The Traditional Tourism Impact on Kanbula National Forest Park - Term Paper Example

The Traditional Tourism Impact on Kanbula National Forest Park Kanbula National Forest Park considered being one of the most wonderful sites in China. The forest known for its Danxia landform has diversified flora and fauna. Huge mountains, covered with trees, extend from the forest. The forest has deflated hills. The hills known as cloud landforms came into existence due to erosion from wind and sand. Other than the huge flora and fauna, Kanbula forest also contains natural resources. However, the tourism boost within Qinghai Province’s borders, the ecological system of the forest is at risk of destruction due to human activity related issues. The primary factor affecting the ecosystem within the forest is traditional tourism development, which has been creating changes from the time Kanbula Forest National Park was establishment to the present. These factors have effected changes in the Park, and these changes have, in turn, affected different wildlife species and their habitat. This paper aims at providing an exposition about the characteristics of the Kanbula National Park; determine the impact of traditional tourism on the environmental process within Kanbula National Park; propose several ways to improve ecological sustainability tourism in Kanbula National Park so that an ecosystem can be protected and conserved in a sensible way. Introduction A forest ecosystem primarily consists of trees and other naturally growing plants. It also nurtures many animal species. The forest ecosystem, such as the Kanbula Forest, provides people with food, fuel, timber and fibre. Most people do not fully recognize the importance of forests in their lives. However, it should be noted that, among other things, forests protect the hydrologic cycle. They also help in climate regulation by being natural sinks of carbon, which is one of the greenhouse gases that harm the planet (Espaldon et al, 2004). Kanbula forest is one of the most diverse forests in China. Huge mountains, covered with trees, extend from the forest. The forest has deflated hills. Archaeologists believe that the hills arose due to erosion from the wind and. The aboriginals refer the hills as red cloud landforms. Apart from the hills and forest, Kanbula has a wide array of natural resources. However, the ecological system of the forest faces a very significant risk of destruction due to various human activities. Traditional tourism forms the primary factor affecting the ecosystem within the forest. This has been causing changes from the time since of establishment to the present. These factors have led to changes in the National Forest Park. In turn, these changes affect the various wildlife species together with their habitat. The results comprise of depletion of animals due to trapping, hunting and human expansion into their habitat. In Sajise et al, (1996) major causes of forest destruction include industrialization, commercialism and weak enforcement of forest laws. This paper digs deeper into many issues that Kanbula National Park faces and how these issues or factors impact the forest’s ecological system. Positives of Kanbula National Forest Park Tourism. Tourism makes one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy. Developing countries are attempting to cash in on this expanding industry in an effort to increase foreign investment and financial reserves. Tourism is one of the pillar industries of Qinghai. On the same note, Kanbula National Forest Park ranks the provinces main tourist attraction. Beautiful scenery has attracted many tourists to the park in recent years. According to Dong Lizhi, deputy manager general of the Kanbula National Forest Park Tourism Development Co., Ltd., more than 10,000 people visited the park in 2006. This number has been increasing. In the recent days, the park receives more than 70,000 tourists by the end of each year (cite). According to Mieczkowski (1995), tourism industry impacts on the natural environment. Tourism has both positive and negative influence on the environment. Developing tourism leads to the creation of revenues for environmental protection. Tourists who show an interest in the natural resource may enhance the pride of the Kanbula National Forest Park area. Local residents get involved in indirectly helping them to protect the natural resource and understand the value of nature conservation. Governments and private organizations need to be concerned about the negative impact of human activities. On the other hand, tourism is a pure “green industry” or “smokeless industry” which has negatively impacted on the environment. Uncontrolled growth of this industry can result in serious environmental and social problems. The Qinghai government’s tourism department has taken advantage of the parks natural resources, developing Qinghai for tourism. This strategy has resulted in the gradual development of entertainment, hotels and several small businesses around Kanbula Park. As a result, pollution, which comes with booming tourism supported by hotels and restaurants, has escalated. Health officials have reported instances of waste discharge directly in the park. Tourists often leave snack packages and drink bottles around the park. Pollution has always accompanied human civilization. Throughout history, human civilizations have contended with environmental problems related to the disposal of human waste as well as problems stemming from the development of irrigated agriculture and mineral extraction (Qinghai Forestry Bureau Survey Records, 2011). History of Kanbula National Forest Park Kanbula National Forest Park lies in the northwest of Jianza county of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous States in Qinghai Province. It covers a total area of 4,774 hectares and an altitude of 2,100 to 4,000 meters above sea level. Kanbula Park has a unique forest formation in Qinghai. It has deflated hills formed from the long-term erosion of wind and sand. The unique Kanbula red-cloud landforms features peaks, high mountains, caves, precipitous cliffs and many rock peaks, stone columns and stone walls in shapes. Lofty mountains extend far away with trees and vegetation growth, and forest coverage rate reached 28%. In Kanbula Park, the dominating tree species include the birch, Qinghai spruce, pine, mountain Yang, pine, and spruce evergreen. With cold and poor condition tolerant, these rooted in the cliff walls grow tall and straight. A variety of flowers and shrubs exist. The main species comprise of azalea, honeysuckle, Potentilla fruticosa, glabra, Berberis, Caragana, rose plant, sea buckthorn, and daisy. Wildlife such as the deer, shiyang, musk, argali, Braun, thrushes, Ma chicken and cuckoo live in the forest There is a conflict between protection and use of Kanbula Forest Park natural resources. The developing areas government lacks sufficient funds to manage and protect Kanbula Forest Park natural environment. As a result, Kanbula Forest Park area is being destroyed because it is not fully valued for its role as natures reservoir of the worlds biological resources. Examples of conflict areas include nature reserves, forest parks and key interest landscapes. Sometime back, these unique environment resources were protected, but soon people developed blindness to natural resources, hoping to get more benefits from tourism. Lack of basic funds for protection and the inadequacy of people with the right ability and technology, improper policy and development, now endanger Kanbula Forest Park ecological environment. The most vulnerable places include the regions located in poor natural conditions with a delicate ecological environment. In view of this situation, it is essential to strengthen leadership and publicity; mobilize community participation; develop leaders in science and technology for the comprehensive management, and self-repair; supervise prevention and improve forecasting (Cong, PingFa, 2004). Impact of Traditional tourism on Kanbula Forest Park Tourism is considered to be a form of green industry. However, the negative effects of tourism on the environment should be divided into two parts: the analytical or disintegrative and the systemic or integrative part. The analytical part reflects on the impact of separate elements of the environmental element such as air, geology, soils, water, vegetation, and wildlife. The second part denotes on the impact of the holistic communities of biotic and abiotic components such as coastal, inland, mountain and polar ecosystems “(Mieczkowski, 1995). In order to alleviate the negative impacts of tourism on the environment, the issue of carrying capacity associated with overuse and overload on the natural environment associated with damaging ecosystems should get monitored. Since Qinghai government develops Kanbula National Forest Park tourism, several changes have occurred in the ecosystem of the Park. Tourists produce greenhouse gases; moreover, other harmful and toxic wastes created by large construction of reservoirs have harmful effects on indigenous animals and plants. According to the records of Qinghai forestry department, in the forest, the woodland area accounts for 9,949 hectares while the non-woodland area accounts for 5,105 hectares; 1,934 hectares account for shrub land and 140 hectares for immature woodland. The common tree species of the forest mostly are in their young and middle age stage; thus they have strong growth potential (QFSR, 2006). The dominant species of the trees are Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia); Mountain birch (Betula pubescens), pine (pinus), and Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) (Wu, 2007). The amount of zonal distribution of vegetation is not significant, but most significant vertical belts are the ones from 2,780 to 3,500 meters above sea level with distribution of birch, pine, Qinghai spruce and other trees (QFSR, 2006). Moreover, the dominant species of fauna in Kanbula Forest are white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Musk deer (Moschus moschiferus), Tibetan argali (Ovis ammon hodgsoni), and Tibetan eared pheasant (Crossoptilon). The animals and plants in the forest have faced deterioration and forced to adapt to the current environmental conditions, caused by the construction of entertainment and hotels for tourists needs. The large- scale construction has not only occupied large areas of land, but also causes the plants to suffer from loss of habitat. Some of them have become nutrient deficient causing a decline in the ecological and economical value (McCully, 1996). For instance, wolfberry (Lycium barbarum), is an interesting example of one of these plant species affected by the construction of concrete roads or pathways. Wolfberry’s growing relies on chestnut soil that has little water holding capacity and very little aeration. Their habitat has become polluted from the erosion caused by the soil and water loss. Human disturbance also causes pollution and interference of the plants way of growth. Entertainment zones have been constructed on the altitude base dominated with chestnut soil zone, which is the wolfberry growing zone. The chestnut soil zone is found at an altitude of 2,600 and 2,800 meters (QFSR, 2006). The loss of replenishment of the soil because of loss of sedimentation has resulted in loss of wolfberry plant. The magnificent wolfberry plant has been replaced by small sized, low tolerant epiphytes. Thus, the wolfberry has lost its ecological and economical value. In addition, open concrete parking lot and space have accelerated the evaporation of water compared to pre-condition; so wolfberry, which is a tolerant plant, is forced to adapt to the new condition and, resultantly, its growth is stunted and its ability to hold water in the soil strengthens (McCully, 1996). As a result of the large-scale land required for the construction of the artificial landscapes, hotel, and restaurants, most of the forestland that was very productive and biologically rich in nutrients was destroyed (Wu, 2007). These cause fragmentation of the habitat and its surrounding areas, thus aggravating the situation further. Moreover, the deep ground excavation and filling, construction of dams for water reservoirs, soil pipes and roads have shifted the woodland areas. All this has negatively impacted the ecosystem of the Kanbula Forest. Commuter construction causes an immense degree of soil erosion, which results in loss of benefits of forest protection (Yang, 2009). Parts of vegetation of the forest near the hydropower plant have been lost, and the total forest coverage area has reduced. Consequently, losses to the forest’s ecosystem have been immense. In addition, water reservoirs constructed as artificial lake attract tourists. This increases the human activities in the area hence, increase disturbing the forest ecosystem (Bao, 2006). Human activity is a major source of destruction. For instance, noise created during construction, cause great disturbance to the wildlife. Noise confuses wildlife activity and disturbs their existent habitat. Because of the disturbing noises during the creation of the dams, the surrounding wildlife had to leave their habitat. This resulted to the change of the whole food chain in the forest. The ultimate outcome causes serious ecosystem turbulence. This caused some of the fragile forest species to become rare or extinct. For instance, Tibetan in Kanbula forest has faced huge problems due to the construction of the hydropower plant. It is one of the indigenous specie of the forest living at the zone of alpine scrub meadow found at the altitude of between 3,600 and 3,900 meters, and at the zone of upland meadow shrub found at an altitude between 3,200 and 3,700 meters. The species grazes at the zone of the grey cinnamon soil frequently without disturbing, which is found at 2,600 and 3,400 meters elevation (QHSR, 2006). However, constructions use huge areas of forest land, where previously blue sheep used to be active throughout the day and used to alternate feed and the rest on the grassy mountain slopes. Disturbances caused by human activities in the natural habitat of the blue sheep, forced the blue sheep to move up to other mountainous areas, to avoid human interference in their lives. One of the consequences of construction is the disarray and confusion in the food chain of the forest ecosystem, which resulted in loss of predators causing ecological disturbance for other species. In addition, displacement of blue sheep population on upper mountainous areas has resulted in over grazing of the upper mountain epiphyte vegetation. According to Qinghai Forestry Department, monitoring wildlife population, conserving and managing harvest species have been adopted. Additionally, the department tries to understand population changes since the construction of Kanbula tourism sites. For this reasons, distance-sampling methods have been adopted. Distance sampling method has also been adopted to estimate seasonal density of Tibetan argali in the area of Kanbula Forest region from year 2002 to 2005. In this estimates, the mean group sizes ranged from 2.12 to 7.65 individuals during the season. Density estimates varied between 3,420 sheep per square kilometres in spring, in 2002, and 2,170 square kilometres in late spring, in 2004, as per the Kanbula forest monitor and control status report (QHSR. 2006). Analysis of the data shows that the Tibetan argali population has had a downward trend ever since the construction of hydropower plant next to the Kanbula forest. Key players and Stakeholders Actions Several different institutes are involved in the management of the Kanbula forest. The Qinghai Forestry Department, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous State Forestry Department, and the State’s Tourism Department are the main key players in the management of wildlife and ecological system within the Kanbula forest. As mentioned, Kanbula National Forest Park tourism department has been responsible for disturbing Kanbula forest ecosystem’s healthy growth since its construction. Unfortunately, the responsible departments do not record much detail about Kanbula forest ecosystem changes. This means that lack of monitoring and proper management leads to compromised preservation of the Kanbula forest. Moreover, these departments do not have complete research data regarding to ecological and environmental studies that should have been performed for Kanbula Forest. However, abundant materials and data bout its tourism developmental trends exist. Although Kanbula Forest Park is given preservation and protection status, local government still takes advantage of Kanbula forest’s natural resources for the state’s economic development. This leads to lack of active support for forest development and dismal performance in forestry protection and reforestation. Sustainable Tourism Develop in Kanbula National Forest Park Sustainable development from tourism encompasses traveling and visiting natural areas; places where nature still exists in a relatively unaltered state. According to Ceballos (1987) sustainable means to "travel to relatively undisturbed or historical areas to study, admire, and enjoy scenery, plants, animals, and cultural attract ions" (Ceballos, 1987). Kanbula National Forest Park is the most abundantly biodiversity treasure trove constitute Kanbula National Forest Parks unique ecological system. Therefore, many different benefits can be derived from sustainable tourism if employed as a tool by local communities around Kanbula National Forest Park Region. In many cases, motivations and the expected results are mixed. Making sustainable tourism a positive economic and environmental tool requires policies that foster responsibility to nature tourism development, broad-based and active local participation in its benefits, and conservation of Kanbula National Forest Park Region biological heritage. Sustainable tourism brings several benefits in different ways. Each area needs to develop its own program. Responsible sustainable programs include programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment, and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Responsible sustainable programs also create economic opportunities for the local communities. Therefore, tourists hope to connect to local residents, diet and culture. Because of tourist development, the local peoples original life in Kanbula National Forest Park has been altered. Sustainable tourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth, and learning new ways to live on the planet, typically involving travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage form the primary attract ions. Thus, environmental education remains one of the most important preventive and coping strategies against negative human impacts on natural conservation (Mieczkowsk, 1995). Society may acquire environmental awareness and change attitudes toward the environment through environmental education. Many environmentalists criticize tourist to adversely impact on natural and cultural resource. Alternative tourism such as sustainable tourism, a nature based alternative to tourism, can be promoted to maintain sustainability and environmental conservation. Laws and regulations on the environment have been used to conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). EIA is defined as “the systematic identification and evaluation of the potential impacts of proposed projects, plans, programs, or legislative actions relative to the physical-chemical, biological, cultural, and socioeconomic components of the total environment” (Canter., 1996). Conclusion The development traditional tourism has immensely affected the ecological system of the Kanbula Forest Park. The unorganized developing of natural resources for attracting tourists could be marked as inefficient to forestry utilization. Despite the presence of managing approaches and policies, the government and the regulators have failed to protect the Kanbula Forest, even from mere disturbance and destruction as the flora and faunal species in the forest have been severely affected. In line with the present protocol for preservation and reforestation, stakeholders need to take serious steps, in a bid to decrease the harmful effects, and restore the forest to its previous condition. The government should establish and improve scientific and technological support systems in Qinghai Lake. This will vigorously strengthen ecological environment monitoring system; strengthen the Qinghai Lake region hydrology, vegetation, and other natural elements of the ecological dynamic monitor network construct ion. It will also provide Qinghai Lake management with scientific data. The government will have to hire people at Qinghai Lake to carry out strict scientific management. Qinghai Lake will be built as a relatively closed area, to improve, and ultimately reach the worlds natural heritage criteria. Without management to protect the ecology, the region will not meet the prerequisites of the development of tourism (Cong & PingFa, 2004). References Read More