the role of tourism in natural resource management in the okavango ...

A common example of the large-scale destruction of an ecosystem through
vegetation removal to accommodate the development of tourist facilities is the case
of the European Alps. Here, hundreds of square kilometres of forest have been
destroyed and replaced by ski pistes, cable cars, pylons, buildings and access
roads, resulting in the slopes being less able to absorb and retain water, leading to
increased susceptibility to soil erosion, floods, landslides and avalanches (Tyler,
1989; Pattullo, 1996). In certain areas of Switzerland, the evacuation of tourists is a
regular occurrence at certain times of the year due to the avalanche risk brought
about by deforestation (Pattullo, 1996). Similar large-scale destruction of forest
ecosystems has occurred elsewhere in areas used predominantly for winter skiing
(Tribe et aI, 2000). A series of mudslides and floods in north and south Tyrol,
Austria, for example, occurred over a three week period in July 1987, killing more
than sixty people, leaving 7 000 people homeless and fifty towns, villages and
holiday centres wrecked (Romeril, 1989). Severe ecological consequences have
also been reported in other popular tourist sites, such as the Mediterranean Basin,
due to deforestation (Grenon and Batisse, 1989; Pattullo, 1996). The direct loss of
often rare and ecologically valuable floral and faunal species from an area through
clearing for tourism development has been reported in, for example, Cyprus
(Andronikou, 1987), the reefs and coral formations of areas in the Caribbean
(Holder, 1988), and Majorca in Spain (Morgan, 1991).
Vegetation cover may also be destroyed or damaged through trampling by walkers
or crushing by tourist vehicles. The loss of vegetation cover in this way is generally
accompanied by soil compaction and the deterioration of soil structure, leading to
increased surface water run off, soil erosion and a decline in species diversity. The
crushing of vegetation by vehicles has been identified as a problem in some of
Kenya's national parks and wildlife reserves (Sindiyo and Pertet, 1984; EIU, 1991;
Pattullo, 1996), while McLaren (1998) argues that access to the Bavarian National
Park in Germany had to be restricted due to unacceptable environmental
degradation by tourists and other recreators, including damage to flora and fauna,
trampling and soil erosion. In frequently used skiing areas, compaction of the
surface snow layer by skis and snow vehicles may prolong the spring thaw reducing
the growth period for plants beneath, thereby disrupting local ecological balance
(Hamele, 1988). This provides a clear example of indirect impacts which may be
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