Assignment One
Part A: Proposal
Description of Proposal:
This proposal focuses on the creation of an ecological tourist activity in a tropical biome. This particular activity, though is focused around a particular facility than on a specific activity. The location would be in the tropical rainforests of Brazil. There could, in this way, be a facility that guides people on treks. The idea is essentially for a low impact facility of volunteer ecological stewards. In this way, the compound could be dedicated to educating those taking part in the program in sustainable activities that will ultimately be geared towards the progression of health of the environment. These programs would include tours of the area, but focusing on the need to reduce the impact that these activities have on the environment. Activities would include guided tours of the rainforests with educational and informational approach to the area.
Justification:
In doing this, the facility could not only provide the necessary income to expand, but could also have an impact of the greater environment as well. While there could also be an impact from those who participate in the tours, the focus on the ecological perspectives of sustainability could allow the individuals taking part to actually have a positive impact on the environment. Guided tours through these areas often have a negative impact on the environment, so there is risk involved in creating the events, however, the knowledge that people could gain of the area could, all in all, have a potentially positive impact on the area.
Target customer:
The target consumer for these ecotourism events would be both those who are interested in hiking in nature as well as those who are interested in creating a positive impact on the environment, and learning about the tropical biome. These customers would be individuals who have both the time and the money to spend on learning about these various issues. By providing these services, many with these aspects may take part and provide an overall more beneficial foundation for the management of the rainforest.
The location of this particular proposal is in the rainforests of Brazil. This area is known for the difficulty that the management have had in keeping illegal activity from occurring. By providing these services in the area, and by limiting the impact that they have on the environment, the increase in tourism could prevent illegal activities from occurring, due to the fact that there would be more people, as well as more money coming in, and therefore a better ability to prevent people from doing things that would potentially hurt the ecological environment of the area.
Part B: Overview of Environmental Impacts
Damage: Damage to the local ecosystem could be potentially harmful as more individuals enter the areas that were previously not used to being occupied by people.
Hunting: While the basic idea of the proposal is centered around education and ecological tourism many other individuals may go outside of the bounds of the program and hunt rare animals.
Overpopulation: Having more individuals in the area could be potentially harmful. In this way, these people are being introduced into an area with a delicate balance that is not used to sustaining them.
Pollution: Pollution is another potential issue, as people touring the area might be leaving supplies behind, which the environment would not be used to having around.
Biodiversity Loss: The introduction of all of these stresses on the environment could lead to the overall loss of biodiversity, having a negative impact on the environment.
Water Degradation: The impact of introducing a greater stress on the water supply of the area could possibly have a negative influence on the health of the water supply.
Water Loss: By introducing these stress factors to the water supply, the overall level of water in the area could decrease, leading to the overall consumption of the system which could have potentially contained enough for what was there in the past.
Part C: Scoping Process for Ecotourism Proposal
There are many potential negative impacts on the environment, which are caused by the presence of those taking part in the eco tourist activities, most can be mitigated through the close monitoring and observation of the natural biome. Those actions that have a negative impact must be carefully observed in order to educate individuals on their role in the environmental problems that they face. In this way, the problems involved with these eco tourist activities can be solved through the observation of the issues and managing the amount of resources that are impacted by their presence.
