Tourism Impact on Environmental Sustainability in the Context of Wildlife Watching Tourism in Protected Areas : A Study of Elephant Watching Tourism in Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka

Tourism in natural areas continues to grow. Consequently, the concerns for impact of tourism on environmental sustainability also grow. Wildlife is an important element of natural environment as well as a main attraction and resource for tourism. Non-consumptive uses of wildlife such as wildlife watching in protected areas have become a very popular nature based tourism sector worldwide. This study aimed to examine tourism disturbance on wildlife, which is one of the main concerns for environmental sustainability associated with wildlife watching tourism in many protected areas worldwide. Studies related to tourism disturbance on wildlife in protected areas are mainly focused on behavioral dimensions of wildlife. Human dimensions of wildlife such as tourist behavior and tourist activities have not been revealed together. Consequently, the result of these studies can only show whether there is a disturbance due to tourism or not, and cannot specify what aspects of tourism is leading to disturbance. Therefore, this study examines both wildlife and tourism aspects simultaneously in identifying tourism disturbance on wildlife and discussing ways to mitigate such impacts. The study is based on elephant watching tourism in a famous national park in Sri Lanka. Two approaches were taken in the study in revealing tourism disturbance on wildlife. First approach aimed to identify the characteristics, wildlife values and behavior of tourists and to discuss their impact on wildlife. Tourist characteristics were revealed based on a concept called recreational specialization. Wildlife values were assessed based on a wildlife value orientation scale. Direct observations were conducted to examine tourist behavior during the tours. It is often assumed that people who participate in non-consumptive wildlife tourism such as wildlife watching are environmental sensitive and supportive of conservational efforts. However, the results of this study showed that most tourists to a natural park on elephant viewing were novices with no or less experience and orientation towards wildlife. As a result, they tended to behave disruptively to wildlife during the tours. Therefore, identification of tourists in terms of their specialization in the activity and their values provides important implications for the park management in finding ways to influence tourist behavior to encourage minimal impacts on wildlife. The second approach of the study aimed to identify how wildlife responds to tourists and to discuss possible causes of disturbance. Focal animal sampling method was used in the behavioral observation of elephants along with individual recognition. Four types of behavioral responses of elephants (alert, fear, stress and aggression) were observed as indicators of disturbance on elephants\u27 feeding activity in the presence versus absence of tourists. The frequency and the durations of the four responses were significantly high in the presence of tourists compared to the absence of tourists. Certain differences in the way of responding could also be identified among different age-sex-group classes of elephants. Tourist disruptive behaviors such as talking during the tours, close distances when watching elephants, vehicle activity, and the time of the tours were found significant in causing disturbance to elephants, among which tourist disruptive behaviors and vehicle activity were the most influential factors leading to disturbance. Elephants are one of the most attractive wildlife for tourism. At the same time, elephants are one of the most endangered wildlife in the world. Therefore, it is important to mitigate tourism disturbance to wild elephants by adopting calm behaviors, controlled vehicle activity and also appropriate distances and time during the elephant watching tours for the benefit of both tourism and conservation. Countries with high level of biodiversity, such as Sri Lanka, are popular wildlife tourist destinations. While tourism provides revenue and contributes significantly to the country\u27s economy, increasing pressure of tourism on the natural environment and wildlife tends to be critical. Therefore, non-consumptive wildlife tourism such as wildlife watching, which is often assumed as harmless and an environmental friendly tourism suitable for protected areas, can also become detrimental on wildlife if managed poorly. Comparison of human dimensions of wildlife such as tourist characteristics, wildlife values and behavior along with the behavioral dimensions of wildlife provides important insight to the problem and implications for park management in wildlife areas. Protected areas focusing on wildlife for tourism should monitor behavioral responses of wildlife in relation to tourism activities as a mean of identifying measures to reduce tourism disturbance on wildlife. Further, the role of interpretation and guide systems in mitigating tourism disturbance on wildlife is also highlighted in this study.首都大学東京, 2014-03-25, 博士(都市科学), 甲第434号首都大学東