Balancing Environment Conservation and Tourism: Everglades National Park, Florida - Case Study Example

Balancing Environment Conservation and Tourism: Everglades National Park, Florida (Name) (Date) Balancing Environment Conservation and Tourism Tourism is an exceedingly significant industry in a country’s economy. In fact, 12% of the world’s total Gross National Product can be attributed to Tourism. In addition to generating income for the country, the tourism sector also acts as a marketing tool through which the country can sell itself to external investors. In recent years, the growth of the tourism industry has given rise to several environmental challenges that need to be addressed as soon as possible. The issue of environmental conservation is, therefore, one of utmost importance when looking at the longevity of tourism. This paper seeks to explore the issue of environmental conservation within the tourism industry, as well as, how to balance tourism and conservation. The Everglades National Park, Florida, is used as a case study. Everglades National Park is home to a fragile ecosystem and a rich diversity of flora and fauna. The park, included in the World Heritage List in 1979, receives more than a million people every year. However, it has been experiencing rapid degradation as a result of increasing visitations and encroaching civilization. Issues such as the destruction of indigenous plants and pollution are the norm, as is the adverse effects of vehicular traffic within the park. The environmental issues that face Everglades National Park are multi-faceted since it is home to several species of birds, animals and plants. Human encroachment poses the greatest danger to such species and the already fragile eco-system of the park. In an effort to find a balance between conservation and tourism, the park has to deal with encroaching civilization and invasive vehicular traffic, which threatens to deplete the biodiversity. Given such challenges, environmental conservation is of utmost significance at the Everglades National Park. According to O’Brien (1999: 60), Everglades National Park is by far the most endangered wetland preserve. The park, which is one of the primary providers of water to Southern Florida, is a vital part of the state’s economy. Having been in existence since 1947, the park attracts tourists from all over the world creating the need to find the most suitable balance between conservation and tourism to ensure sustainability. Long before the Everglades National Park came into existence, much of Florida used to be nothing but several acres of wetland, which would flood during the summer and partially dry when winter came. What remains in the present day, however, is a mass of buildings and infrastructure, as urban encroachment overtakes what were once swampy land, and an estimated 1.5 million acres of protected marshland that is the Everglades National Park (Hamilton, 2005: 6). In spite of its protected status, the marshlands are in danger of extinction. Tourism and environmental conservation are not mutually exclusive. In fact, these two issues are complementary as one cannot exist without the other. The stunning beauty that is Everglades National Park cannot be contained. Likewise, the fragile ecosystem is at risk, and this necessitates the need to preserve its resources, to ensure that the national park continues to exist. In order to achieve this, there has to be a balance between tourism and conservation. Everglades National Park, for instance, has a Master Recreation Plan that was formulated to ensure that the services offered to the public, by the park, are in line with its restoration agenda. In addition to this, the park also has several restrictions on all its facilities to minimize visitor impact. As a result, Everglades National Park has managed to balance conservation of its resources and visitor use while still retaining its wilderness character. Environmental conservation and tourism can coexist, but only on condition that both maintain minimal contact with each other while at the same time promoting their own positions. This, however, is not possible since in the long run; the relationship between the two has to change with an increase in the tourism industry and considerable changes in the environment. In the long run only two outcomes are expected, a symbiotic relationship or conflict between the two. Therefore, in order to establish a balance between conservation and tourism, there has to be an agreement that both sides will benefit from the relationship. In the case of Everglades National Park, the wetlands, flora and fauna, and other environmental features that make up the park should be maintained at their original state, as much as possible, while tourists experience and view them. Tourism can play a huge role in the restoration efforts of the national park. Through Environmental Impact Assessments, Everglades National Park has managed to reduce the impacts of tourists. Although the right balance between the preservation of the Wetlands and economic gain continue to be elusive for many national parks and preserves, Everglades National Park has managed to minimize the rate of deterioration of the park, in spite of the rapid growth in the tourism industry. One significant difficulty experienced by the Everglades National Park in finding the right balance between conservation and tourism is lack of funds. Like all other environmental preserves, the park constantly faces pressure to renew its services in order to continue to attract tourists and remain competitive. Likewise, being one of the national parks listed as a World Heritage site, the park has an obligation to ensure that its original values and facilities are restored or maintained as best as possible. Furthermore, in order to foster relationships with the surrounding communities, a portion of the income received by the park may be channeled to these communities, thus not enough may be available to cater for the restoration of the park. Most national parks and protected lands are established with the primary objective of protecting biodiversity and fragile ecosystems, which are in danger of destruction or extinction if not secured or secluded from the public. However, they open their doors to the public to enable people to enjoy the beauty of such attractions, learn about the importance of conserving such ecosystems and most importantly, generate revenues to ensure the continued existence of such preserves. However, from the moment visitors are allowed into the Everglades National Park, the risk to the different species of plants, birds and animals increase. The management of the park cannot guarantee the safety of these species since they may not have the adequate amount of workers to be at all places that tourists chose to visit. Maintenance of the park and environmental conservation is, therefore, an unending cycle where one entity depends on the other for its continued existence. Another issue that affects the conservation – tourism balance is visitor management. In recent years, the tourism industry has been experiencing rapid growth that has resulted in more people visiting national parks, and consequently, an increase in the rate of environmental degradation. In their book “Controversies in Tourism”, Moufakkir and Burns (2012: 232) state that national parks need a people-centered approach to reduce the conflict between visitors and the environment. They further state that protected areas, such as Everglades National Park, need to determine the level of interaction by local communities so as to assign roles, which aid in the management of the park. In 1999, both the federal and the state governments came together and formulated the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) that would act as a roadmap for the preservation, protection and restoration of the Everglades National Park (U.S. Senate, 2000: 34). The agreement was that the federal government would share costs with the state of Florida in the restoration of the park, minimization of pollution from neighboring industries and the reclamation of wetlands held by private individuals and corporations. This, however, has not occurred as the federal government chooses to prioritize certain projects over others. Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, for instance, have siphoned funds from other development projects and thus, made it difficult for the park to balance both its conservation and tourism activities (Ronald E. Stewart, 2011: 42). Another challenge that Everglades National Park experiences as it tries to balance conservation and tourism is hostility from neighboring industries and local communities. Long ago, most of the land in Florida were swamps and marshland. However, with increased civilization, over 50% of the land was purchased by private individuals, drained and used for agricultural purposes. Sugarcane and vegetable plantations now occupy most of these lands. In an effort to protect the wetlands, Everglades National Park will have to buy out the surrounding sugar industries and vegetable plantations, whose wastewater pollute the marshlands. This is a formidable challenge for the park as this translates to loss of income and jobs for the surrounding communities who depend on these industries. In addition to these, the vegetable plantations account for a majority of the vegetable supply for the whole of America during winter. Solutions to finding a balance between tourism and conservation Educating tourists on the importance of conservation is a vital part of the work of rangers and other park administrators at Everglades National Park. The park sponsors curriculum-based programs on conservation education to public schools within Florida. In addition to this, Everglades National Park has numerous stands that provide information on and educate the tourists on the importance of conservation as they go around the park. Topics such as conservation of resources, impact of visitors on the ecosystem and park management issues are addressed by these stands as visitors pass through different nature trails, boardwalks and observation points. Leasing park space to the private sector will enable the park to generate additional revenues to fund several of its projects. Lack of finances is a serious challenge in the restoration efforts of the Everglades National Park. Without adequate funds, the park is at risk of closing down as its existence already hangs in the balance. Furthermore, in order to counter the problem of pollution from the neighboring sugar industries, a lot of funds are needed to purchase complex machinery that purify the wastewater flowing into the Everglades National Park (Chemical Sciences Roundtable, 2004: 22). If the park can have adequate funds at their disposal, it can even buy out such industries to eliminate the problem of water pollution altogether. After all, the land on which these companies rest used to be wetlands, which were drained to pave the way for civilization. If at all it is not possible for the sugar industries to relocate their operations, all the stakeholders involved should identify and adopt better management practices, as well as sustainable agricultural practices. All the sugar companies and owners of vegetable plantations could come together and deliberate on better business strategies that are both ecologically and economically sustainable. This way the level of pollution coming from these industries can be reduced. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, formulated by both the federal governments to guide restoration and protection of the fragile ecosystem, is a brilliant plan for conservation if properly implemented. Although this plan faces the challenge of lack of funds and a lengthy timeline, an estimated 40 billion and over 40 years respectively, it offers a sound and progressive strategy needed urgently by the fragile ecosystem. Visitor management is another solution in the quest to find a balance between conservation and tourism. If the number of tourists visiting the park is not managed, it is likely that the natural habitats of most species will be destroyed since not all tourists are environmentally conscious. Everglades National Park controls the numbers of visitors to the park, as well as vehicular traffic that pose a serious risk to the marshlands. The park also restricts access to certain natural habitats, which are considered to be at risk. In addition to this, the park also provides travel itineraries that provide information on the park, available attractions and events, which tourists are expected to adhere to. Although the state of Florida is in a cost-sharing partnership with the federal government concerning the funding of the restoration project in the Everglades, political agreements tend to be fickle often resulting in the misplaced prioritization. More often than not, the funds received from the federal government are used to fund several other activities in the area as opposed to the restoration of the ecosystem or the channeling of water back to the original natural system, which are pressing concerns. Fortunately, certain legal acts such as the Everglades Forever Act seek to improve the delivery and quality of water within the area. Conclusion Everglades National Park provides a sanctuary to several species of birds, animals and plants that are in danger of extinction if no action is taken to restore their natural habitats and the fragile ecosystem. Of the thousands of acres of wetlands that existed in the years before 1947, only less than half remain the rest having been drained for agricultural purposes or other private use. In addition to this, a lot of the water from the Everglades has been diverted to canals, seas and other manmade structures further crippling the resources available at the park. Given the current conditions of Everglades National Park, it is unlikely that long-term sustainability is possible. The future of Everglades National Park depends on the restoration of the parks natural habitat, as well as implementation of a sustainable development plan. It is exceedingly necessary that environment conservation efforts at the park continue, otherwise all the tourists attractions will be destroyed entirely. In addition, the neighboring local communities should be involved, in the parks conservation efforts, to lessen the burden borne by the management of the park. References Chemical Sciences Roundtable, Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council, 2004. Water and Sustainable Development: Opportunities for the Chemical Sciences. Atlanta: National Academies Press. Hamilton, J., 2005. Everglades National Park. Minneapolis: ABDO Publishing Company. O'Brien, B. R., 1999. Our National Parks and the Search for Sustainability. Texas: University of Texas Press. Omar Moufakkir, P. M. B., 2012. Controversies in Tourism. Wallingford: CABI Publishing. Ronald E. Stewart, A. D. L. C. W., 2011. Wicked Environmental Problems: Managing Uncertainty and Conflict. London: Springer. U.S. Senate, 2000. Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, Pennsylvania: DIANE Publishing. Read More