Environment Impact in Australia Tourism - Research Proposal Example

Environment Impact in Australia Tourism Table of Contents 1.Project Setting and Situation Analysis a) Introduction b) Background information c) Problem/Issue Section 2: Aim Section 3: Preliminary Literature Review Section 4: Research Objectives Section 5: Research Plan (Schedule of Activities) 6: References Project Setting and Situation Analysis Introduction Tourism is an important industry in many countries including Australia. It has three basic impacts: Environmental, Socio-cultural, Economic. Although it has many positive impacts but it may have some negative impact on the environment at the same time. When the use of environment becomes more than its coping capacity then it becomes a threat. These threats could be soil erosion, loss of natural habitat, increase in levels of pollution and discharges into the sea. It could also mean loss of natural habitat and endangered species. Even the water resources can be affected. Background information An ecosystem includes all living species like human beings, animals, plants, micro-organisms, their surroundings like soil, water and air and the natural cycles that sustains them. Increase in tourist traffic and increase in the related developmental work often damages the ecosystem of the area. There is also rise in the pollution levels which is not desirable. With increase in pollution, there has to be an increase in infrastructure like buildings, roads, parking and other amenities. If it does not integrate with the natural surroundings, it creates aesthetic pollution. It has other physical impacts also like land degradation, loss of wild life habitats and other natural resource loss. Problem/Issue Section Although tourism is a major contributor in the economy, it has to be studied in context of environmental impact. If this part in neglected then it will gradually degenerate the tourist spots and their attraction and will ultimately cause decrease in the tourist traffic. There has to be a balanced management of the tourist attractions so that it gets the optimum traffic without misbalancing the ecology and the environment. Aim Section This study is targeted to find out the impacts of tourism on the environment. Since increase in tourism is a good sign for the Australian economy, we may overlook the negative side of it. Environmental concerns are not only important from the ecological point of view but also from the economic point of view. If these places are not conserved, they will not retain their tourism value for long and will be detrimental to the economy. A proper management plan needs to be developed to find out what is the optimum amount of traffic that should be permitted for each tourist spot. Preliminary Literature Review We can classify environmental impacts into main areas are natural resources, pollution and physical impacts. Water is the first natural resource. With increase in the tourist traffic, the need for water also increases in terms of personal use, hotels’ use, swimming pools and golf courses etc. On one hand it creates water shortage, and on the other hand, it creates a greater volume of waste water. If wells are the main resource of water in an area, then over pumping can cause saline intrusion into groundwater. Other local resources that can feel the tourism pressure are energy, food and other raw materials. In the peak tourist season, the demand can go ten times higher. Tourism has direct impact on both renewable and non-renewable natural resources. This is caused by construction of infrastructure that uses land and other resources. Loss of land resource means loss of minerals, fossil fuels, fertile soil, forests, wetland and wildlife. Pollution has the same impacts of tourism as any other industry can cause. This includes air pollution, sound pollution and visual pollution apart from sewage releases, solid waste and littering and other pollution. Increase in tourist traffic means increase in transportation facility. According to a report by ICAO, the number of worldwide international passengers grew from 88 million in 1972 to 344 million in 1994. As per a Study (MFOE), a single transatlantic return flight emits almost half the CO2 emissions produced by all other sources (lighting, heating, car use, etc.) consumed by an average person yearly. Transport emissions are responsible for acid rain, global warming and photochemical pollution. Tourism also affects noise pollution due to increased use of cars, buses, snowmobiles, jet skis etc. This has harmful effects on human beings as well as wildlife. Improper disposal of solid waste can also cause a threat to the natural ecological system. Increasing number of hotels and other facilities, increases sewage pollution. It has serious effects on flora and fauna. It is also very harmful for the coral reefs as it stimulates the growth of algae which cover the filter-feeding corals. This hinders their ability to survive. In Australian context, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the major tourist attraction as well as an endangered site. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) generates approximately 4.2 billion A$ per annum. There are approximately 730 tour operators and 1500 vessels and aircrafts with permits to operate in GBRMP. Ecological management in this area is ensured by GBRMP authorities and the Queensland Park and Wildlife service along with other agencies. According to them the tour operators are well aware of the environmental threats and take due care because it affects their business also. CRC Reef research Center has done a study on diver impact on coral. This study found that majority of the divers did not cause any detectable damage to corals. During a 25 hrs direct observation 144 fragments were dislodged but these were mainly at the branching colonies and did not affect the massive coral. Out of the 144 damages, 101 were caused by seven divers who did not seem to be much aware of the possible damages. Out of 109 countries with coral reefs, 90 of them find that the reefs are being damaged by cruise ship anchors and sewage or by tourists who break off chunks of coral intentionally or unintentionally. There is also damage done by commercial harvesting for sale to tourists. In one case, a cruise ship anchor destroyed about half the size of a football field as it was dropped in a coral reef for one day. The area covered by the rubble died later. It was estimated that coral recovery would take fifty years.( Ocean Planet) Other endangered areas are the Australian Alps, mountain biking in Southwest Australia, trampling on alpine environments in central Tasmania, wet tropics nature based parks in North Queensland, negative impacts on seabirds due to human visitations, negative impacts on the entire sea coast and beaches etc. All these places have major tourist attraction and at the same time it is causing great concern for the environment. There are many steps taken by the government on these issues. For example, $14.6 million has been announced for Indigenous environmental projects under Round 1 by the Minister of Environment and Water resources. Round 2 applications are also invited which will mean more funds. Malcolm Turnbull, the minister for Environment and Water resources has invited public comments on the pulp mill project in Tasmania Tamar Valley, which means people have a forum to put through their concerns if they have any and also the acceptability by the government. A process for developing a management plan for the Cod grounds Commonwealth Marine Reserve is also being started by the Director of the National Parks. Another initiative has been taken by the government with the Environmental Stewardship Programme that will focus on long-term protection, improvement and rehabilitation of targeted environmental assets. Research Objectives Section Tourism is a complex ecological system. To improve its management, detailed information is needed on both the component parts as well as the whole. According to a report on management of environmental effects associated with the tourism sector, there is lot of information on this but still it is much less than the required level that will enable future planning for improvement. So we need to study the revenue generated by each tourist attraction point and also the maximum number of visitors that should be permitted on that site. Although the ecological stand is a great concern in itself but it can be translated into economic loss and gain, it will be more understandable, applicable and will help in appropriate fund allocation. Research Plan This study will require selection of the spots that will form the base of the study. The probable places are Australian Alps, mountain biking in Southwest Australia, alpine trampling in central Tasmania, wet tropic parks in North Queensland, the entire sea coast and beaches. After the selection is done the activities of tourists in these areas need to be observed and a report needs to be prepared on the revenue generated by these activities. That will help in estimating the commercial value of the place. Then the place needs to be studied from the environment point of view as to how many visitors can be permitted here without causing any damage to the place. One more point that needs to be studied is about the cost of maintaining the restorable damages. To get all this data, we will have to coordinate with various government and non-government agencies that are linked with these places. We will have to get data from various tour operators also. While some of the data may be available from their websites and journals, we may need to meet some of the key people in policy planning like Environment Australia online or other related government offices to study their concern and to inform them of the aims of the study. Once we have collected all the data, then we can do a tabulation to analyze it. This analysis will give us the optimum number of people who can be permitted without causing environmental damages. We have to conduct our study within the ethical frame. We will have to maintain the privacy of the information providers wherever required and we will have to inform them about the aim of the study. Conclusion Unless we take some concrete steps for conservation of the environment we will be putting our lives and the lives of the future generations at risk. All our recreational activities like tourism are based on the concept of improving life quality. The economic gain is also linked with life quality. If these activities cause long term damages and give us short term gains, then they definitely need to be revisited. This study is a revisit to this concern area to find out a workable solution. These steps will give a boost to conservation of environment and also a long term economic gain. References Department of the Environment and water resources http://www.environment.gov.au/ Retrieved on August 29, 2007 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/info_services/publications/sotr/latest_updates/tourec Retrieved on August 29, 2007 Hillman, M. (1996, September) Town & Country Planning magazine, Source: MFOE http://www.mfoe.u- net.com/car2/global/global.html Retrieved on August 29, 2007 ICAO, http://www.icao.org/ Retrieved on August 29, 2007 Ocean Planet , http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/education_threats.html Retrieved on August 29, 2007 Report, (1997, November) Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Management of the environmental effects associated with the tourism sector. http://www.pce.govt.nz/reports/allreports/0_908804_74_1.shtml Retrieved on August 29, 2007 Recreational and Tourism Impact to Australasia http://www4.ncsu.edu/~leung/intl/aust/Australasia1.htm Retrieved on August 29, 2007 UNEP, Tourism, http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/env-3main.htm#natres Retrieved on August 29, 2007 Appendices : GANTT CHART PROJECT STEPS MONTH 1 MONTH 2 MONTH 3 MONTH 4 MONTH 5             IDENTIFICATION OF TOURIST SPOTS           COLLECTION OF DATA FROM WEBSITES           COLLECTION OF DATA FROM TOUR OPERATORS                       FINANCIAL GAINS           COLLECTION OF DATA FROM TOUR OPERATORS           COLLECTION OF DATA FROM SURVEY REPORTS                       ENVIRONMENTAL LOSS           COLLECTION OF DATA FROM GOVT AGENCIES           COLLECTION OF DATA FROM NON-GOVT AGENCIES                       COMPILATION OF DATA                       COMPARISON                       IMPLEMENTATION                       Read More