to guide the sector to truly make it sustainable and not just a marketing strategy.

The Amazon rainforest is located in 9 different countries and is a home to 350 ethnic groups, and 10 million species such as animals, plants and insects. In 2019, the Amazon rainforest fires have raised global awareness on how we can take action to protect our precious yet fragile planet. As a result, ecotourism is growing to be a new tourism trend due to the increase of sensitivity and awareness of ecological issues. An upsurge can be seen in the ecotourism industry that millennials are especially interested in sustainable nature traveling in recent years.

To define ecotourism, it is the “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education” (TIES, 2015). It is regarded as one of the most important and developing sub-sector in the tourism industry for being the largest and fastest-growing industry worldwide, accounts for 10% of the world’s GDP, 7% of the global tourism market, and 1 in 10 jobs (UNWTO, 2017).

This essay will discuss and analyze the impact of ecotourism on the environment and local economy to see if it brings more benefits or disadvantages to the Amazon rainforest. Possible solutions will also be proposed to minimize the disadvantages.

Environmental Impact

The benefit of ecotourism is to help reduce deforestation. The Amazon has been seen record-breaking levels of deforestation. “In Brazil, for example, the states of Pará and Mato Grosso both are seeing extensive deforestation, with much of the pressure coming from land grabbers, the cattle and soy industries” (Gonzales, 2019). The loss of trees from deforestation will lead to extreme temperature swings that are harmful for people and creatures living in the Amazon rainforest. Furthermore, deforestation can lead to various global environmental issues such as climate change and desertification. First, climate change would increase greenhouse gases, causing global warming; and the rise of sea levels will lead to flooding, where islands and coastlines would drown and disappear. Second, desertification, which reduces the ability of land to support surrounding populations of people and animals and produce human health problems. The South American rainforest influences regional and global water cycles, and it is the key to the water supply in Brazilian cities and neighboring countries. It is a good example to illustrate how serious and threatening it will be to us when there is a loss of clean water and biodiversity.

By promoting ecotourism, it offers an alternative way to earn income. As ecotourists pay to visit the natural beauty of Amazon, local people and the government will therefore have a greater desire to preserve their region due to its natural and economic value. At the same time, ecotourism can reduce the need for hunting of forest animals for income. A research in Tambopata shows that “ecotourism was more profitable in the long term than any other common use of the land”. They also found that “avoiding deforestation was far more impactful than the carbon footprint of visitors, meaning that ecotourism significantly reduces carbon emissions” (Kirkby, Giudice-Granados, Day, Turner, Velarde-Andrade, Dueñas-Dueñas, as cited in O’Gara, 2018).

On the other hand, the argument against ecotourism on the Amazon rainforest is the increasing infrastructures built for the convenience of tourism is bringing harm to the environment. “About three football fields worth of rainforest per minute are being lost, primarily to infrastructure projects” (Woodward, 2019) and according to another study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, “yet 45% of the proposed road infrastructure projects would result in economic losses” (PNAS, as cited in Moloney, 2020). Many people and creatures have lost their home due to the large amount of rainforest being destroyed. People chose to sacrifice the rainforest for running businesses, however, they have never considered the environmental cost of doing it, that is the loss of biodiversity and habitat, as well as a decrease in the quality of life.

“In Brazil, the proposed projects to improve its 2,234-km trans-Amazonian highway, BR-230, is presumably causing forest-cover loss amounting to nearly a quarter of the total predicted for the region by 2030” (Moloney, 2020). In addition, The Amazon Geo-Referenced Socio-Environmental Information Network, an association formed by a group of specialists from non-government organizations and other organizations within six Amazon region countries also reveals that, “among the 6,345 indigenous territories located within the 9 Amazonian countries surveyed, 32% are threatened or pressured by two types of infrastructure activities, while 41% are threatened or pressured by at least one. Only 8% of the total are not threatened or pressured at all” (RAISG, as cited in Gonzales, 2019). These case studies have shown us that the infrastructure projects are increasing pressures and putting risks on the general environment in the Amazon rainforest.

Another challenge the Amazon rainforest will be facing in the future is over-tourism as the popularity of the eco-destination grows. Recently, social media has a large impact on tourism. According to a survey conducted by WeSwap recently, 37% of respondents said their choice of holiday destination was influenced by social media, 34% of respondents have actually booked a holiday because of the content seen on social media and 29% of respondents would not choose a holiday destination if they were not able to post on social media (WeSwap, n.d.). Therefore, the Amazon rainforest, being one of the most popular places among millennials for being the best forests to take Instagram photos would possibly attract more visiting in the future, which may result in pollution, destruction of wildlife, and harm to the landscapes.

Economic Impact

Ecotourism can create a lot of job opportunities for locals as they can work in a range of sectors such as tourism, construction, hospitality. “Locally-based ecotourism operations that hire locally and are based locally can return as much as 95 percent of earnings into the local economy” (FAO, 2011). The Conservation Strategy Fund has studied the economic impact of tourism within the natural protected areas in Peru, it was shown that ecotourism “generated US$ 165 million in household income and wages at the local level, as well as more than 36,000 jobs in localities and surrounding cities” (Gribi, 2018). According to a survey conducted by Booking.com, “over half of global travelers report being more determined to make sustainable travel choices than they were before, but barriers include a lack of knowledge and available or appealing options when trying to put this into practice” (Booking.com, 2019). Therefore, the figures are predicted to rise in the long run not only because of the uptrend of visiting to protected natural areas, but also the multiplier effect. The multiplier effect is “the proportional amount of increase in final income that results from an injection of spending” (Ganti, 2019). For instance, the money tourists spent in an ecolodge helps to create jobs directly in the ecolodge, but it also creates jobs indirectly to other places in the economy. The ecolodge, for example, has to buy food from local farmers, who may spend some of this money on fertilizers.

However, if a community who rely heavily on tourism to sustain their livings, such as the Amerindian tribes. This may potentially become a big disadvantage for them because it means that the economy will become vulnerable as any changes in demand is likely to cause a major economic crisis. As an example, the negative news on Amazon fires recently may cause travelers to cancel their plan to visit the Amazon rainforest in these years due to worries and fears. It may result in a decline in tourism and the economy in Amazon will experience a recession, which means the tribes will possibly be facing unemployment and a significant fall in income.

Ecotourism can generate government tax revenues for investing in new educational and training programs, as well as providing more funds for conservation. There will be an improvement in human capital and productivity. For instance, if indigenous youth can attend school, they would be able to receive bilingual education, which they can learn a universal language and their own native language which is highly beneficial for them as they can either run their own business or find work in the city after graduation. This will help to increase their income and well-being in the future.

Possible Solutions

Ecotourism would be more ideal if the negative impacts can be settled. A possible solution that can be done by the government is setting policies to support sustainable development and natural resource protection. For example, discouraging cattle ranching or oil drilling by taxing the investors or promoting high value, low volume tourism as what Botswana did.

As an individual, to be a responsible ecotourist, there are also a few things we can do. First, doing research beforehand on the accommodation and tourist companies to see whether they are promoting sustainable practices and respecting the local culture and environment. Second, reducing our carbon footprints by ridesharing or walking to minimize the impact on the environment. Last, supporting the local economy by purchasing locally made souvenirs and crafts.

Conclusion

In terms of the environmental impacts, ecotourism is having more disadvantages than advantages. Reasons include the destroy infrastructure projects bring and the potential rise of over-tourism.

Whereas, in terms of economic impacts, there are more advantages than disadvantages to the local economy due to the increasing job opportunities, local people will, therefore, be able to gain more income and receive a better education.

References

1. Booking.com (2019). 2019 Sustainable Travel Report. Retrieved from https://globalnews.booking.com/bookingcom-reveals-key-findings-from-its-2019-sustainable-travel-report/
2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2011). Ecotourism Can Play Vital Role in Maintaining Healthy Forests. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/90192/icode/
3. Ganti. A. (2019). Multiplier Effect. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/multipliereffect.asp
4. Gonzales. J (2019). Amazon Infrastructure Puts 68% of Indigenous Lands/Protected Areas at Risk: Report. Retrieved from https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/amazon-infrastructure-puts-68-of-indigenous-lands-protected-areas-at-risk-report/
5. Gribi N. (2018). Tourism in Protected Areas Generated US $720 Million in Peru in 2017. Retrieved from https://www.conservation-strategy.org/news/tourism-protected-areas-generated-us-720-million-peru-2017#.WrKbjOjwbIU
6. Moloney A. (2020) Planned Amazon Roads Could Harm Economies Not Just Forests, Researchers Warn. Retrieved from https://news.trust.org/item/20200316182218-awt85
7. O’gara, A (2018). The Economics Of Ecotourism: Private Profits And Social Benefits. Retrived from https://faunalytics.org/the-economics-of-ecotourism-private-profits-and-social-benefits/
8. The International Ecotourism Society (2015). What is Ecotourism. Retrieved from https://ecotourism.org/what-is-ecotourism/
9. WeSwap (n.d.). How Social Media Is Taking Over Tourism. Retrieved from https://c8de9c07f5bc3c7540b8-af152700d349bb4c661e21971b9c756d.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/downloads/Travel_for_the_gram_Sept_2018.pdf
10. World Tourism Organization(2017). UNWTO Tourism Highlight 2018 Edition. Retrieved from https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284419876
11. Woodward A. (2019). The ‘Lungs of the Planet’ Are Burning at a Record Rate. If Too Much of the Amazon Disappears, That ‘Dieback’ Could Turn the Land into a Savanna. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com.au/amazon-rainforest-experiencing-record-breaking-deforestation-2019-7?r=US&IR=T