<
>
Download

Hausübung
Geowissenschaften

University of Tasmania Hobart

2010

Adam M. ©
2.00

0.26 Mb
sternsternsternsternstern_0.2
ID# 2024







Carrying capacity and management strategies

The concept of carrying capacity is related to the early days of environmental thinking. Manning (2007, p. 31) says that carrying capacity is ‛the point at which impacts of visitor use violate standards for relevant indicators’.

It is important how the behaviour of visitors influences the environment. Another definition is provided by Thomas et al. (2009). They are talking about an ‛unacceptable level of social disadvantages’ for the local population (Thomas et al. 2009, p. 15). Based on Butler´s Resort Cycle Model, they assume that overuse leads to damage of a resource.

Overuse in this context means too many people at a site (locals and visitors). Due to a polluted or crowded environment the next step would be a decline or stagnation of growth in tourism (Thomas et al. 2009). The concept of carrying capacity does not only respond to the natural carrying capacity (Manning 2007).

Especially if related to a sustainable development, visitor’s experiences and social components are important as well. The concept of carrying capacity is a management tool that helps to find a balance between use and recreation.

Carrying capacity frameworks like ‛Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC), Visitor Impact Management (VIM) or Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP)’ are management tools to cope with these challenges (Manning 2007, p. 32).

The Ecotourism Opportunity Spectrum (ECOS) is another management tool particularly developed for ecotourism. ECOS was built by Boyd and Butler and is based on the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) strategy (Ying Lian Bi 2005). The Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) was discussed by authors like Ankre and Emmelin (2006) or Roman et al (2007).

ROS is a planning framework that adopts a zoning system to a certain environment. The system helps to valuate between visitor demands, conservation issues or other forms of usage. Not only the landscape itself, but also the use of the landscape by humans is important.

Roman et al. (2006) looked at a Marine Protected Area in Thailand. They used management models like the Marine Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (MROS) and Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) to achieve important input for the planning process.

The LAC method was used to get basic data about ecological and socioeconomic conditions. The area of the park was split into 10 different research zones. Basically, areas with an equal estimated sensibility were put together. Biological data about the coral communities and their mortality were collect.

The trampling of coral communities by snorkelers is one of the main problems in reef areas. The research detected areas with higher mortality in the northern part of the reef. Furthermore the study figured out that the vulnerability of damage differs between different coral types.

Areas with high biodiversity and more different coral communities were located in the southern zones. As mentioned before, socio-economic issues are important as well. A questionnaire given to the park visitors figured out, that visitors prefer the southern part of the reef.

This made quite clear, that a higher diversity leads to a higher visitor satisfaction. Further, visitors indicated that they feel crowded if there are more than 35 people at the site. The basic data about visitor perceptions and the biological conditions of the site provided important information to apply the zoning scheme MROS to the site.

There are a few issues that are important to make management tools like carrying capacity frameworks successful. Tourism businesses are situated in distinct environments facing different problems. There are some issues concerning visitor surveys that should be considered.

The geographical position of the site and different experiences of visitors are important factors. Parks close to urban environments are often important recreation sites. Some people may visit the park regularly. These people are likely to have other perceptions than first-time visitors.

To assist management plans, indicators should be developed and implemented (Moore and Polley 2007). Furthermore these indicators should not only focus on the local scale but implement regional scale issues. To meet the requirements of a sustainable development, basic research concerning social, environmental and economic factors is important.

Continuous monitoring is essential to identify changes in visitor´s behaviour or environmental conditions. If these main issues are carefully attended, management strategies can be a good approach to achieve sustainable development.


| | | | |
Tausche dein Hausarbeiten