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196 environmental compatibility
means for self-regulation of its environmental
performance �see also regulation, self).
Environmental auditing, whether required by
regulation or legislation or undertaken as a selfregulatory
initiative, can be a useful management
tool in helping to achieve sustainable tourism
development. As global demands on space and
resources grow with increased population, technological
change and greater mobility and awareness,
pressure will emerge for the industry to implement
appropriate approaches for monitoring and evaluating
its environmental performance, as is increasingly
the norm with other sectors of the
economy. The challenge facing tourism development
is to endorse an effective self-monitoring and
evaluation process for environmental auditing
before mandatory compliance measures are imposed
by regulatory action from outside the
industry.
See also: environmental compatability;
legislation, environmental; planning,
environmental; quality, environmental; sustainable
development
Further reading
Buckley, R. �1991) Perspectives in Environmental
Management, Berlin and New York: Springer
Verlag.
Ding, P. and Pigram, J. �1995) `Environmental
audits: an emerging concept in sustainable
tourism development', Journal of Tourism Studies
�6)2: 2±10.
Goodall, B. �1995) `Environmental auditing: a tool
for assessing the environmental performance of
tourism firms', The Geographical Journal 161�1):
29±37.
PEIYI DING, AUSTRALIA
environmental codes of ethics see codes of
ethics, environmental
environmental compatibility
Environmentally compatible tourism describes a
situation whereby the industry and the environ-
ment are able to exist in harmony so that the
former does not detract from or harm the latter
and vice versa. Increasing environmental awareness
and conservation activities around the globe
have contributed to efforts to form this philosophy.
In order to reduce the conflicts and enhance the
relationship between the two, environmental impact
statements are now required in many
countries as part of the approval and monitoring
and evaluation processes for tourism projects,
particularly if a development is large or located
in or adjacent to sensitive sites such as protected
areas, rainforests, coastlines or estuaries. Further
developments in environmentally compatible tourism
approaches can be seen in the implementation
of environmental auditing processes in the
public and private sectors.
The key to achieving such goals for a
ecologically sustainable tourism industry is
recognition of the need for environmentally
sensitive policy making, planning and development.
The integration of tourism and the
environment is being carried out at different
levels in a number of places and for a variety of
reasons, with various mechanisms being utilised.
Strategies and related activities range in size from
small to large-scale projects and include various
economic, nature conservation, cultural, social
heritage, spatial/regional and political benefits
and costs. On a broader national and global scale,
approaches to integrating tourism and environmental
objectives are being developed and
promoted by national and international tourism
agencies, and to a limited extent by multinational
corporations.
Further reading
Dowling, R.K. �1992) `Tourism and environmental
integration: the journey from idealism to realism',
in A.W. Seaton �ed.), Tourism:State of the Art,
Chichester: Wiley. �Provides an overview of the
history of the relationship between tourism and
the environment and recognises the link between
environmentally compatible tourism and sustainable
development approaches.)
Farrell, B.H. and McLellan, R.W. �1987) `Tourism
and physical environmental research', Annals of
Tourism Research 18�1): 41±56. �Presnts a broad