Can the Global Tourism System be Sustainable?

23 October 2017

Sustainable development- what is it?

• Context of awareness of environmental costs of economic

growth

• Integrates nature conservation with human development

•Term ‘sustainable development’ - World Conservation

Strategy published by the IUCN (1980)

•Brundtland Report- World Commission on Environment

and Development (1987)- ‘Our Common Future’

IUCN (1980) World Conservation Strategy, International Union for the

Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Geneva

World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Our Common

Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Concept of sustainable development

was embraced at the United Nations

Conference on Environment and

Development (UNCED) - ‘Earth

Summit’ - 1992

Adopts Agenda 21 - an action plan

toward sustainable development- local

community involvement

Why the 1980s?

Heightened environmental awareness in the West

Recognition that many environmental problems are

global e.g. ozone depletion, climate change- they do not

respect national boundaries

The acceptance of ecology as a recognised science also

emphasised holism and inter-connections

Most cited definition of sustainable

development?

‘Yet in the end, sustainable development is not a

fixed state of harmony, but rather a process of

change in which the exploitation of resources, the

direction of the investments, the orientation of

technological development, and institutional

change are made consistent with future as well

as present needs’ (WCED, 1987:9)

World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Unpacking!

• Not a ‘fixed state’- ‘a process of change’

• ‘Exploitation’ of ‘resources’- human centred/ anthropocentric

• The orientation of technological development and institutional change are towards ‘future’ needs- longitudinal time dimension

Key Characteristics

• Idea of stewardship of nature aimed at protecting and conserving biodiversity and natural resources;

• Long-term perspective in human development planning for the benefit of future generations;

• Shift from a ‘brown’ to a ‘green’ economy

•

The link to poverty

• Elliot (1994:1) : ‘In the developing world, conditions such as rising poverty and mounting debt form the context in which individuals struggle to meet their basic needs for survival and nations wrestle to provide for their population. The outcome is often the destruction of the very resources with which such needs will have to be met in the future’

• Elliott, A.J. (1994) An Introduction to Sustainable Development: The Developing World, Routledge, London

Problems associated with the term

• Ambiguous – open to different interpretations of how it should be achieved;

• Politically contentious- has been willingly adopted by various stakeholders-governments; business; NGOs

• Can existing political and economic mechanisms deliver sustainable development?

How is sustainable development to be achieved?

• Within the existing neo-liberal paradigm? – that encourages economic growth through free trade and increasing consumerism at a high environmental cost

• Radical environmentalists- challenge existing powerful paradigms- aim to establish new values and paradigms-participatory planning

Relevance to tourism• Adopted by international agencies (UNEP; UNWTO)

and national governments

• Nature dependent industry- environmental stability and quality

• Opportunity for development in rural/peripheral areas

• UNEP (2011:424) forecast of most rapidly growing types of tourism to at least 2030 will be ecotourism, nature, heritage, cultural and soft adventure tourism, alongside sub-sectors such as rural and community tourism.

• Balance between conservation and human development

• May be applied to mass tourism- i.e. how to make it more sustainable

How does it relate to tourism?

‘The expected growth in the tourism sector and

the increasing reliance of many developing

countries, including small island developing

States, on this sector as a major employer and

contributor to local, national, subregional and

regional economies highlights the need for

special attention to the relationship between

environmental conservation and protection and

sustainable tourism’

(Osborn and Bigg, 1998:169)

Earth Summit II: Outcomes and Analysis

Traditions of sustainable tourism(Saarinen, J., 2006)

• Resource based tradition- emphasis on ‘limits to growth of tourism’- carrying capacity- strong ecological/conservation orientation

• Heavy emphasis on environmental planning and management e.g. Kanas national park

Activity- Based Tradition

• An interpretation of sustainable tourism driven by the industry

• More ‘tourism-centric’- focussing more on the needs of tourism as an economic activity

• Accepts modification of nature for tourism

• Make the industry more environmentally friendly

• Light green- ‘green washing’?

Community-based tradition (CBT)

• Participatory-planning approach

• Setting of goals and limits of tourism through negotiations and participation with the local community

• Places the community/host and the benefits that may be gained from tourism at the centre

• Notion of community is disparate but the CBT implies that sustainability can be defined by negotiation-indicates a social construction of acceptable changes within a community from tourism

Summary

• Sustainable development is reflective of concerns over negative environmental effects and effects on human well-being of economic development

• It is ambiguous and open to interpretation by different stakeholders

• A successful tourism industry is reliant upon resource conservation and community support

• Sustainable tourism demonstrates different traditions

Seminar

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWOrgEPO7vE what is sustainable tourism? Air travel impacts

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXsFYw73VjsCalapagos Impacts

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4qr29-SVcGalapagos- tourism Impacts

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBiLFjK_ZtwOpen university – Management in the Galapgos