Ecotourism and Pollution Issues - Essay Example

Though tourism acts as a major income source for many countries, the threats of pollution due to tourism are dire. Both cultural and natural resources are affected by pollution. Water supply, coral reefs heritage sites, and beaches are affected by overuse. Littering, traffic emissions increased noise, and sewerage production is some of the disadvantages that come with high tourism activities.

Tourists have, in recent times, become jaded with destinations that they have been traditionally visiting over the years, and the current trend is visiting the rarely visited destinations which they feel are exciting. These places include; Antarctica, Easter Islands, Galapagos Island, the Siberian Tundra, the Borneo forest, Papua New Guinea, and the Amazon Rainforest. These destinations offer the best sites for ecotourism and are big sources of income for the revenue authorities of the countries they are found in. However, the carbon emissions that occur in the process of getting access to these areas and the infrastructure required to cater to tourists impact natural surroundings.

In the Similan Islands and Great Barrier Reef, divers try by all means to be careful not to damage the natural setting. They however take too many learners to the important aquatic resources. The learners disturb the natural resources by damaging the corals and polluting the natural habitats.

Tourists in National Parks in Africa use jeeps. In many instances, occupants of these jeeps litter the parks, which may lead to the poisoning and deterioration of the park’s natural environment and disturbs the animals’ natural feeding patterns. Despite the money earned from tour charges in such parks, the disadvantage comes about when such pollution leads to reduced numbers of game animals due to the effects of environmental deterioration that force animals to move away.

Tourism also brings income when beaches are visited. There are, however, not enough resources to cater to the needs of all the visitors. In such cases, refuse disposal and sanitation are big problems. Poor sanitation leads to increased pollution of the beach environment which may lead to the deaths of animals living in the oceans.

Pollution due to tourism leads to the diversion of revenue that could have been used in development projects for a country into cleaning up and restoring the environment to its natural state. In a bid to clean up polluted habitats, governments of many countries find themselves using a lot of funds to sustain the environment.