Linking Culture and the Environment

20 Recreation Ecology in Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism
although it is recognized that the concept of sustainability also encompasses
economic, political and sociocultural dimensions.
One important criterion for evaluating ecological sustainability of tourism
is the extent to which undesirable environmental effects of tourism
development and tourist activities are prevented or minimized. Previous
research has realized that tourism, if unchecked, can be as destructive as
other industries (Cohen, 1978). Corporate social responsibility and concerns
about the future potential loss of tourism due to overburdened water and
sewage systems, coral bleaching and other tourism development impacts
have resulted in a number of operational, sourcing and other practice changes
across the travel and leisure sectors (e.g. CELB, 2008). Ecotourism, thought to
be environmentally benign, can also induce substantial ecological changes at
primitive destination areas (Wall, 1997; Marion and Leung, 1998; Blangy and
Mehtac, 2006). Many of these areas may be further at risk due to insufficient
resources and management attention. Bruner et al. (2004), for instance,
revealed an annual total funding shortfall of more than US$1 billion in their
study of protected areas in developing countries.
Recreation ecology is the scientific study of ecological changes associated
with visitor activities and effective ways to manage such changes (Liddle,
1997; Hammitt and Cole, 1998). Visitors include outdoor recreationists, mass
tourists and ecotourists. Knowledge of recreation ecology is most relevant in
addressing the issue of ecological sustainability of tourism within protected
area boundaries. While most components of tourism can result in environmental
impacts, the scope of this chapter is limited to visitor activity impacts
within protected areas, which play a critical role in sustainable tourism by
maintaining biodiversity and related ecosystem services (e.g. pollination,
aesthetic benefits), protecting land from more exploitative resource uses, and
generating revenues for local communities and for conservation.
The objectives of this chapter are to demonstrate the relevancy of recreation
ecology to tourism and ecotourism research and management, and to
examine how recreation ecology can contribute to an improved understanding
and evaluation of ecological sustainability of tourism and ecotourism in protected
areas. This chapter begins by providing an overview of recreation and
tourism’s environmental impacts, followed by a brief synthesis of recreation
ecology knowledge. The connections between recreation ecology and tourism
research are highlighted and followed by a discussion of some potential contributions
recreation ecology can make to sustainable tourism and ecotourism.
The chapter concludes with recommendations for further integration between
recreation ecology and tourism. Studies published since the last edition are
added throughout the chapter to reflect the recent progress in this topic.
Environmental Impacts of Recreation and Tourism
The linkage between tourism and the environment is well established in the
literature (Farrell and Runyan, 1991; Mieczkowski, 1995; Buckley et al., 2003).
Environments provide the resource base essential for many forms of tourism,