Many studies have supported the threats imposed by boat-based tourism on
whale and dolphins, especially amidst poorly-enforced or lacking regulations. Tourist
boats highly impact cetacean behavior, both in short- and long term aspects. Thus,
there is a need to understand the ecological effects of boat-based tourism on
cetaceans along with economic sustainability of the industry. Since long-term
study of ecological indicators may take 15 years or more to detect, it is
impractical and costly. A group of researchers then proposes a cheaper and
faster approach on this issue.
To complement ecological data, they used human dimension data (which is
more readily available) with insights from
Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework to rapidly assess the
ecological impact of dolphin-watching tourism to dolphin populations across six
developing Asian countries: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and
the Philippines. Putting the framework within the context of dolphin-watching tourism, they identified different indicators:
the driver (development potential of
dolphin-watching industry) that build pressure
(number of tour boats, driving behavior, engine noise, etc.) on the environment,
affecting the state (local IUCN
status of species), leading to impact
(change in population dynamics and habitat use) on ecosystems, hence the need
for response (Code of Practice, cap
on daily boat trips, alternative livelihoods, etc.).
Since impact can only be measured through large historical data, the
indicators of the other four components and relationships among them where used
to obtain a proxy, risk, i.e. the
risk of a dolphin-watching industry harming, displacing or causing local
extinction to a target dolphin population. A relative value of 0 to 5 was assigned
for each D-P-S-R indicator: zero risk (0), very low risk (1), low risk (2),
medium risk (3), high risk (4) and very high risk (5). Based on the values of
pressure, state, and response, they obtained an overall risk indicator of local
extinction.
They found high risk to dolphins in India
and Indonesia , intermediate
risk to Cambodia , and
suspected low risk (pending more ecological data) to Thailand ,
Philippines and Malaysia
Aside from alleviating the main contributing component to the overall
risk factor, the study suggests “The introduction of and compliance to a Code
of Practice would significantly reduce the pressure on the local dolphin
populations.”
The international research team includes scientists from Indonesia (Putu Liza Mustika), Australia (Riccardo Welters, Gerard Edward Ryan
- Cambodia , Coralie D’Lima -
India ), Philippines (Patricia Sorongon-Yap), Thailand (Suwat Jutapruet), and Malaysia
This paper is now published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.
This paper is now published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.
You can access the full paper here: A rapid assessment of wildlife tourism risk posed to cetaceans in Asia.
