Issues of Wildlife Watching as Form of Nature- Based Tourism - Term Paper Example

Issues of wildlife watching as a form of nature based tourism Introduction Government across the world are facing a dilemma when it comes to the tussle between development-oriented and conservation-oriented arguments. On the one side it cannot ignore the need for development that generates jobs and enhances the economy while on the other hand it also cannot ignore the fact that the ecosystems around the world needs to be taken care to prevent a disturbance to the ecology. Both has its own costs. While development and modernisation puts a toll on the ecology, conservation is not easy because the government has to make alternate arrangements to satisfy people who could have earned a livelihood through modernisation. In fact, responsible administrators cannot ignore the fact that development and conservation must go hand in hand. However, barring the rich and developed nations, many countries cannot manage the high costs that are involved in conservation. The reasons are political as well as economic. It is for this reason that governments and ecological managers have hit upon the idea of ecotourism, which is a development model that clubs conservation with responsible development. Ecotourism helps the economy because it attracts money. On the other hand it does not deteriorate nature because it is expected to leave the ecology clean and untouched. A good ecotourism package was the only solution that was available to most African nations in order for them to conserve their rare and magnificent flora and fauna. However, responsible tourism has not been implemented in its ideal sense in most third world countries. This is because ecotourism throws open many avenues which can encourage people to tamper with the ecology. In fact, a growing section of environmentalists feel that ecotourism in the form of wildlife watching and adventure packages are destroying the wildlife or interfering with pristine nature. This has thrown open a debate on how ecotourism activities such as wildlife watching can be encouraged so that it helps in the conservation of mature rather than destroying it. This paper will try and analyse some issues concerned with nature conservation that is associated with wildlife watching. The need for wildlife watching Ecotourism in the form of wildlife watching became popular due to many reasons. Perhaps the most important of them is the fact that people were not happy to see animals in a zoo, where they are either caged or kept under artificial and restricted environments [Laarman, J.G. and Durst, P.B. 1987]. People were also bored since there was no excitement in the spotting of an animal. With TV programmes on wildlife becoming popular, people wanted to explore deep into the forest and watch animals in their natural habitat. People wanted the exhilaration of seeing an animal in its own environment and the joy of being a part of its natural ambience. As the interest in the natural habitat of animals increased, wildlife watching was explored a business opportunity by businessmen. So began packaged wildlife tours were customers had a chance to be close to nature and enjoy the wilderness. Wildlife watching as a source of income Wildlife watching can significantly improve the economic condition of a place or community. This is because tourists, who are on the look out for novel experiences are turning on to wildlife watching as a means of non-destructive enjoyment of nature. For example official records indicate that the number of tourists who took to whale-watching more than doubled between 1991 and 1998. This in turn earned the industry about USD1bn which could help about 195 communities around the world. [Tapper, 2005]. The figures indicate the vast potential that ecotourism has in terms of foreign currency generation. If the money generated is used for ecological development as well, the delicate balance between profit and conservation can be maintained. This is where the concept of sustainable development comes into play. The term sustainable development may be defined as the phenomenon through which the resources, features, and the characteristic specifications of a particular system is retained and continuously improved. Even though sustainable development emphasizes local action, they have far reaching consequences in the world. The connection between sustainability and the global environment is intricate and subtle; this is because both the concepts may not be explicitly related to each other on first glance. But on a second thought, one would realize that sustainability will go a long way in improving the conditions of the global environment. In fact it would not be wrong to affirm that the concept and practice of sustainability and sustainable development is the only route- map to achieve the goal of a healthy and a better environment. Wildlife watching as means of environmental protection Wildlife watching is an important means of conserving a species because the money generated from the effort encourages conservation automatically. A typical case is the African countries where efforts at conservation in the traditional manner failed because people were not rewarded for their efforts to conserve the natural resources. However, when the government encouraged wildlife tours and guided safaris, the economy of the region improved and more people were rewarded for their effort at keeping the ecology of the region undisturbed. It may be seen that some imaginative thinking can convert the urge to generate money into conservative efforts. The close nexus between tour operators and wildlife conservators can also play a major role in enhancing the experience of the visitor and also conserving the natural population of animals and plants. For example collaboration between tour operators and wildlife conservators can help in creating optimum conditions for tourists without affecting the environment in the wrong manner. When both the agencies work together to develop and design packages, it will benefit the environment as well as the visitor. Many national parks have specific time limits that bar the entry of the tourists at specific times of the year. The gaps in visitations can be used for rejuvenation and will help in easing the stress on the environment. Wildlife watching also helps in the development of other natural areas that may be of interest for the tourist. For example, the various places in Australia were developed with the tourist in mind. Places such as the Barrier reef became very popular with tourists who were also instrumental in the development of other areas in Australia [Dwyer and Edwards, 2000; Stimson, R.J.,Daly, M.T., Jenkins, O.,Roberts, B.H. and Ross, S., 1996] Costs of wildlife watching It is indeed an irony that what makes wildlife watching interesting is its biggest challenge. People, who want to enjoy the wildlife also demand modern amenities. Hence customers started demanding modern cottages in wild environments so that they could make their stay comfortable. Only in rare instances are tourists willing to rough it out in the forests and experience the hard life of the wild. In most cases, people would prefer a cosy cottage within a forest so that they can have the advantage of living in a forest while being in touch with the luxuries that they have enjoyed in life. This demand for modern amenities in turn caused the destruction of forests because providers were forced to provide more amenities to tourists. Management of wildlife watching Wildlife watching can have significant effects on the environment. Even though wildlife watching may be considered as a passive activity on the part of the tourists it can have deep impact on the environment. For example, habitats have a limit with regard to the number of visitations that it can sustain. If the number of people exceeds this limit over a period of time, it can cause considerable damage to the ecosystem. For example, animals that are breeding or calving have to be left undisturbed since it is a very sensitive time of their lives [Leiper, 1995]. Most of the times, especially in underdeveloped nations, there are no restrictions on the number of people who can visit animals during the breeding season. The visit of a large number of people and the commotion that they bring along can definitely create an impact on the overall well being of the animal, which may even react to the situation in abnormal ways. This is particularly so in the case of animals that are in the endangered lists. Hence parks must keep the comfort of the animal as the first priority when dealing with tourists who visit the park at different times of the year [Tapper, 2005] Management of wildlife watching has to take into account many diverse interests of the people that may be involved in it. For example a proper management strategy must include government agencies, non-government organisations as well as the common people who will be most related to the environment. For example in Africa, a management programme that does not take into account the lifestyles of the locals will not be successful. Some of the measures that wildlife managers must adhere to are: Implement non governmental organisations in the conservation process Review levels of financial and administrative support for non-governmental organizations Measure and advice the extent and effectiveness of their involvement in project and programme implementation with the view to augmenting their role as social partners. Provide access for non-governmental organizations to collect accurate and timely data and information to promote the effectiveness of their programmes and activities and their roles in support of sustainable development Encourage and enable partnership and dialogue between tourist operators and forest conservation activist to take measures for sustainable development Involve non-governmental organizations in the field of formal and informal education and of public awareness. [Boo, 1990; Hitchcock and Jay, 1998] It must be said that development of a region to make it suitable for sustainable wildlife viewing is not the sole responsibility of the local administration. In fact, the local administration or the administration at the national level may also not be able to provide adequate help and developmental activities. It is in these circumstances that international agencies must contribute their might to help sustain the environment. Many international projects that envisage the collective action of international agencies and the local governance has been designed to provide adequate cover for endangered species. Such a programme can also be extended to help protect the species of an area. In short, developed countries must give a helping hand both intellectually and financially to enable developing countries to achieve the goal of sustainable environment.. It is pertinent to emphasize the fact many developed countries have been involved in various co-operation programmes to help the developing countries. The situation needs immediate attention because these countries have to face persistent problems such as poverty, population explosion, education backwardness, and unemployment. Therefore a sustainable way of life is necessary to even imagine of surviving in future. [Ross and Wall, 1999] Governments must ensure that the balance between economic input and ecological upkeep is maintained at all costs. People who are not aware of environment protection norms must not be allowed to visit and stay in places which are delicate with regard to its ecological balance. For example, there are many biospheres in the world where only scientists and similar people are allowed access. Such places may in fact generate more money for the government because they are frequented by people who are sponsored by other governments. Hence, even though such natural spaces are not open to the public, the resources needed for its upkeep and maintenance can still be derived from it. Conclusions Wildlife watching is a growing tourist attraction that is finding favour with a lot of people. The fact that one can savour the joy of watching an animal in its natural environment is enough attraction for many tourists to opt for wildlife watching than any other form of tourism. However, wildlife watching also has its pitfalls because it certainly imposes a cost on the environment. Hence, what is needed is a strategy that tries to balance conservation efforts with economic gains. Many agencies such as the government, non-governmental organisations, scientists and even international agencies have to work together to achieve this objective. In this regard it may be said that sustainable wildlife watching is a group effort of many agencies, businesses and individuals. Works Cited Hitchcock, M. and S. Jay. “Ecotourism and Environmental Change in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand”. In Environmental Challenges in South-East Asia (ed.) V.T. King: Curzon, 1998. Richard Tapper, “Wildlife watching and Tourism”, Environment Business & Development Group, UNEP / CMS Convention on Migratory Species and TUI, UNEP / CMS Secretariat, Bonn, Germany, 2005. Boyd, S.W. and Butler, R.W., “Managing ecotourism: An opportunity spectrum approach” Tourism Management 17 (8), 557–566. Oxford: Elsevier Science, 1996. Boo, E. Ecotourism: The Potential Pitfalls (Vol.1&2).Washington, DC: World Wildlife Fund, 1990. L. Dwyer and D. Edwards, “Nature-Based Tourism on the Edge of Urban Development”, Journal Of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 8, No. 4, 2000. Laarman, J.G. and Durst, P.B. “Nature travel in the tropics” Journal of Forestry 85 (5), 43–46, 1987. Leiper, N. Tourism Management. Victoria: TAFE Publications, 1995. Ross, S. and Wall, G., Ecotourism: Towards congruence Between Theory and Practice Tourism Management. Forthcoming, 1999. Stimson, R.J., Daly, M.T., Jenkins, O., Roberts, B.H. and Ross, S. “Tourism in Australia: An Overview of Trends, Issues and Prospects”, Occasional Paper No 23. Canberra: Bureau of Tourism Research, 1996. Read More