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the role of tourism in natural resource management in the okavango ...

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Hav<strong>in</strong>g highlighted <strong>the</strong> general concept <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able development, it can now be<br />

applied to <strong>the</strong> <strong>tourism</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong> order to exam<strong>in</strong>e <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>oretical and practical<br />

requirements and implications <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development.<br />

2.12.2 Susta<strong>in</strong>able Tourism Development<br />

Tourism development will only achieve long term success if careful plann<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

<strong>management</strong> are undertaken to deliver a successful <strong>tourism</strong> product. It is only<br />

recently, however, that <strong>the</strong> negative effects <strong>of</strong> <strong>tourism</strong> on a host dest<strong>in</strong>ation have<br />

been recognised. As a result, concepts like environmentalism and 'green<br />

consciousness' have arisen, and <strong>the</strong> value <strong>of</strong> <strong>tourism</strong> to host dest<strong>in</strong>ations has been<br />

reassessed. This process has also led to <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> concepts <strong>of</strong><br />

susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development (Cooper et aI, 1993).<br />

In recent years a considerable amount has been written about <strong>the</strong> need to adopt<br />

pr<strong>in</strong>ciples and policies <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development. However, surpris<strong>in</strong>gly<br />

little appears to have been written, <strong>in</strong> depth, on <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g and implications <strong>of</strong><br />

susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development. There generally appears to be an acceptance <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> WCED (1987) pr<strong>in</strong>ciple <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>ter-generational equity comb<strong>in</strong>ed with <strong>the</strong> hope that<br />

<strong>the</strong> various alternatives to mass <strong>tourism</strong> will fulfil this requirement <strong>in</strong> practice (Hunter<br />

and Green, 1995).<br />

The concept <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able development results from <strong>the</strong> understand<strong>in</strong>g that current<br />

generations are impos<strong>in</strong>g too great a demand upon <strong>the</strong> <strong>natural</strong> environment to allow<br />

it to cont<strong>in</strong>ue to reproduce and ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> itself at its previous level <strong>of</strong> stability (Butler,<br />

1998). This concept <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able development has been applied to <strong>tourism</strong>.<br />

Susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> refers to <strong>tourism</strong> that is developed and carried out <strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>e with<br />

pr<strong>in</strong>cipals <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able development (Hunter and Green, 1995; Tribe et aI, 2000).<br />

Susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development recognises <strong>the</strong> relationship or <strong>in</strong>ter-dependency<br />

between <strong>the</strong> long-term viability <strong>of</strong> economic <strong>in</strong>vestment <strong>in</strong> <strong>tourism</strong> projects,<br />

programmes and policies and <strong>the</strong> favourable <strong>management</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>natural</strong>, built and<br />

human <strong>resource</strong> bases. Thus, susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development seeks to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><br />

and enhance <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> life, and <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tourist experience, at<br />

dest<strong>in</strong>ation areas through <strong>the</strong> promotion <strong>of</strong> economic developments which conserve<br />

(and where necessary preserve), local <strong>natural</strong>, built and cultural <strong>resource</strong>s.<br />

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