Seven Sisters Country Park - Assignment Example

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF TOURISM ON SEVEN SISTERS COUNTRY PARK Environmental Impact of Tourism on Seven Sisters Country Park -------------------- -------------------- Abstract Seven Sisters Country Park is a prominent natural park in the Sussex County of England. This park offers visitors a large number of attractions. Apart from leisure activities, the biodiversity and the varied landscape available in the Seven Sisters Country Park makes it a sought after destination for educational visits. The critical role played by the Seven Sisters Country Park in the local economy of the region makes it a fit case for initiatives in sustainable tourism. The impact of tourism on the environment of the park will be examined in general and specific instances outlined. After an analysis of the existing environmental regulations of the Seven Sisters Country Park, this dissertation will identify proposals which will reduce the negative impact of tourism and increase its positive aspects. Environmental Impact of Tourism on Seven Sisters Country Park Introduction Seven Sisters Country Park (SSCP) is a well known ecological landmark in the Sussex County. Seven Sisters Country Park encompasses a wide variety of animal habitats and scenic sites inside its 279 hectare periphery. The Seven Sisters Country Park takes its given name from the well-known chalk cliffs of the Sussex coast. This coastline has been declared as a heritage site and the southern periphery of the park offers a good view of the coastline. The Park encompasses an unique ecosphere, one of the extremely rare undisturbed river estuary system in South East England, and This ecosphere is of unique interest to the academics of a variety of disciplines. Seven Sisters Country Park is within the following administrative bodies the Sussex Downs chapter of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the Sussex Heritage Coast, and Seven Sisters Voluntary Marine Conservation Area (SSVMCA). The Park provides an environment of extraordinary splendor and also provides various opportunities for privacy and isolation. The Seven Sisters Country Park also provides the locale for an unusually varied flora and fauna, making the Seven Sisters Country Park an attractive destination for the visitors. About 360 000 visitors visit the Seven Sisters Country Park every year, The location of Seven Sisters Country Park makes it an ideal stopover for the visitors many using the Park as a gateway to the Cuckmere Valley and the famous Heritage Coast. Monetary resources and commitment are required to ensure that the Seven Sisters Country Park reflects the outstanding quality of its surroundings and the hopes of the public. Current environmental issues and research on sustainable tourism The sustainable development is often defined as "development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"; in the modern scenario concepts such as 'environmentally aware businesses' 'green industry', 'ecologically sensitive modernisation' are used widely in modern management (Mol, 1995; Jnicke, 1993; Schmidheiny, 1992). This definition is unclear and is open to multiple interpretations; however it has turned out to be the guiding standard and the basis for developing the economic and environmental policy of many countries in the First and Third worlds. Modern industry has also accepted the perils of polluting the environment. The World Tourism Organization has defined sustainable tourism as "tourism which meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future" (Stabler,1997) Changes in preferences of the common man who attributed a high value to an unspoiled habitat as a holiday destination contributed considerably to the value of the environment as one the most important components of the tourism business, and has led to various forms of tourisms like rural tourism ,nature tourism, ecotourism etc. These adapatations of tourism are much better adapted to the sustainable tourism model. In sum, sustainable tourism is now the broad research setting within which the tourism-environment relationship is examined. Several eminent papers on sustainable tourism have appeared in the previous decade. They span a variety of topics such as planning, sustainable tourism, sustainable tourism indicators, policies and management, role of national parks, rural tourism development and ecotourism (Bramwell et al., 1996 Bramwell and Lane, 1994; Smith and Eadington, 1994; Stabler, 1997). When the area's natural environment and resources are used for tourism, one of the two possible consequences result, either the extent of existing resources reduces and lays down limits to the development of the existing tourism industry in the area. Material and economic resources (e.g. coastlines, geological formations, sites of archaeological interest etc) are the limiting factors. There are other types of resources which can be conserved by proper planning and management. For sustained tourism development, it is essential to maintain a sufficient quantity of these resources at levels necessary for continued activity. The quality of these resources also declines affecting the tourism industry. Positive environmental impact of tourism in the Seven Sisters Country Park The Seven Sisters Country Park is a vital asset to the economy of the Sussex downs. In the recent past, commercial activities have been permitted onto the Park to augment the various facilities for the visitors and to help in the maintenance of the various buildings. Tourism is one of the most important drivers of the local economy. Visitors to the area whilst at the same time maintaining the local economy. The local population and the tourists visiting the Seven Sisters Country Park directly profit the local economy. It is important to understand that Seven Sisters Country Park is not only a destination by itself, but also serves a transit point to the other attractions in the area thus the Seven Sisters Country Park is an important factor in increasing the economic prosperity of the region due to tourism. The mutual benefits accruing from tourism should be publicized to sensitize the local population of the importance of tourism. Negative environmental impact of tourism in the Seven Sisters Country Park The main problem confronting the management is to preserve admission rights of vistors while ensuring the maintenance and enhancement of the existing environmental quality of the Seven Sisters Country Park. This has to be balanced with the aspirations of the visitors and the requirements of the related leisure activities, which may have a connected effect on the business interests in the Seven Sisters Country Park. However, one of most important negative effects of the rising number of visitors is the increasing vehicular traffic which causes considerable disruption in the immediate vicinity of the Seven Sisters Country Park, especially at peak periods. It is essential to explore various ways and means to reduce the vehicular density of the visitors to Seven Sisters Country Park while preserving the current influx of tourists. The restoration of the boathouse in the Seven Sisters Country Park and the addition of a Canoe Centre has caused severe car parking problems. In addition the other aspects associated with this issue causing concern are the increasing conflicts over access, soil erosion, loss of flora and fauna and concern for public safety. Whilst access to the meanders for the general public using canoes and kayaks should be free. It is essential to develop measures to raise income from commercial operators who use the infrastructure of the Seven Sisters Country Park. Activities like dragon boat racing have an adverse impact on the serenity and peace of Seven Sisters Country Park. These activities should not be allowed due to their unfavorable effect on other visitors to the area. In addition, they also do not have favorable impact on the flora and fauna of the region. It is essential that cycling in the Seven Sisters Country Park is allowed only on the floor of the valley. The hillsides of Seven Sisters Country Park are prone to soil erosion and are ecologically sensitive where erosion and disturbance have less impact than on the quieter and more ecologically sensitive hillsides where cycling is not permitted. The increased use of campsites is causing damage to the ecosphere and should be controlled. Analysis of environmental rules and regulations of Seven Sisters Country Park The environmental regulations of the park have been primarily established to ensure the quality of the natural environment. This quality is essential to the sustenance of the Park as a major tourist destination. The natural environment will determine the Park's appearance and the degree to which the park can be enjoyed. Some of the aspects mentioned below are beyond the purview of the Seven Sisters Country Park. The quality of the water has to be maintained at a high level in the meanders lagoons, Cuckmere, and the inshore sea waters. This is vital to the environmental value of Seven Sisters Country Park. Management of the purity of the water levels will be central to the primary aims and objectives of the Park. Sea borne litter is a major source of concern along the coast and river banks. The shingle beach and chalk cliffs that form the Park's southern boundary are a part of the Sussex Heritage Coast project. National Heritage Coast policies of ensuring that all heritage coastlines must be kept litter free will require a considerable amount of resources to achieve. Other types of pollution pose a constant threat, although harmful incidents have been rarely recorded. Sedimentation of the sea has a harmful effect upon the environmental value of the SSVMCA. Seven Sisters Country Park has recognized that sustainable land use systems are integral to the management of the park. Whenever feasible the Seven Sisters Country Park will try to support sustainable land use systems. These systems will play a vital role in the advanced stages of the implementation of the Cuckmere Estuary Restoration Project which envisages the reconnection of the meanders to the Cuckmere River resulting in a more natural estuary and coastal defense strategy. It is expected that this will restore the ecological habitat on the valley floor. In addition to the above there are a large number of important the cut off meanders, saline lagoons, fresh water ponds, and ditches and that need to be topped up with river water as and when necessary. These water bodies should be managed efficiently to preserve the parks ecosystems. The natural habitats and the geologic features within the Park are its main attraction. They are safe guarded by various legislations and laws applied to them. However these laws will have to be implemented proactively. This requires that environment preservation assets are correctly recognized and priorities established. Micro management issues like the maintainenance of small areas of longer grass for invertebrates need to be ensured by the management of the Seven Sisters Country Park. In addition the implications of macro issues which require a long term action plan, such as sea level rise and species response to Global Warming should be identified and their effects on the habitat of the park's wildlife, taken account of. Proposals to reduce negative impact, and increase positive impact of tourism. The Chalk landscapes and floodplain river banks are vital towards upholding the natural scenic beauty of the Seven Sisters Country Park. It is extremely important to make sure that the increasing effects of erosion, scrub management and signing and fencing do not degrade the overall quality of the landscape. The management all landscape features such as ponds, ditches, scrapes and flint walls should be centralized. Certain proposals to preserve the landscape of the park are given below. The management of the park should identify the Park's environment conservation resources and establish the importance of those assets and retain a record so as to monitor change in them over a period of time. An effective way to do this would be to plan and execute a biological recording programme and send the results periodically to the Sussex Biodiversity Records Centre for analysis. Plans to control species of plant (e.g Tor grass) and animals (e.g. rabbits)have to be developed to preserve the unique landscape of the park. Habitats and the varied land types (vegetated shingle, scrub, ponds, wetlands, cliffs, meanders) and the species (plants, birds, invertebrates, small mammals) have to be protected by drawing up comprehensive preservation plans. The Cuckmere Estuary Restoration Project is vital to the park management in its attempts to reengineer a completely functioning estuarine system. The Park's nature conservation assets have to be identified and their records to be maintained an effective recording and monitoring system. Grazing is a prerequisite to preserve the quality of the unique landscape offered by the park's environment. Since 1988, the existing tenant farmers have been given grazing rights over the Park and brooks. The grazing of these areas is an example of sustainable tourism where a tourist attraction is an integral part of the local economy and to a large extent is attuned with the aims of the Park management. The regulations imposed on the tenant farmer offer a structure according to which the tenant farmer performs his grazing operation. However, it is vital that a system is also set up to deal with the daily issues that arise from managing a mainly sheep farm venture inside a popular Country Park. Some aspects to be considered are public access issues, stock management etc. Seven Sisters Country Park is a vital part of the Tourism without Traffic Project. The government and the park management are functioning together to improve the public transport services between the Seven Sisters Country Park and its surrounding area. Some of the measures to be implemented comprise of improved public transport services, bus stop improvements, accessible buses and services that provide special facilities and encourage cyclists. Seven Sisters Country Park has been acknowledged as a possible 'Green Point' where visitors can without difficulty access public transport after parking their car in a park run parking lot, to further explore the area. The ongoing effort of the park management is to support alternative arrangements to reach the Seven Sisters Country Park while continuing to cater to sufficiently large number of vehicles. The visitor centre is the place which advises the visitors to use the Cuckmere Rambler Bus. Information about alternative transport is also available at the parks website. The car parks generate significant amounts of revenue which can be diverted to various schemes. Some possible candidate schemes are increasing the frequency of buses along certain routes in the summer, promoting local walkways, partial funding of the Community Liaison Officers post, development of cycling trails, Supporting the Cuckmere Community Bus and finally the compilation of the Sussex Heritage Coast Travel Guide Conclusion The demands on the Seven Sisters Country Park have steadily increased over a period of time. The changing socio economic situation has resulted in the common man being more mobile and having a greater amount of leisure time than before. This has resulted in increased activities in the Park, which were possibly not necessarily anticipated when the Park opened. The Country Park has become an accepted tourist destination offering multiple services like pursuit of an interest like canoeing, relaxation, exercise and education. The principal challenge of managing such a park is maintaining its accessibility while making sure that environmental conservation is a priority. References Mol, Arthur P.J., (1995) The Refinement of Production. Ecological Modernization Theory and the Chemical Industry. MIT Press, Cambridge OECD (1980) The Impact of Tourism on the Environment, OECD, Paris. Jnicke, M., (1993) ber kologische und politische Modernisierungen, Zeitschrift fr Umweltpolitik und Umweltrecht 2, 159-175 Schmidheiny, Stephan (1992) Changing Course. A Global Business Perspective on Development and the Environment, MIT Press, Cambridge. Smith, Valene L., and William R. Eadington (eds.), (1994) Tourism Alternatives, John Wiley, Chichester. Stabler M.J. (ed.), (1997) Tourism Sustainability: Principles and Practices. CAB International, Oxon. Bramwell, Bill and Bernard Lane (eds.) (1994) Rural Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development, Channel View Publications, Clevedon. Bramwell, Bill, Ian Henry, Guy Jackson, Ana Goytia Prat, Greg Richards and Jan van der Straaten (eds.) (1996) Sustainable Tourism Management: Principles and Practice,Tilburg University Press, Tilburg. Seven Sisters Country Park Management Plan 2004-2007. (2004) Sussex Downs Conservation Board. Wall, G. and C. Wright (1977) The Environmental Impact of Outdoor Recreation. Publication Series No.11, University of Waterloo, Department of Geography, Waterloo. WCED (1987) Our Common Future (Brundtland-Report), Oxford University Press, New York/Oxford. Holling, C.S., (ed.) (1978) Adaptive Environmental Assessment and Management, John Wiley, New-York. Inskeep, E. (1987) Environmental planning for tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 14(1), 118-135. Inskeep, E. (1991) Tourism Planning: An Integrated and Sustainable Development Approach, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New-York. Read More