Environmental Damage Due to Development Has Affected Tourism in the Caribbean: Inevitable.

Humans in there quest to be innovative and to improve their lot, have engaged in activities that have altered the normal flow of the ocean, and largely have altered the coast itself. Some of their activities have destroyed forever the landscape and have inflicted un-repairable damage to it. One way in which humans have impacted the coastal landscape is by destroying mangroves and wet lands for development purposes. In Nassau, Bahamas, this activity is glaring. Bulldozers are used to push down mangroves and to “fill” in wet lands in order to erect gated communities and at times touristic enterprises. This action invariably alters forever the coastal landscape and destroys the absorption and stabilizing capabilities of the coast

Making tourism more sustainable is not just about controlling and managing the negative impacts of the industry. Tourism is in a very special position to benefit local communities, economically and socially, and to raise awareness and support for conservation of the environment.

After reading and analyzing the environmental in Sanibel Florida, I am impressed that Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation is dedicated to the conservation of its aquatic resources and coastal habitats on their island Sanibel (SCCF, 2013). We all could learn a lot from this city through their hardships and through their Comprehensive Land Use Plan. We cloud learn from their mistakes of other coastal communities that had developed so intensively they sacrificed the very thing that was the foundation of a tourism-based economy. Not to be deterred, a small group of citizens began the movement for home rule and the right to determine the future of the island. The city is head of its time back in the 70s and still to this day when it come the environmental friendly and dedicated in conservation through acquisitions and land management. The city if Sanibel is a role model for other cities to follow when it comes to wildlife habitat and environment protection program and plans (Duerksen & Snyder, 2005).

Developing countries tend to have “the most fragile environments” (Baker 197) which is due to the flow of resources dictated by the core. The core, taking advantage of the developmental level developing countries are on, exploit their lack of laws restraining harm to the environment, setting up factories causing even more environmental damage. Thus when comparing the environmental status of a developed country to a developing country there are major differences. These differences are the interaction of the people with the environment, in terms of needs, and the number of factories profiteering from the use and exploitation of natural resources. When this difference is identified then it is easier to assess not only the source but also to create laws prohibiting this exploitation and constructing programs to reverse environmental damages to specific circumstances, helping developing countries to move forward on the developmental scale instead of backwards. If this is taken into account then why is the source causing environmental damage, the core, not stopped? This is due to the dominant ideology stating that with infinite economic growth, eventually the sustainability of the environment will be achieved. The developing countries reinforces this by inviting and encouraging organizations to base their factories in their country which has immediate results, creating a smoke screen

Environmental sustainability refers to the ability to maintain the qualities that are valued in the physical environment (Sutton, 2004). Threats to these features of the environment mean that there is a risk that these will not be maintained (Sutton, 2004). For example, damage that is done to the natural environment can generate threats of serious decline in quality or destruction (Sutton, 2004). The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is one of the seven wonders of the world, however, it is slowly facing decline. Threats to the Great Barrier Reef include climate change, coral bleaching, a major outburst of the Crown-of-thorns starfish and tourism. The Australian Government’s response to the recommendations of the United Nations Educational, Scientific

Collier asserts that the poorest states are in need of rapid economic growth which creates tension between poverty reduction and the perversion of nature. This is most evident in China where their desire to grow economically has come at the price of pollution. While China has grown exponentially economically and have reduced poverty, this growth is not sustainable due to their negligence of the environment. The level of pollution in major cities has hurt the Chinese economy because individuals are refusing to do business there due to health concerns. This effects Chinese businesses and their tourism industry. More times than not, states will choose economic growth, however, in the long run this choice will negatively impact their economy.

The Dominican Republic is the right example in the Caribbean for a relative late tourism development. In comparison with other island destinations, the Dominican Republic was politically affected and became unstable (Freitag, 1994: 538).

Wilson asserts, “No one should look to GNPs and corporate annual reports for a competent projection of the world’s long-term economic future.” In other words, the Gross National Product (GNP) and corporations will not accurately depict the long-term economic future, due to the lack of environmental factors that if implemented would surely fluctuate the projections. Furthermore, the more reliable sources are from research reports from the natural-resource specialists and ecological economists that provide an accurate representation of the financial and environmental future. In addition, the environmental experts factor in the imperil that is posed to the environment while expanding the economy. Thus, the idealistic balance between the environment and economy will not be found in the GNP reports, but in the ecological economist reports that can veritably attest to both sides of the political spectrum. On a national scale, converting to renewable energy is not prioritized, due to the fact the fossil fuel industry has an abundant of sizable investments. So, reasonably an annual national report would be in favor of the large corporations, such as the fossil fuel industry. As a result, the projections for the economic-future with fossil fuel as our main energy source is one-sided and

One of the main ways that human’s impact coral reefs that could be avoid is coastal development that produces unsustainable tourism. Today, people are constantly looking for tropical places to vacation and adventure on these tropical islands. Since coral reefs can only be supported in tropical waters, they tend to be located by nice beaches on popular islands. The Caribbean is one of the best examples of this. Countries such as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic are generally poor countries with little development. Over the past years, these islands with tropical waters and coral reefs have began to build more and more resorts

Cuba has taken many steps to protect the investment of the rich land and water resources and the welcoming population, as they continue to offer an abundance of development opportunities. Some environmental factors in the city of Caibarién include: lack of water supply, no sewer system, no drainage for floods, and pollution. It’s highly critical that tourists are well informed and educated on foreign communities and how to interact in an environment in order to sustain and preserve natural resources and ancestral sites. Daniel Whittle, senior director of the Cuba program at the Environmental Defense Fund said that “At the official level, environmental protection is still a high priority, it’s something [President Raúl] Castro and his deputies talk a lot about.” (Williams, Casey. "Cuba Has An Ambitious Plan To Protect Its Environment From Tourists." The Huffington Post). Tourists have also expressed needs and wants of a clean environment and tourism products that involve heritage, history and culture. Businesses are now focusing on sustainable based services and resources for those incoming tourists. Tourism products of today are being developed to match with the environment- both natural and constructed.

Tourism is the main industry in Costa Rica. The number of international tourist visiting the country increased from 261,000 in 1986 to 779,000 in 1996. Some potential effect of tourism include damage to costal and mangrove areas along the beach, improper sewage and garbage disposal, disturbance of nesting areas of endangered sea turtles, and destruction of national forest for tourists developments. It is essential for the government to implement and enforce stricter regulations for the development of the tourist industry in order to assure the continued prosperity of the tropical dry-forests ecosystems. (Frankie, Mata, and Vinson

Tourism plays a major role on the infrastructure of the Caribbean countries. Without tourism, the Caribbean’s would perhaps be unknown territories among the ocean. The three major impacts of tourism in the Caribbean are social, cultural and environmental. Tourism impacts the Caribbean socially by proving jobs and services for the people and and generating a revenue

However, many fisherman are unable to catch as many fish as they used to, so they are increasingly using cyanide and dynamite in fishing, which further degrades the coral reef ecosystem.[6] This perpetuation of bad habits simply leads to the further decline of coral reefs and therefore perpetuating the problem. One solution to stopping this cycle is to educate the local community about why conservation of marine spaces that include coral reefs is important.[7] Once the local communities understand the personal stakes at risk then they will actually fight to preserve the reefs. Conserving coral reefs has many economic, social, and ecological benefits, not only for the people who live on these islands, but for people throughout the world as well.

Environmental issues have been a cause of a lot of debate in the recent past. Governments and nongovernmental organizations have been in constant consultations on how to help protect the environment. Apparently, as a result of man’s many actions, the natural environment is getting torn apart so quickly that the coming generations will not enjoy this kind of environment, unless a

Planning and development are both extremely important factors within the tourism industry and can have both positive and negative effects on the environment, local communities and tourist destinations. “Destination planning aims to limit the negative impacts of cultural tourism upon the history and lifestyles of the local community. An understanding of sustainable tourist development allows for the development of culture without loss of its authentic identity” (Maidment. T. 2012). This statement discusses the importance of planning to avoid having any negative impacts on environments and communities. Because the effects of tourism are so severe to destinations, many natural and cultural resources have been destroyed, therefore tourism planning is vital to preserve and maintain these places for future generations.