Blurring Thresholds by Nelisha Mehta (B.Arch Thesis)

2.2 Debate between Constructed and Unconstructed Wetlands
The obvious approach to tourism in natural environments
is the construction of visitor centers or resorts. The
construction of these facilities in natural ecosystems can
have polarizing implications. For example, the ecological
restoration in Bang Tao Bay in Phuket by the Banyan Tree
Group (a hospitality brand), successfully invested USD 200
million and transformed an abandoned polluted wasteland to
a successful resort. They adopted sustainable principles and
planted more than 7000 native plants which appealed to the
diverse birds and animals in the region, effectively restoring
the flora and fauna. Laguna Phuket Resort also provided
various economic benefits like job opportunities to the local
communities in the construction and hospitality sectors
(Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention 2012 on Wetlands 57).
On the other hand, in Skokjan Caves in Slovenia, the government
had invested 430,000 Euros to construct a visitor center, walkways
and other amenities like restaurants and museums between
1999 and 2010, in the hopes of conservation and boosting their
tourism industry. Unfortunately, the lack of creative tourism
products led to a decline in number of tourists over the years from
an average of 12,900 to 3,500 tourists in a month. This example
illustrates the importance and balance of all three contributors
of a sustainable design. The decline in tourist satisfaction led to a
decline in the sustainable tourism practices, ultimately affecting
the economy of the region and maintenance of the caves.
(Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention 2012 on Wetlands 47,61).
Constructed tourism spaces do not always translate to successful
examples for the implementation of sustainable tourism.
There are various wetlands on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of
International Importance that are unconstructed yet ensure
responsible harmonious tourism. One such example would be
Lake Nakuru in Kenya. This Ramsar site is one of the symbols of
tourism in Kenya, a country whose international tourism is based
widely on the native wildlife. The main tourism opportunities
offered in the national park are activities that do not require
permanent infrastructures such as bird watching, game drives
and safaris (RAMSAR, Wetland Tourism : Kenya – Lake Nakuru.
While tourism in wetlands provide various benefits to the
society, if poorly managed they can pose as challenges to the
existence of these ecosystems. Some of these concerns include
unsustainable maintenance of the biodiversity by tourists, risk
of alteration of existing habitats and ecological processes,
improper use of land and resources for recreational activities
and so on. The opposite is also true, the alterations of
the ecological traits of the wetland ecosystem can alter
the services they provide including tourism (Secretariat
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