In his Ted
talk, Goldin mentions “the collapse biodiversity” is one of the negative
consequences brought about by rapid globalization. Globalization led to the
evolution of ecotourism in many developing countries, and ecotourism
industry has been expanding at a rapid rate in recent decades (Dasenbrock 2002). The countries view ecotourism as a
viable method to “protect the natural environment” while generating “social and
economic benefits” (Buchsbaum, 2004). The lucrative profits generated by
ecotourism, not environmental protection, have become the primary motivation of
ecotourism. Using Costa Rica as a case study, this essay seeks to
discuss how ecotourism affects the environment and aims to evaluate the
solutions taken to tackle this problem.
The rapid ecotourism expansion in Costa Rica, which begun since the 1970’s has been very evident. By 1995 there were over 125 government-protected sites including national parks, wildlife reserves, and forest reserves (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). In that very year, the number of recorded visitors exceeded 50,000 and generated over $750 million for the economy. Abundant sites of nature situated on the country such as scenic beaches, caves, volcanoes, mountains, mangroves and tropical rainforests as well as hundreds of species of plants and animals are reasons for the thrive of ecotourism. Although Conservation efforts are witnessed, in the quest for higher levels of profits, “ecotourism becomes ecologically damaging” (McKeone, 2011).
Overcapacity of visitors, greenwashing and poor
management of solid waste and sewage are some of the negative impacts generated
from ecotourism and they lead to dire problems such as environment degradation,
pollution and endangerment of wildlife.
Costa Rica ecotourism industry faces a serious problem of
visitor overcapacity. Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) reported 31,637 tourists
in the first month of the year for 2011. During peak periods, one of Costa Rica's most
popular parks, Manuel Antonio, takes in an average of 1,000 visitors a day (Weaver,
1998, 95). When the management chooses to ignore the limits of the carrying
capacity, the negative impacts of ecotourism starts to become apparent (Edgell,
2006).
Measures are taken to tackle this problem. One of such is by raising admission
fees “by a factor of 10 in 1994 (from $1.5 to $15 for foreign
visitors)” (Gosseling, 1999).
However,
this is not a viable solution. Over the years, substantial increased in profits
and the further boost of ecotourism makes it hard for authorities to turn paying-tourists
away. Such unregulated access and flow of tourists to even the most fragile
parts of the forest have caused overdevelopment and great damage to the entire
ecology. Furthermore, interactions between tourists and animals are also of
concern. Animals such as white-faced capuchins have become
more aggressive as they frequently prey on tourists for food (Baker, 2008).
Green-washing arises when profit motivated companies
labels themselves as “ecotourist” so to provide services that do not technically
classify as ecotourism (Egan, 2001). This is severe as it goes against
Costa Rica’s environmental reputation. Under this façade, companies will continue
activities that will contribute to environmental degradation.
One
solution to green-washing
would be the certification system run by the Costa Rican government known as
The Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST) (Arnall, 2013). This system rates
accommodation and tour operators in Costa Rica according to their level of
sustainable practices, which in turn will affect their businesses as the
tourists will now favor businesses with a higher rating.
Despite businesses indicating
increased efforts towards sustainability through the certification system, I
feel that the government should find more alternatives to this problem.
Statistics show that only a small percentage of the market seeks to be
certified (Bendell and Font, 2004). Large enterprises that can afford to
undertake the whole costly process of certification have the upper hand, while
smaller ones are rarely awarded with the higher levels of certification
(Arnall, 2013). This will deter smaller businesses to seek improvements in
sustainable practices.
The boost
of ecotourism and the exponentially increasing number of tourists caused Costa
Rica’s already poor management of waste to worsen. High influx of tourists
precipitated the production of more waste putting a toll on the country’s
landfills that are already nearing the maximum capacity (Baker, 2009). Even
though this waste problem is more serious in the city if it is not timely
addressed it will affect the beautiful nature surroundings and cause serious
environmental degradation.
The government tries to revamp their
environmental policies implementation of environmental campaigns about recycling
and enforcing stricter traffic acts and higher amounts of fines to penalize
those who go against the law.
These solutions do not really
address to the root of the problem. Habits and mindsets of people are difficult
to change. The citizens treat the issue lightly and view recycling efforts as
“an ecological trend” and not “a necessity” (Baker, 2009). Furthermore,
Tourists who visit the country who may not have a strong environmental
awareness might just follow the bad littering habits of the residents.
In
conclusion, “Ecotourism is an opportunity to preserve ecosystems and biological
diversity that would otherwise be lost” Wall, n.d.). It should not be used to
exploit the environment for economic benefits. Government
or authorities should find solutions to these issues to ensure sustainability
of ecotourism in the long run and must be willing to forsake economic profits
for the conservation of the environment.
References:
1) Baker, Christopher P. (2008). “Manuel Antonio National
Park.”
Retrieved from http://centralamerica.com/cr/parks/momanuelantoni.htm
2) Costa Rica Tourism Institute (2011). “Costa Rica: No Artificial
Ingredients.”
Retrieved from http://www.visitcostarica.com/ict/paginas/novedades.asp
3) Edgell, David L. (2006). Managing Sustainable Tourism: A
Legacy for the Future. The Haworth Press, Inc., NY.
4) Hill, Jennifer and Tim Gale. (2009). Ecotourism and
Environmental Sustainability: Principles and Practice. Ashgate Publishing
Limited: Burlington, VT. INBioparque Costa Rica. 2011. “Welcome to INBioparque
Costa Rica.”
Retrieved from http://www.inbio.ac.cr/en/inbio/inb_queinbio.htm
5) Egan, Timothy. (May 20, 2001). "Uneasy Being Green:
Tourism Runs Wild." The New York Times.
6) Weaver, D.B. (1998). Ecotourism in the Less Developed
World. Cab International: London, 1998.
7) Garland M Baker (2009). “Trash and littering have become
major problems”
Retrieved from http://www.crexpertise.info/trash-and-become-major-problems/
8) Emily McKeone (2011). “Ecotourism in Costa Rica:
Environmental Impacts and Management”
Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=envstudtheses#page=21&zoom=auto,0,710
9) Su Arnall (2013). “
Regulation
of the Sustainable Tourism Industry in Costa Rica: “Greenwashing” or Good
Governance?”
