Coastal resources and Island Tourism – is sustainability possible?
Islands represented included Jeju, where IUCN held the 2012 World Conservation Congress (WCC); Hawaii were IUCN will hold the 2016 WCC, as well as Phuket, Sri Lanka the Maldives where IUCN is active through mangroves for the Future (MFF). IUCN’s head of Southeast Asia Group Dr Robert Mather was invited by the Phuket Governor to facilitate one of the three sub-themes of the conference, on sustainable management of coastal and marine resources.
While Phuket has been spectacularly successful in terms of tourism expansion – rising from around 40 hotel rooms on the island in the 1970s to closer to 40,000 just 40 years later, this has not been without impacts on the environment. A number of different organizations and groups are however working tirelessly to ensure that Phuket does not become such a victim of its own success that tourism destroys the natural beauty and healthy environments that attracted people in the first place. Several initiatives were showcased in the event, including “Green Fins” which now has around 150 tour and dive operator members around Phuket; “Divers against Debris” which conducts regular reef-cleaning dives; introduction of zoning schemes, and management of sand dunes. Others presented efforts towards waste reduction and solid waste management, and effective implementation of EIA regulations.
Please read more detail form IUCN article here
