Planning-for-sustainable-tourism-in-southern-Pulau-Banggi-An-assessment-of-biophysical-conditions-and-their-implications-for-future-tourism-developmen

journal of environmental management 85 2007 999 1008 planning for sustainable tourism in southern pulau banggi an assessment of biophysical conditions and their implications for future tourism development lydia teha annadel s cabanbanb ainstitute for resources environment and sustainability university of british columbia aquatic ecosystem research laboratory 428 2202 main mall vancouver bc canada v6t 1z4 bborneo marine research institute universiti malaysia sabah locked bag 2073 88999 kota kinabalu sabah malaysia received 3 december 2005 received in revised form 29 october 2006 accepted 6 november 2006 available online 3 january 2007 abstract a priori assessments of a site s biophysical and socio economic capacity for accommodating tourism are less common than tourism impact studies a priori evaluations can provide a contextual understanding of ecological economic and socio cultural forces which shape the prospects for sustainable tourism development at the host destination and can avert adverse impacts of tourism we conduct an a priori assessment of the biophysical environment of pulau banggi in the malaysian state of sabah for sustainable tourism development we characterise baseline conditions of the island s marine biodiversity seasonality and infrastructure we then evaluate how existing biophysical conditions will infl uence options for sustainable tourism development in particular we suggest conditions if there are any which constitute a limit to future tourism development in terms of compatibility for recreation and resilience to visitor impacts we fi nd that the biggest constraint is the lack of adequate water and sanitation infrastructure blast fi shing although occurring less than once per hour can potentially destroy the major attraction for tourists we conclude that while pulau banggi possesses natural qualities that are attractive for ecotourism fi nancial and institutional support must be made available to provide facilities and services that will enable local participation in environmental protection and enhance prospects for future sustainable tourism r 2006 elsevier ltd all rights reserved keywords a priori biophysical assessment sustainable tourism sabah small scale marine tourism 1 introduction ecotourism is increasingly being lauded as a sustainable development option for rural communities one that is able to spur economic development vogt 1997 and instill environmental protection at the same time cater 2002 it is frequently cited to be the fastest growing sector within the tourism industry weaver 2002 and in contrast to conventional tourism subscribes to the principles of environmental protection and social responsibility since the term ecotourism was fi rst introduced in the mid 1980s it has grown in popularity and is now advocated by the likes of international aid agencies and non government organisations for its emphasis on community involvement and protection of natural resources weaver 2002 in this paper we defi ne ecotourism as travel to relatively undisturbed places for the purpose of observing and enjoying the area s biological resources and which is conducted in a way that minimises environmental impacts is respectful of local cultures and produces fair benefi ts to all users this incorporates conservation equity and educational values ceballos lascura in 1991 that consti tute the core of ecotourism although ecotourism lays claim to higher principles it nevertheless impinges upon the biophysical and socio cultural environment at the destination by consuming and competing for resources such as water land and fi sheries like any resource use activity ecotourism risks becoming article in press 0301 4797 see front matter r 2006 elsevier ltd all rights reserved doi 10 1016 j jenvman 2006 11 005 corresponding author tel 16048220067 fax 16048229250 e mail addresses clteh interchange ubc ca l teh annadelc ums edu my a s cabanban unsustainable if local ecological and socio cultural capa cities are not respected wall 1997 conversely properly plannedandimplementedecotourismcancontribute towards conservation and sustainable use of marine and terrestrial resources at the host destination white and rosales 2001 notably ecotourism can complement broader resource management regimes when it is incorporated into marine protected areas or coastal zone management white and rosales 2001 often the pristine environment of pro tected areas provides an ideal venue for ecotourism pursuits lawton 2001 yet these are the very sites most susceptible to visitor impacts that can degrade attractions such as coral reefs or damage wildlife and trails farrell and marion 2001 tourism in marine parks may be a double edged sword as related development can occur to the detriment of marine park conservation objectives fauzi and buchary 2002 achieving sustainable tourism defi ned here as tourism that is ecologically benign economically feasible and socially acceptable is thus contingent on environmental protection and reconciling tourism activities with local socio economic values brown et al 1997 this necessi tates the integration of two components the biophysical including the living environment and infrastructure and the socio economic relating to issues of local attitudes perceptions and changes to quality of life due to tourism impacts both have thresholds or natural limits within which ecotourism must operate surpassing these thresh olds through unplanned development inevitably leads towards environmental degradation or social confl ict wong 1998 much of the tourism literature consists of impact studies that deal with the outcome of tourism after development has taken place while a priori assessments of a site s biophysical and socio economic capacity for accommodat ing tourism are less common yet studies have shown after the fact that the resource demands and activities of tourism can easily surpass an area s biophysical and social limits resulting in deteriorated environmental quality and un desirable socio cultural outcomes musa 2002 including decline in groundwater quality kahoru and yap 2001 decrease in groundwater reserves go ssling 2001 exhaus tion of local fi sheries white and rosales 2001 loss of land ownership and inequitable distribution of monetary benefi ts liu 2003 a priori evaluations can provide a contextual understanding of ecological economic and socio culturalforces whichshapetheprospectsfor sustainable tourism development at the host destination this paper presents an a priori evaluation of the potential for developing sustainable tourism within the biophysical context of pulau island banggi an undeve loped island off the northern coast of sabah in malaysian borneo we fi rst outline a set of biophysical criteria which include marine biodiversity seasonality and oceano graphic conditions water resources and distribution and waste management we then apply these criteria in an assessment using banggi as a case study and discuss how existing biophysical conditions infl uence options for future sustainable tourism development 2 background worldwide southeast asia is one of the fastest growing touristdestinations withmalaysia singaporeand thailand leading the way wong 1998 from 1990 to 1999 tourist arrivals in malaysia grew by 6 5 world travel and tourism council 2002 and the tourism industry is expected to maintain strong annual real growth of 6 4 between 2001 and 2010 world travel and tourism council 2002 malaysia s rich natural heritage is a prime attraction for ecotourists who arrive to experiencethecountry slushrainforests mountains beaches and islands in sabah mount kinabalu the highest peak in southeast asia and pulau sipadan one of the top scuba diving destinations in the world according to rodale s scuba diving magazine are major visitor attractions in recent years the increasing number of visitor arrivals to marine parks in malaysia gef 2004 available at http thegef org and sabah cabanban and nais 2003 suggests that recreation centred on coral reefs isagrowingtrendandthatthesedelicatemarine ecosystems will likely be subject to mounting anthropo genic stress although tourism is an important economic vehicle for host countries the effects of uncontrolled tourism devel opment degrade coastal ecosystems wong 1998 and are cause for concern in coral reef based destinations such as sabah the demand for tourist amenities and ambition of local tourism authorities and businesses can result in concentrated development along narrow coastal areas that not only threaten the integrity of near shore landscapes and corals but also the serenity and wilderness factor that are the foundation of this sector nowhere was this more evident than in pulau sipadan where all six resorts on the tiny 16ha island were recently removed in light of the negative effects resort based tourism was having on the island s fragile ecosystem daily express 2004 available at my this underscores the need to entrench biophysical assessments in tourism management plans well before development begins and irreparable damage is incurred 2 1 tourism in pulau banggi tourism is one of three priority productive sectors under sabah shalatujupembangunandankemajuan state development agenda receipts from foreign tourists in sabah alone generated rm 1 28 billion in 2003 making tourism one of the fastest growing sectors in the state economy institute of development studies 2005 avail able at www ids org my from 1998 to 2004 international tourist arrivals in sabah increased by 200 culminating in a total of 980 000 international visitors in 2004 sabah article in press l teh a s cabanban journal of environmental management 85 2007 999 10081000 tourism board 2005 available at www sabahtourism com the northern region of kudat and banggi is earmarked for tourism development with the national launching of the tip of borneo attraction in the town of kudat in 2004 being a product of this initiative nevertheless tourism remains close to non existent in banggi as an indication the guesthouse in banggi which is the primary visitor accommodation receives an average of 20 guests per month the majority of whom are government offi cials on fi eld duty as of may 2005 foreign tourists had rarely visited the island guesthousemanager personalcommunication2005 on the other hand scientists and researchers have a regular presence on banggi as the area has become a focus of various projects carried out by local university students and non governmental organisations since the early 2000s twolocationswithgreatestpotentialfortourism development are pulau maliangin besar off southern banggi and tanjung cape menyangit on the west coast of banggi assistant district offi cer personal communica tion 2005 in the past 3 years efforts by a private company to establish an eco resort on maliangin besar have culminated in an agreement with local landowners to begin construction of chalets on the island s southwest beach in spring 2005 a likely enhancement for tourism in banggi is the proposed creation of the tun mustapha park tmp a managed resource area category vi iucn whose boundary will span one million hectares and include the banggi cluster of islands the establishment of the tmp was approved by the sabah state government in march 2003 amidst growing concerns over the exploitation of marine resources in sabah s northern region the protec tionandrecoveryenvisionedforthearea smarine resources will likely attract ecotourists who can appreciate the underwater biodiversity through activities such as scuba diving snorkelling and swimming 2 2 coastal communities of banggi fishing is the source of livelihood for 70 of banggi inhabitants anonymous 2003 another 26 are in volved in farming and agriculture with the remainder being employed in services anonymous 2003 banggi inhabitants depend on the extraction of marine resources for subsistence and income generation which besides fi shing also includes reef gleaning collection of inverte brates and harvesting of turtle eggs coastal villagers still use mainly traditional methods of extraction which accounts in part for the island s slow economic progress many households live at or are below the offi cial poverty line in sabah of rm 685 per month lee 2002 a socio economicsurveyconductedbytheborneomarine research institute reported that monthly average house hold income is only rm 349 institut penyelidikan marin borneo 2003 population growth in banggi is high witharate ofincreaseof 4 4 per annum anonymous 2003 compared to a national average of 1 6 department of statistics malaysia 2005 available at www statistics gov my article in press pulau banggi kudat sabah sulu sea south china sea 040 kilometers n pulau balambangan pulau malawali fig 1 map of sabah showing banggi cluster of islands l teh a s cabanban journal of environmental management 85 2007 999 10081001 3 methods and materials 3 1 study area banggi was created as a sub district of the district of kudat in 1975 it is situated at the northern tip of sabah between longitude 117130and 1171250e and latitude 71070 and 71230n covering an area of 450km2 it is the largest island in malaysia and consists of the main islands of banggi balambangan malawali and about 50 small outlying islands fig 1 banggi is fl anked by the south china sea to the west sulu sea to the east the balabac strait to the north and the banggi channel to the south the closest town on mainland sabah is kudat approximately 30km away this study focuses on tourism development in southern banggi where the administrative and economic hub of kampung village karakit is situated to the north of kampung kg karakit is kg perpaduan and to the south lies kg singgahmata all situated along a stretch of coast about 2km long fig 2 pulau maliangin besar is a small peripheral island on the southwestern edge of banggi and a destination of interest to private entrepreneurs as well as state agencies for ecotourism development the island has an area of approximately 1 5km2 nor 1996 and is located about 5km from karakit topographically three quarters of maliangin besar is fl at nor 1996 the highest point is a peak in the south eastern corner that rises 123m national imagery and mapping agency 2002 3 2 sources of data we assembled quantitative data from primary and grey literature to assess i marine biodiversity ii weather and oceanographic conditions and iii water resources and distribution qualitative information from personal ob servations recorded during two fi eld visits to banggi and unpublisheddata teh 2005 providematerialfor contextual evaluation of local biophysical and social conditions 3 3 criteria for a priori assessment our assessment evaluates biophysical variables that affect the environmental and aesthetic qualities of the destination as well as socio economic well being of local communities these are key determinants of long term sustainability for tourism operations 3 3 1 marine biodiversity abundant underwater marine life is a prime attraction for ecotourists and a prerequisite for marine based activities such as scuba diving and snorkelling in a survey of diver preferences williams and polunin 2000 found that fi ve attributes variety of fi sh abundance of fi sh variety of corals other large animals and unusual fi sh were the most preferred attributes to view on a dive therefore locations that can offer a variety and abundance of marine life including fi sh corals and marine mammals will be better able to offer the underwater experience that visitors seek 3 3 2 seasonality and oceanographic conditions the ability to conduct marine based activities is heavily dependent on favourable weather conditions which are important for safety reasons as well as for the enjoyment of visitors shafer and inglis 2000 found that weather conditions including water and air temperature sea conditions currents and winds affect how favourably visitors perceive their experience at various sites on the great barrier reef poor weather conditions are more likely to negatively affect beginner divers who are more prone to stress due to lack of experience when analysing local trends in weather seasonality and oceanographic conditions we make a qualitative judgement on how conducive these factors are for marine recreationists and ecotourism operators 3 3 3 water resources and distribution fresh groundwater is one of the most demanded resources by the tourist industry thus extremely vuln erable to over exploitation in zanzibar tourists daily article in press fig 2 villages of southern banggi l teh a s cabanban journal of environmental management 85 2007 999 10081002 consumption of water was 15 times higher than locals daily water consumption go ssling 2001 as a result of tourism development some local wells in zanzibar ran out of freshwater water became more saline there was a shift to relying on inland piped water and water shortages were experienced go ssling 2001 additional consumption of water by the tourism sector not only has negative environmental impacts but also creates socio economic hardship for local communities as such availability of freshwater is a vital criterion for consideration 3 3 4 waste management the negative impacts of land based pollutants such as sewage pollution and sedimentation on coral reefs are well documented in the literature edinger et al 1998 found that coral species diversity at shallow depths 3m declined by 40 60 on reefs that were stressed by land based pollution and that this decline became more pronounced at 10m depth groundwater is also at risk of contamina tion which is a negative health prospect for residents the presence of garbage and human waste are major deterrents for tourists shafer and inglis 2000 and therefore should be a management priority from an ecological and social perspective then the installation of functional waste treatment and disposal facilities must be a prerequisite for tourism development 4 results and analysis 4 1 characterisation of biophys