Climate Change and Tourism - UNEP - Division of Technology ...

UNWTO, 9 July 2008
Impacts and Adaptation at Tourism Destinations
Socio-cultural heritage is an ever more popular attraction for tourists, and cultural activities, as well
as indigenous and folk traditions are among the most fragile aspects of a society. Many have already
disappeared through processes of globalisation, mechanisation, urbanisation, emigration and other
factors. The cultural consequences of physical climate change impacts on landscapes and buildings
may reinforce current trends towards the abandonment and break-up of communities leading to the
loss of rituals and cultural memory. 399 Such attractions as local arts and crafts, dances and traditional
agricultural land-uses are important draws for tourists in destinations such as Australia, Africa and Asia.
400 Traditional skills such as boat-building, fishing and navigation, as well as the way in which boats are
used are based on local conditions of tide, current, wind and wave. If any of these aspects are altered
the suitability of a boat for its purpose may be adversely affected, so that the boat design may no longer
be of use, or the navigation skills used may have to change. 401 Similarly, if marine resources such as
coral reefs, fish stocks and mangrove forests are altered or diminished by climate change this will affect
the attractiveness and food supplies in a destination, and the livelihoods of local people. Coral reefs
cover 0.2% of the ocean floor but contain 25% of marine species globally. They provide livelihoods
to 100 million people globally and provide the basis for industries (tourism, fishing) worth an annual
net benefit of US$ 30 billion. 402 Similarly, one hectare of mangroves is estimated to deliver products
and services worth up to US$ 900,000 (timber and wood chippings, fish spawning, and habitat for
economically important species). 403
In 2005, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) initiated an assessment of the impacts of climate
change on World Heritage; the report, containing twenty-six case studies of natural and cultural heritage,
was published in 2007. 404 These case studies illustrate impacts that have already been observed and
some of those that can be expected in the future. Changes in World Heritage sites due to climate change
will affect a range of tourism segments including nature-based tourism, ecotourism, cultural tourism,
dive tourism, safari tourism and study tourism. The study found, for example, that buried archaeological
evidences could be rapidly lost if the stratigraphic integrity (organization of levels and types) of soils
changed due to changes in precipitation levels, permafrost melting and floods. The report states that:
the melting of glaciers worldwide will alter the appearance of some mountainous regions dramatically
affecting their aesthetic beauty; it found problems for the conservation of biodiversity hotspots listed as
natural World Heritage sites; and that the conservation of properties listed as cultural heritage built in
coastal lowlands is threatened by increased sea level rise and coastal erosion. The report also confirmed
the threat of widespread bleaching and potential death of coral reefs due to sea temperature changes
and increased levels of carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans. In addition, changes in wetting and
drying cycles will induce crystallization and dissolution of salts and affect other popular tourist sites
such as wall paintings, frescos and rock art.
The UNESCO report provides indications of the extent of changes and likely timescales. Regarding
the impacts to Venice, according to moderate change scenarios, Venice is likely to be flooded daily by
2100, with a net loss in altitude of 54 cms. In Australia, projections indicate that by 2100, warming on
the Great Barrier Reef will be between 2–5° C. This will result in large-scale bleaching and widespread
coral death. The frequency of bleaching events is increasing at a rate of about 1.6% more each decade
and bleaching thresholds will be reached on an annual basis well before 2100. 405
Box 7 Selected World Heritage sites and potential impacts 406
Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania
•
•
•
•
At 5,895 m, Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, a volcanic massif with a
snowy peak standing in isolation over the savannah – World Heritage List in 1987.
Approximately 30,000 tourists visit Kilimanjaro each year bringing valuable revenue to the
parks authority and local communities.
If current trends are not changed (losing more than half a metre in thickness each year) this
will lead to the complete disappearance of the Kilimanjaro ice fields in less than 15 years.
407
Consequences for tourism include reduced landscape aesthetics and decreased visitation.
79