谈论旅游可持续发展.doc

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: TOURISM DEBATE1 OBJECTIVES After reading this Unit you will be able to: understand the concept of sustainable development, know about some of the major developmental approaches, link the above mentioned objectives with tourism development, and appreciate the role to be played by different segments of the tourism system for sustainable tourism development. 2 INTRODUCTION In 1999, international tourist arrivals touched the 664 million figure. Out of this 62.1 per cent market share went to 15 countries. In terms of international tourism receipts of US $455 billion, with US having the largest share of US $ 74.4 billion. Well these figures are not just numbers as they demonstrate a variety of things. Massive movements of people also mean utilization and consumption of resources (both man-made and natural) and leaving behind impacts (socio -cultural, environmental, economic, etc.). If you add to this the numbers of domestic tourists (virtually ignored in such analysis) the resources consumed and the impacts would be mind-boggling. The impacts are both positive as well as negative. Whereas the developed and rich nations have the resources to mitigate the negative impacts, the poor and developing nations continue to suffer in this regard. However, in both the cases application of the concept of sustainable development is the talk of the day. Hence, the development debate has been consciously selected as the first theme of this course. The Unit starts with describing the concept of sustainable development and goes on to explain some aches. Of course, the emphasis is on the tourism development. Why should the industry support the efforts for sustainable tourism development and what should be the role of consumers (tourists) and service providers (hosts) are the other questions which the Unit attempts to answer. In brief the Unit also discusses the views of WTO on the issue of sustainability in tourism development. It is expected that the knowledge provided in this Unit would be put into actual practice by our learners.3 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT The two alternative paths for development, i.e., you live in harmony with nature or you exploit nature have always been available to the human beings. Different societies, at different intervals have adopted either of the two paths. Some, on the other hand, adopted a middle path. There are village societies where while consuming the natural resources precautions were taken that the future generations should not be adversely affected. Decision making in such societies was done keeping in view the interests of future generations and not just of the present ones. Hence, what in modern terminology is described as sustainable may not be a new concept for many students of history. With over 300 definitions of sustainable development and every one claiming to be a “green”, it is not an easy task to define sustainability in the developmental context. However, the awareness and growth of nature conservation, concern for environmental degradation, etc. have all contributed to the emergence of this concept in its modern sense. The most widely accepted definition is the one given by Brundtland Commission in 1987 which defined sustainable development as “a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technology development, and institutional changes are made consistent with future as well as present needs” and as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In 1983, the UN established the World Commission on Environment and Development which was chaired by the Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland. The report of this commission Sustainability is an integrative concept because it looks at the human use and management of resources in a manner that should not destroy or disturb the habitat that is the basis of survival. Socio- economic and environmental dimensions thus become the focus of the management approach. Changes in the views of the community and its attitudes towards development are relegated to a secondary position. For the first time an effort was made at the international level in 1990 during the Globe 90 Conference (Vancouver, Canada) to link tourism and travel with sustainable development. The Tourism Stream Action Strategy Commission of the conference prepared an Action Strategy for Sustainable Development. Further, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development came with the famous Rio declaration (June 1992). Some of the highlights of this declaration are: In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection should constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it.(Principle 4). All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for s。