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Socio-cultural, environmental issues due to tourism developments in A’pura: Study

27 Jun 2021

By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody   Social problems, environmental pollution, and congestion and crowding out as a result of tourism-related developments taking place in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site of the Ancient City of Anuradhapura has caused significant environmental and socio-cultural issues to the lives of residents, a research carried out in the pre-Covid-19 era notes. The research notes that deforestation and effects on the wildlife, solid waste-related issues, and cultural problems did not have the same impact in terms of environmental and socio-cultural issues affecting the lives of residents in the same area. These findings were made by J.A.P.M. Jayasinghe (attached to the Rajarata University’s Management Studies Faculty’s Tourism and Hospitality Management Department) in a research titled “Effect of Environmental and Socio-Cultural Impacts Caused by Tourism on Residents Lives with Special Reference to the Ancient City of Anuradhapura” which was published in the 2020 Volume 1: Issue 1 of the Trivalent Journal of Archaeology, Tourism, and Anthropology of the Kelaniya University’s Archaeology Department. Tourism, as Jayasinghe puts it, is one of the biggest and fastest growing sectors in the economy, which has significant and both positive and negative impacts with regard to environmental, cultural, social, and economic aspects. As R. Malra notes in “Environmental Impacts of Tourism: Case study of selected destinations of Uttarakhand (India)”, although tourism has an advantage as a contributor to economic development, it has a negative impact on the environment and the society, which can in turn, as noted by P.S. Pratheep in “The Impact of Tourism on Indian Culture”, results in the decline of tourist destinations. C. Hall and A. Lew observe in “Understanding and Managing Tourism Impacts: An Integrated Approach” that while tourism brings a substantial impact to large industries in terms of the social, environmental (at various levels and magnitudes), economic, and political effects, it is, on the other hand, often difficult to differentiate the cause-and-effect relationship between tourism and the society. Tourism is, as Jayasinghe explains, considered a high-risk economic activity for the environment where its operators tend to see it as an economic phenomenon as opposed to a social one. T. Romita underlines in “Sustainable Tourism: The Environmental Impact of ‘Undetected’ Tourism” that the spatial and temporal concentration of tourist demand, is the cause of the majority of the environmental damages. Tourism, as Jayasinghe further expounds, has social and cultural elements. Also, tourism influences cultures and society. Anuradhapura is known for pilgrimage tourism, which is practised in the forms of visiting the Eight Great Places (Atamasthanaya), organising religious programmes on Poya days, and performing rituals, while on the other hand, Anuradhapura is visited for its historic value, architecture, river civilisation, religious rituals in song and dance forms, restaurants and accommodation facilities, transport facilities, and places of attraction, and in turn, these activities provide livelihoods to the locals who are part of the tourism industry. The season is from May to July due to the Poya days with activities like sil campaigns (related to personal conduct), bodhi poojas (material offerings to the Buddha), dansalas (food and drink almsgivings), devotional songs, and pandols and lanterns. Environmental problems affecting Anuradhapura owing to pilgrims and tourists, include the pollution of rivers, lakes, and other water bodies, the disposal of untreated sewage, and the lack of adequate health and sanitation facilities, the indiscriminate disposal of solid waste, the contamination of drinking water systems, the risk of the spread of waterborne diseases, noise pollution, dust pollution, the use of polythene (food items in plastic and polythene packaging), and overcrowding at local attractions. Other impacts include residents giving up agricultural activities and abandoning traditional activities and engaging in the tourism sector owing to the demand for local products including amenities and services, and the increased cost of such goods and services. Jayasinghe notes that currently, the demand for land in the area too has increased, which may result in the inflation of land values. Socio-cultural changes as a result of tourism include changes in habits, clothing, lifestyle, dropping out of school, child labour, crime, prostitution, illegal businesses, the over-commercialisation of cultural and heritage features and resources, and even colonisation by tourists, which may cause the breakdown of the values of the host community. With regard to deforestation and its effects on the wildlife and the alteration of ecosystems due to tourism-related activities including hunting, fishing, and collecting activities, N. Rath and R. Gupta mention in the “Environmental Impact of Tourism” that land is cleared or modified to pave the way for the infrastructure needed for tourism activities, and that this in turn disturbs the pattern of feeding and breeding among animals. Pratheep has observed that the improvement of tourist activities and the accompanying intensive land exploitation, causes environmental, cultural, and social resources to rapidly decline and dwindle. Concerning issues pertaining to solid waste disposal in scenic areas, roadsides, and adjacent to water bodies, M. Aljohani’s “A Study of the Impact of Tourism on the Environment and Jeddah Citizens Perceptions toward Tourism in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia” points out that owing to the construction of recreational and other facilities, sewage from hotels, and other accommodation facilities lead to increased sewage pollution which in turn precipitates serious damage to the health of both humans and animals, the physical appearance of the tourist attraction, water resources, and the biodiversity. On environmental pollution, Jayasinghe emphasised that due to various tourism activities, the high usage of automobiles and the unsuitable development of infrastructure and utilities such as hotels, resorts, and restaurants, there are many negative impacts to the environment. Pertaining to possible social problems, as explained by Jayasinghe, Pratheep, and in G. Nayomi and W.K.A. Gnanapala’s “Socio-Economic Impacts on the Local Community through Tourism Development with Special Reference to Heritance Kandalama”, these involve the transformation and deterioration of religious, social, and moral values, increase in the use of drugs, illegal businesses, prostitution, child abuse, child labour, human trafficking, increased gambling, drunkenness, vice and drugs, theft and petty crimes and other illegal practices, and conflicts among the tourists and the locals. On cultural problems, Pratheep has noted that the expansion of the tourism industry can result in severe cultural and ecological damages. M.G. Rabbany, S. Afrin, A. Rahman, F. Islam, and F. Hoque’s “Environmental Effects of Tourism” points out as an example the construction of buildings that clash with the surrounding environment, causes architectural damage, and reduces the aesthetic appeal of a destination. Therefore, as Jayasinghe observes, cultural heritage must be protected and preserved from such impacts and associated issues. Traffic congestion which occurs when destinations receive a higher number of tourists than its carrying capacity, leads to large areas of agricultural and forest lands being replaced by infrastructure and buildings including restaurants, hotels, shopping complexes, recreation areas, and access roads for the reduction of such. According to the records of the Nuwaragam Palatha Central Divisional Secretariat, there are 18,433 residents living in the Anuradhapura Ancient City area. Jayasinghe had selected a sample of 120 residents using non-probability, convenience sampling. The primary data was collected through a standard questionnaire that was distributed. The environmental impacts that were considered to result in changes to the lives of residents were deforestation and effects on the wildlife, solid waste-related issues, and environmental pollution while socio-cultural impacts that were considered to affect changes to the lives of the denizens were social and cultural problems and congestion and crowding. Deforestation and effects on the wildlife included damage to the natural environment, the destruction of forests and the wildlife by way of illegal activities, the loss of natural habitats for the wildlife, the collection of plants, animals, rocks, and natural matter, and forest and agricultural areas being used for tourism. Solid waste-related issues included garbage piling up in public areas, people not properly discharging waste, the lack of proper awareness on waste management, discharging, reusing and recycling waste, and various health issues arising due to garbage. Environmental pollution-related issues included the environment being destroyed by tourism, the lack of interest in the environment among tourists, increased visual and land, air, and noise pollution, the improper use of water sources and water bodies, and weak regulations being in place for protecting the environment. The social problems include people tending to engage in tourism-related jobs, the consumption of drugs and alcohol, criminal activities, the benefits of tourism reaching only a small group, tourists overusing the basic facilities, and misunderstandings and conflicts that arise between residents and tourists. Cultural problems include damages to cultural properties and values, changes to historic settlements, people abandoning traditional activities, behavioural changes in youths, the commercialisation of cultural artefacts and the neglect of cultural, religious, and historical buildings and spaces. Congestion and crowding out includes tourism leading to crowded public places, infrastructure being overloaded during peak months, less open public spaces available for residents use, traffic and parking-related problems and sanitary and health-related issues. Other environmental and socio-cultural issues to the lives of residents include the moral degradation, colonisation by tourists, and the breakdown of the values of the host community, environmental hazards, and conflicts with regard to the use of lands, and the loss of natural beauty, biodiversity, and wildlife, and impacts to the environmental balance. Solid waste-related issues causing changes to the residents’ lives were relatively high and so was congestion and crowding out, and deforestation and the effects on the wildlife. Jayasinghe noted that since institutional support and the adoption of social and environmentally sound, proper, and exclusive policy measures are lagging behind, these negative drivers impede the strengthening of tourism activities. Therefore, Jayasinghe called for the provision of proper infrastructural facilities such as lodging and boarding, transportation, and institutional services, whilst keeping in mind the fragility and vulnerability of the landscape and the carrying capacity of pilgrimage sites, as such would both enhance socio-cultural development and reduce environmental pollution. “The Government should pay attention to area development and infrastructure facilities for every land in order for them to be used in a sustainable manner whilst introducing laws and regulations regarding proper land use planning. It should also provide proper planning and management programmes and policies for tourism development activities, and provide a manual and set of guidelines about tourism to the local authorities and the people on maintaining the quality of tourism destinations.”


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