Is it conservation?

I once heard 'an error does not become a mistake until you choose to correct it'. The vision for sustainability is not without mistakes and sometimes our progress turns out to be merely that of motion as we learn more about our environment. Last week’s blog discussed how policy and corporate giants undermine our efforts to sustainably satisfy our needs, in the form of organic farming. Here I would like to draw similar parallels to our efforts in sustainable conservation with respect to ecotourism.

Environmental damage by safari vehicles has been found to be cause of the very environment it is trying to preserve. 

Ecotourism is broadly referred to as tourism within an ecologically vulnerable environment. In theory however, it is vastly different, with the purpose of education, environmental conservation, sustainability and local integration (more on this here). Kruger argues that the proportion of operations practising under the umbrella of ecotourism that live up to its true concept are debatable. This is especially owed to the lack of objectivity used to define the term sustainability (one of my previous blogs covers this in more detail). Recent research is further questioning major aspects threatening the sustainability of those organisations that believe they are truly sustainable. G.P Nortje based his PhD thesis on the effect of off-road driving (driving on ungravelled natural soil), a prevalent activity in many game reserves in Africa and in Nortje's study, South Africa. This is usually done to allow visitors an up-close viewing of the Big 5 animals. The study concluded that this activity was unsustainable causing land degradation through soil compaction, decreased vegetative cover and decreased water permeation, even when land was left to recover for some years after the damage. He also noted that standard off-roading practices in the Kruger National Park were based on ever more unsustainable concepts such not following in the tracks of previous vehicles ("controlled traffic"). To date, no research exists for the effect of roads in these areas but private environmental impact assessments conducted in some private concessions have found many of these roads to be detrimental to the area having been built prior to modern environmental understanding.  Numerous other examples of the negative physical impacts of ecotourism also include damage to coral reefs by divers and littering.

A recent study found most ecotourism operations, practising globally, across different biomes to practice support unsustainable operations. The dashed line represents the overall proportion of sustainable case studies.

Behavioural interference by ecotourism is another area of concern. There is no denying the habituation of wild species causing a degree of altered behaviour through consistent visits by tourists; the pros and cons I believe cause no real harm and if anything reinforce that we are a part of nature. However, where behavioural changes are destructive is where ecotourism meets traditional cultures and indigenous people become the show. Ecotourism in it's current form is discouraging traditional life styles and promoting westernisation. In some places like Kenya, the drive for tourism through conservation has stripped indigenous tribes of their land in order to make way for national parks.

Cultural authenticity is at risk of dilution and discouragement through touristic activities.

Lastly, there is disease. Opening these sensitive cultures up to visitors from all corners of the Earth is a major threat to health. Many if not most game reserves in South Africa do not make disinfectant spraying of vehicles entering parks compulsory. The extent of human related disease transmission is not well understood, Human Metapneumovirus, Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus and the West Nile Virus are just a few of the many diseases that we humans have infected wildlife species with through ecotourism ventures. For highly endangered species like Mountain Gorillas, this threat is massive.

Although ecotourism has ensured habitat conservation, protected many species from extinction and promoted different cultures, it appears that major components of the industry are undermining their very purpose. For a future in conservation, these issues certainly need addressing.

The last component of a sustainable future is the maintenance of our current quality of life which will be addressed in my next blog. Stay tuned!