Essay on environmentally sustainable tourism
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Environmentally Sustainable Tourism
Environmentally Sustainable Tourism is the need of the hour. The ever growing tourism industry is posing serious threats to environment. The International Ecotourism Society defines sustainable tourism as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well being of local people”. Thus sustainable tourism is a form of travel dedicated to responsible travelling.
With the rise in economic prosperity, more and more people are travelling for leisure. The tourism industry is flourishing exponentially. More and more people are travelling within the country and internationally! However, this boom in the tourism has adversely affected the environment! Owning to poor waste management unplanned and reckless construction along with the increasing pressure of catering to the needs of the tourist , beautiful beaches, coral reefs, forests, sanctuaries, waterways, lakes, lagoons, hills, mountains are being polluted. These spots of pure natural beauty are also habitats for various species of flora and fauna. These species are being adversely affected due to the construction, development, and other tourism related activities.
For instance, in Philippines and Maldives, dynamiting and mining of corals for resort building materials has damaged fragile coral reefs and depleted fisheries that sustain local people. In Nepal, the rapid growth of the trekking industry has increased pollution in Kathmandu and caused dangerous crowding and destruction of trails. Logging for hotel building materials and cooking fires has led to deforestation, flooding and landslides as far away as Bangladesh. The condition of popular hill stations in India is also the same. The Governments in all the countries must allow a limited number of tourists to visit such places as are easily affected with tourism. This balance must be maintained; otherwise we will lose our precious environment and its beauty.
So, ecotourism or sustainable tourism is an initiative to promote tourism without damaging the environment. The central and state governments, along with the people’s involvement must make ecotourism a popular campaign and save the environment and invaluable flora and fauna. We must not forget without healthy environment and preserving of ecology, the beautiful places of tourism will cease to be attractive and refreshing. So let's join hands and adopt Eco-tourism.
The idea of sustainability initially showed up on the general population sense in the report by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987. The diagram of maintainable improvement is that the financial development and the ecological protection are amicable as well as they are accomplices and one can't get by without than other .The Brundtland Commission Report distinct practical advancement as 'advancement that addresses the issues of the present without bargaining the capacity of future ages to address their own issues' (WCED, 1987). The Commission featured that feasible advancement isn't a settled national assention, yet a dynamic procedure of changes which 'are all in amicability and upgrade both present and future potential to address human issues and goals' (WCED, 1987: 46). It is envisioned as prompting administration of all assets such that monetary, social and tasteful needs can be satisfied while keeping up social uprightness, basic environmental procedures, and organic decent variety and life emotionally supportive networks. To sum things up feasible tourism comprises in saving and saving a domain for the who and what is to come and giving socio and monetary advantages to all partners.
As indicated by Gunn (1994), the most material definition is given by Rees in 1989. The definition is "Reasonable advancement is certain financial change that does not undermine the environmental and social frameworks whereupon groups and society are reliant. Its fruitful usage requires incorporated arrangement, Planning and social learning process; its political reasonability relies upon the full help of the general population it influences through their legislatures, their social establishments, and their private exercises."