Green Management

GreenManagement

GreenManagement

NovaScotia is a province in Canada. In the year 2004, Nova Scotiareceived approximately $1.3billion revenue from the tourism industry.The total number of tourists visiting Nova Scotia increased by 2million visits starting the year 2005 (Tourism Industry of NovaScotia, 2014). Recreation and adventure tourism has been a fastgrowing area in the tourism sector in Canada. Tourists interested inthis industry are in need of travel adventures that focus on natureand culture as well as recreational experiences. Tourists focusing inadventure always wish to experience a natural environment that is notspoiled in any given manner. Some of the areas that these touristsfocus on include protected wildlife and forests. The manner, inwhich the available collective resources, as well as the caredirected to Nova Scotia`s sea and landscapes, is a primary factorthat influences the tourist’s perception and impression towards thetourism industry. According to researchers, there are threesignificant environmental issues associated with poor management ofthe tourism activities. This paper will explore the environmentalissues and their causes, the environmental and industrial impacts aswell as the strategies that should be implemented to eliminate them.

Depletionof the available natural resources is a primary concern in thetourism industry of Nova Scotia. The Canadian tourist economy largelydepends on the natural resources. The depletion is caused by cuttingdown of forests, poaching as well as using water in a non-sparingmanner. Tourism is highly dependent on water, therefore, as theCanadian tourist industry continues to grow, the demand for freshwater increases. Some of the effects associated with naturalresources depletion include degradation of water supplies, shortageof water as well as reduced number of wildlife consequently resultingin reduced number of tourists. Some of the strategies on how toconserve natural resources include first, analyzing the amount ofwater used in the province as well as how it is used so as to come upwith an appropriate strategy for water conservation. Secondly,educate the public, the staff and the tourists on the conservationpractices of water and forest management practices. Thirdly,encouragement of community members and the staff to reuse greywateris essential. For instance, water used for washing dishes can be usedin irrigation to minimize water wastage (George, 2013). Finally,water control devices such as low flow toilets and shower headsshould be installed to reduce the amount of water used by anindividual on a daily basis.

Pollutionis another significant environmental issue in the tourist economy ofNova Scotia. This can be in the form of emission of chemicals andoils to water surfaces and air, poor disposal of solid waste, noise,and sewage. Some of the effects of pollution include contamination ofsurface and ground water, degradation of fauna and flora habitat aswell as various diseases associated with the harmful air emissions.These air emissions are mostly from the industries as well as openburning of plastic materials (Murphy, 2013). These effectsconsequently result in the reduction of visitors due to thethreatened viability of the tourist environment. Some of thestrategies that need to be implemented to curb the problem includeeducating visitors on how to dispose of solid wastes properly.Another approach is providing appropriately-sized bins for organicmaterials, garbage, and any other solid waste and placing them in astrategic place where they can be clearly seen and accessed by boththe staff and tourists. The bins should be placed in high trafficareas, and the staff should ensure the bins are emptied regularly(Tourism Industry of Nova Scotia, 2014). Also, the staff shouldpractice pollution prevention use of refillable containers in guestrooms and restaurants, using environmentally-friendly materials suchas cleaners and maximum use of recyclable or biodegradable products.Finally, the staff should educate their community members on how todispose of wastes that cannot be recycled, reused or reduced orinstance private waste haulers and municipalities.

Finally,physical landscapes alteration is another environmental effect in thetourist industry. Lakes, parks, sand beaches and other ecosystemsrich in species are altered during the development of infrastructurefor tourist use. Similarly, when visitors track over similar trailsconsecutively over an extended period, it causes trampling of thelandscapes. Trampling is dangerous as it can likely damage thevegetation and soil in a particular area, which consequently leads toloss of biodiversity (George, 2013). Conservation of biodiversity iscrucial because it is the main attraction to tourists. Some of thestrategies to reduce this problem or eliminate it include first,educating the visitors why they should stick to the open markedtrails by use of posters. Secondly, sensitize the tourists on why theendangered fauna and flora should not be touched or taken. Thirdly,it should be made clear on the number of visitors to be allowed tophysically access a particular landscape at a given time to eliminatethe effects associated with trampling. Finally, tourists should beprovided with educational materials to enable them to understand thelocal environment, reasons to why they need to conserve it andmeasures they should take to conserve it.

Conclusively,for Nova Scotia to continue experiencing the high number of touristsand revenue from the tourism industry, the following recommendationsshould be taken into consideration. First, the staff should improveenvironmental management measures and planning. Secondly, awarenessshould be raised concerning environmental conservation and managementby the staff members. Finally, lobbying of the government isessential to ensure better environmental opportunities and servicesfor tourists.

References

George,E. W. (2013). World Heritage, Tourism Destination, and AgriculturalHeritage Landscape: The Case of Grand Pré, Nova Scotia,Canada.&nbspJournalof Resources and Ecology,&nbsp4(3),275-284.

Murphy,P. E. (2013).&nbspTourism:A community approach (RLE Tourism).Routledge.

TourismIndustry of Nova Scotia (2014).The Future of Nova Scotia’s NaturalResources: A Tourism Perspective.