Tourism's Influence on Ecological and Social Conditions in Tanzania - Research Paper Example

Tourism’s Influence on Ecological and Social Conditions in Tanzania. Tanzania is an African country that is rich in natural resources and has a cultural heritage that encompasses the origin of all humanity (Mabulla, 2000). Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti National Park, the Olduvai Gorge and the beaches of Zanzibar provide a setting that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Tourism in Tanzania is based in the country’s natural assets, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism attempts to achieve sustainable development that both protects its natural resources and improves the lives of the people who live there (Kulindwa, 2002) . There are some inherent conflicts among the stake holders invested in the tourism industry, some of which are addressed by a form of tourism called “ecotourism”. Tourism offers a complex lens to examine the both the ecological and social conditions in Tanzania. The citizens of Tanzania, the tourists, and the natural environment –specifically wildlife- have some opposing interests. Tourists are attracted to wildlife preserves, yet local communities cannot subside on land reserved for wildlife, which has led to accusations of “anti-people conservation” (Ndaskoi, 2003). Infrastructure that accompanies tourism benefits Tanzanians, but can bring people closer to places that were better off left undisturbed from the animal’s perspective. Economic and social gains are offset by environmental degradation and uneven access to tourism capital. (Cater, 1995) Tourists in Tanzania, like tourist worldwide, eat and sleep away from home, shop, and participate in leisure activities. These actions generate revenue for Tanzanians involved in the hospitality industry, and tourist income can pay for infrastructure that benefits the citizens of Tanzania. The jobs generated by the tourism industry are one of the main avenues in which tourism dollars are distributed, yet many tourist activities isolate visitors from locals, instead keeping them secured on luxury hotel properties or private game reserves (Weaver, 1998). Much of the land in Tanzania is dedicated as Wildlife Protected Areas, and is restricted to many of the people who once subsided on it. (Cater, 1995). Taken together the limited distribution of tourist dollars and the land restriction in the face of population growth serves to create resentment from Tanzanians who perceive no personal benefit to foreigners vacationing in their country. (Ndaskoi, 2003) Tourists take part some particular leisure activities such as Safari tours, big game hunting, beach going, and hiking- activities which differentiate them from the rest of the community. Certainly not all tourists are foreigners, and domestic tourism to parks and monuments exists wherever special attractions exist. In Tanzania luxury travel and “ecotourism” are marketed towards foreigners who account for more than two thirds of hotel beds occupies ( Country Profile, 2005) Ecotourism is an alternative to big game hunting and luxury hotels which use a lot of natural resources such as water and fossil fuels. (Gossling, 2003) The World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Environmental Program provided the following definition of ecotourism in 2002: “1.All nature-based forms of tourism in which the main motivation of the tourists is the observation and appreciation of nature as well as the traditional cultures prevailing in natural areas. 2. It contains educational and interpretation features 3. It is generally, but not exclusively organized for small groups by specialized and small, locally owned businesses. Foreign operators of varying sizes also organize, operate and/or market ecotourism tours, generally for small groups. 4. It minimizes negative impacts upon the natural and socio-cultural environment 5. It supports the protection of natural areas by • generating economic benefits for host communities, organizations and authorities managing natural areas with conservation purposes, • providing alternative employment and income opportunities for local communities, • increasing awareness towards the conservation of natural and cultural assets, both among locals and tourists.” Because tourism in Tanzania is based heavily on the country’s natural resources, the principles of ecotourism address many of the negative consequences that can result from crowds of visitors to fragile ecosystems. The emphasis on ecological sustainability calls for the tourist sector to conserve natural assets but the leisure activities of tourists bring more people closer to delicate environments, “The relationship between tourism development, socio-economic development and the environment is circular and cumulative. Most tourism activity places additional pressures on the environmental resources upon which it is based, compromising the present and future interests of tourist and host populations as well as of tourism organizations. Without adequate environmental protection, prospects for development will be undermined.” (Cater, 1995 p.21) The natural environment of Tanzania as an attraction itself is at risk from unsustainable use. In Zanzibar environmental researchers have concluded that “Tourism has often been pointed out as a major factor in water abstraction particularly in coastal areas…recent and massive tourism development has substantially increased the consumption of groundwater. Evidence suggests that current abstraction patterns cannot be considered as sustainable.” (Gossling 2003 p.49). The overuse of water resources is a problem that ecotourism principles have limited application to. Conservation and awareness of water use could result in reduced strain on limited water resources, however hotels and restaurants use more water than average households, and the more people that consume it the less water will be available. Tourism is also the vehicle which allows the government to preserve large tracks of land as National Parks. The revenue generated by the tourist sector is a motivation for the authorities managing the land to administer the land with conservation purposes. The money generated by safaris and backpackers protects from more damaging types of encroachment (Chambers, 2000). The deforestation and poaching that accompanies permanent communities threatens more endangered species than controlled groups of tourists. The land in Tanzania that is dedicated as Wildlife Protected Areas is restricted to many of the people who once subsided on it. Although tourism and specifically ecotourism offer alternative employment opportunities to local communities living on the borders of protected areas, the transition is a dramatic social change. (Elkan, 1975) The traditional pastoral lifestyle is drastically different than one of a hotel maintenance worker, for instance. Pastoralist communities require more land than is available, as populations grow and the economy modernizes. The agricultural, industrial and service industries all compete for limited resources in Tanzania as in the rest of East Africa (Bruner, 1994) An economic disparity exists between Tanzanian communities and the tourist sector as it does in most instances of ecotourism, because most ecotourism destinations are in developing areas. An ideal of ecotourism is to benefit the local economic situation where local goods and services are used. However in many instances travelers are willing to spend money on imported items which does not contribute as much to the local economy. Isolating tourists away from locals diminished the so- called “trickle down effect” that is used when justifying the tourism industry’s juxtaposing communities (Weaver, 1998 ) The safari and beach based activities in Tanzania offer limited ways to promote positive, culturally rich interactions between guests and hosts, however the archeological and paleontalogical discoveries in the Oldulvai Gorge are cultural touch stones. Lewis Leaky discovered fossil remains that provide evidence of man as an upright and tool making animal. The cultural and natural resources subsequently found in the area of the Oldulvai Gorge “document the origin of humans and technology, the nature of the initial human adaptation to the environment, African societies and cultures prior the to availability of documentary sources, the earliest oral traditions, the contact between East Africa and the world, and resistance to European colonial domination.” (Mabulla, 2000). This site is both a tourism attraction and a space where cultural interests of the visitors and hosts overlap. Analysis of the social relationship between tourists and locals in Tanzania include a particular dynamic of the commercial transaction relevant to this discussion. The imperialist legacy left by the European settlers is a subject that is ignored by those marketing tourism in Africa but remains a topic for academic examination. Anthropological social analysis deconstructs the discourse of the indigenous performance. Anthropologist Edward Bruner argues “Tourism gives tribalism and colonialism a second life by bringing them back as representations of themselves and circulating them within an economy of performance.” In his article The Maasai on the Lawn: Tourist Realism in East Africa he describes a tourist attraction that includes Maasai cultural representations performed for the tourists. Bruner concludes the Mayers Ranch tourist attraction near Nairobi, Kenya was “a colonial drama of the savage/pastoral Maasai and the genteel British, played upon the explicit contrast between the wild and the civilized so prevalent in colonial discourse and sustained in East African tourism.” (Bruner, 1994 p.435) Critics of the industry argue that the relationship that exists between the Western tourist and the African performers mirror colonialism’s hierarchy.(Bruner, 1994). Most of the jobs available to Tanzanians in the tourism sector consist of tour guide, food service, hotel maintenance, airlines worker, and building and maintaining infrastructure. These service sector jobs account for 50 percent of the GDP (Country Profile, 2005). The creation of the national parks in Tanzania and the development strategy employed by the government has symbolic meaning as well as economic consequences. The parks are used change the way the Maasai people subsist, and also to provide an experience with nature for foreigners. “The creation of national parks involves a magical act to develop the Maasai by separating them from nature and…involves a reciprocal exchange between the government and tourists in which the former offers the latter a symbol of nature, in exchange for hard currency with which the government can purchase the gifts of western civilization to offer its people.” (Knowles 1989 p.435). Exploring the impact tourism has on the ecological and social conditions in Tanzania reveals that the tourist sector is a vehicle for change. Change can result in development of infrastructure and degradation of the environment, increased understanding of human origins and cultural tension among groups of people who were historically oppressor and oppressed. Tanzania’s unique natural and cultural resources exemplify the aspects of the tourism industry that require greater care and consideration so that the national assets which draw visitors in the first place do not degrade. Works Cited Bruner, Edward and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (Nov., 1994) Maasai on the Lawn: Tourist Realism in East Africa Cultural Anthropology, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 435-470 Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the American Anthropological Association Cater, Erlet. (Mar., 1995), Environmental Contradictions in Sustainable Tourism The Geographical Journal, Vol. 161, No. 1 pp. 21-28 Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) Chambers, Erve (2000) Native Tours; The Anthropology of Travel and Tourism Waveland Press, Inc. Long Grove, Illinois. Elkan, Walter "The Relation between Tourism and Employment in Kenya and Tanzania." Journal of Development Studies 11.2 (1975): 123-130. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. http://0search.ebscohost.com.ilsprod.lib.neu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=14270755&site=ehost-live Gossling, S. (April 26, 2003). Causes and consequences of groundwater use: Zanzibar, Tanzania.(tourism development increased consumption of groundwater)  International Journal of Water, 2, 1. p.49. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://0find.galegroup.com.ilsprod.lib.neu.edu/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=mlin_b_northest Knowles, Joan N. and D. P. Collett (1989) Nature as Myth, Symbol and Action: Notes Towards a Historical Understanding of Development and Conservation in Kenyan Maasailand Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 59, No. 4, pp. 433-460. Edinburgh University Press Kulindwa, Kassim (2002) "Economic reforms and the prospect for sustainable development in Tanzania." Development Southern Africa 19.3 (2002): 389-403. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. http://0search.ebscohost.com.ilsprod.lib.neu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=6998158&site=ehost-live Weaver, D.B (1998) Ecotourism in the Less Developed World CAB International New York. Mabulla, Audax Z. P. (2000) "Strategy for Cultural Heritage Management (CHM) in Africa: A Case Study." African Archaeological Review 17.4: 211-233. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. Persistent link to this record (Permalink): http://0-search.ebscohost.com.ilsprod.lib.neu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=11307596&site=ehost-live Ndaskoi, Navaya ole (2003) "THE MAASAI PREDICAMENT." New African 419: 44. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. Persistent link to this record (Permalink): http://0-search.ebscohost.com.ilsprod.lib.neu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9957518&site=ehost-live "Reference tables: Tourism trends (Union)." Economist Intelligence Unit: Country Profile: Tanzania. Economist Intelligence Unit N.A. Incorporated, 2006. Academic OneFile. Web. 13 Nov. 2009. .Gale Document Number:A154168075 WTO-UNEP Concept Paper- International Year of Ecotourism 2002 Read More