Marine conservation and ecotourism

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Marine conservation and ecotourism
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(a) Explain the meaning of the term conservation.

• Conservation has been defined as the protection
  and preservation of natural resources and of the
  environment. The main aims of conservation are
  to
• conserve a range of different habitats so they
  are not lost as a result of pressures from human
  populations
• encourage biodiversity in a range of habitats.

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• The term conservation often applies to a single
  species which is considered to be endangered,
  e.g. conservation of leatherback turtles, or
  conservation of whale sharks.

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(b) Explain the arguments for and against the
desirability of conserving marine species and
ecosystems. 

• The conservation of marine species and their
  habitats aims to maintain species diversity. This
  may be achieved by fisheries management, which
  maintains the population of target species and
  minimizes the effects on non-target populations.
  Damage to the habitat, for example by dredging or
  trawling, can cause adverse effects which may
  result in the loss of a particular species
  associated with that habitat.

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(b) Explain the arguments for and against the
desirability of conserving marine species and
ecosystems.

• Conservation measures may, however, have negative
  socio-economic effects on local human populations
  who previously depended on the marine resources
  within that area.

Forest conservation programs often had negative
impacts on the neighboring populations,
preventing local people living at mere
subsistence from using forest products, soils and
services. To counter these negative impacts,
current research needs to balance conservation
and local practices in order to improve not only
the protection of the forest but also the well
being of the people.
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(c) Discuss, in the context of human activity on
marine species and ecosystems, the need for
conservation.

• The negative impacts of human activities on
  marine species and ecosystems are the result of
  two main factors, over-fishing leading to
  depletion of stocks, and pollution.
• Over-fishing of cod in the North Sea illustrates
  the need for conservation. Stocks in the North
  Sea have fallen to about one-tenth of the level
  30 years ago. It is possible that numbers will
  fall to a level from which it is difficult to
  recover. One of the consequences of this is that
  a decline in the large predatory fish allows
  other species to flourish. Depletion of one
  species, as a result of overfishing for example,
  can therefore affect populations of other
  species.

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(d) Demonstrate an understanding of why, to be
successful, conservation must sustain ecological
linkages and processes.

• If it is to be successful, conservation must be
  based on a detailed understanding of the
  ecological processes and interrelationships
  between organisms and their environment. We need
  to understand why some species and habitats are
  more vulnerable than others, and how degraded
  ecosystems can be improved. Without such
  understanding, attempts at conservation may not
  be successful.

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(e) Demonstrate an understanding that there are
competing requirements between the activities of
coastal communities, including agriculture,
industry, shipping, sewage and refuse disposal,
aquaculture, fisheries, tourism and conservation.

• Candidates should recognize that there are
  possibly conflicting interests between a number
  of different activities of coastal communities,
  as listed in (e) above. All of these activities
  make specific demands on the marine environment
  and have the potential to cause negative effects.
  It is clearly important to consider all the
  possible demands and interests in order to
  maintain, or possibly enhance, biodiversity.

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(f) In given examples of conservation issues,
identify stakeholders, conflicts of interest
causes and possible solutions.

• One example of a conservation issue is the
  establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
  These are designated areas that include part of
  the oceans, in which certain activities, such as
  fishing, are controlled to protect species. In
  some MPAs, there may be a complete ban on taking
  any marine organisms. When setting up MPAs,
  biologists may put forward the case for
  conservation of certain endangered species. This
  is adjusted by stakeholders until an agreement is
  reached. There is, however, a possible conflict
  of interest between stakeholders such as those
  dependent on tourism, who can see the benefit of
  managed and improved habitats and fishermen who
  need a daily income. One possible solution to the
  problem is a dialogue so that fishermen may
  understand the potential benefits of maintaining
  their fishing grounds to ensure sustainable
  catches.

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(g) Define ecotourism as tourism based on the
appreciation of the natural environment, and
identify and assess types of ecotourism that
support or undermine conservation.

• Ecotourism (also referred to ecological tourism)
  has a number of aims including
• travel to natural destinations, including
  fragile and protected areas
• having a low impact on the area
• educating the traveler
• providing funds for local conservation
• benefiting the local economic development
• encouraging respect for different cultures.

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(g) Define ecotourism as tourism based on the
appreciation of the natural environment, and
identify and assess types of ecotourism that
support or undermine conservation.

• This is clearly not the same as placing hotels in
  a beautiful landscape and exploiting the local
  area. The concept of ecotourism is often
  misunderstood and there is a wide spectrum of
  tourism activities from those with true
  ecotourism criteria, to those which although
  claiming to be environmentally friendly are, in
  reality, nothing of the sort. At worse, these
  tourist activities are environmentally
  destructive and culturally insensitive.

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(h) Argue the benefits to conservation of
responsible practice in tourism, including energy
conservation, recycling, use of sustainable
sources of building materials and sponsorship of
conservation.

• Candidates should recognize that energy
  conservation, recycling and the use of
  sustainable sources of building materials are
  practices which reduce the impact of tourism on
  the environment and help to ensure sustainability
  of ecotourism. The revenue generated by
  ecotourism should also help to sponsor
  conservation projects. However, there may be a
  conflict of interest here as many ecotourism
  resorts are owned by foreign investors and there
  is a risk, therefore, that profits will not be
  re-invested in the local economy or in
  conservation projects.