Alan A. Lew, Ph.D., AICP Northern Arizona University

Editor-in-Chief, Tourism Geographies AlanLew.com

Nanjing University Nanjing, China

13 November 2012

Community Based Tourism in Natural Areas:

Sustainability, Life Cycles & Resilience

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

PPT Slides

Online

DocStoc.com

www.docstoc.com/docs/135960665/Sustainable-Tourism-

Lessons-from-Around-the-World

v.gd/No6drz

www.docstoc.com/docs/135960962/NanjingU---Tourism-

Incognita

v.gd/RxAz1L

www.slideshare.net/alew

Outline

Defining Sustainability & Sustainable Tourism

New Global Challenges

Resilience as an Alternative Approach

Tourism Area Life Cycles and Persistent Resilience

Transformational Resilience and Community

Development

Disaster Resilience

Concluding Thoughts

“ Using resources to meet the needs of contemporary

society while ensuring their availability to meet the

needs of future generations. ”

(Brundtland Report 1987)

Vancouver, BC, Canada

= Oxymoron (contradictory concept)

1- ‘Development’ perspective

Sustaining economic activity

Greenwashing

2- ‘Sustainable’ perspective

Environmental stewardship

Ecosystem equilibrium

Ambiguous - multiple interpretations

Diversity of Planet Earth

Reason for a flexible definition

But, can mean almost anything to anyone = meaningless

Is “Sustainable Development” just a distraction?

Abandonment guarantees unsustainable outcomes

An “ideal” to work toward -- widely embraced … in principle

Green Building:

Marina Barrage

building in

Singapore:

A green roof

with a large solar

power array

Sustainable Development – Definition Issues

World’s Most Sustainable Cities Abu Dhabi, UAE

Austin, Texas, US

Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador

Bangkok, Thailand

Barcelona, Spain

Bogotá, Colombia

Cape Town, South Africa

Copenhagen, Denmark

Curitiba, Brazil

Doha, Qatar

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Frankfurt, Germany

Helsinki, Finland

Hyderabad, India

Kampala, Uganda

London, England

Malmö, Sweden

Melbourne, Australia

New York, NY, US

Oslo, Norway

Portland, Oregon, US

Reykjavik, Iceland

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

San Francisco, California, US

Singapore, Republic of Singapore

Sydney, Australia

Toronto, Canada

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Victoria, BC, Canada

Wellington, New Zealand

What Makes A Sustainable City?

(1) Environmental Footprint (MITIGATION)

Non-carbon Energy Sources: Hydro, Bio-fuels, Wind

Low/Non-Carbon Transit: Mass, EVs, Bikes, Walkability

Green Buildings: Codes, Certifications, Retrofitting

Recycling-based Waste Management

(2) Quality of Life / Sense of Place

(ADAPTATION)

Community-wide Green Goals & Planning

Open Green Space/Parks

Healthy Air & Water Quality

Targeted Benefits to Low Income

Integrated Land Use & Transportation Planning

Protected Forests, Agricultural Lands, Waterways, Heritage

Other Indicators: Education, Arts, Culture; Housing; Economy &

Business Strength; Regulatory Framework, Transparency, Governance;

Innovation & Investment; Freedom of Speech & Media

1. Maintaining the Tourism Economy Focus of Destination Marketing Organizations

(DMOs) Avoiding Tourism Industry Decline

Destination Economy’s Adaptive Capacity & Resilience

2. Environmental Footprint of Tourism Activities Focus of Tourism Businesses “Green Certification” programs

3. Tourism’s Contribution to Quality of Life Focus of Community Development

& Social Sciences Research

Fair Trade Products

sign in Chinatown

gift shop, San

Francisco, USA

BUT – CONTEMPORARY Threats to Humanity (2011 & 2012 News Items)

Extreme Climate & Geologic Events

2011 - Economic losses last year =$380 billion

previous record $220 billion in 2005

Major interruptions to global supply chain & international trade

Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases (GHG)

2011 – GHG Reached Highest Levels in past 250 years

Growing at an accelerated rate

Population Growth & Migration

31 Oct 2011 - World Reached 7 Billion People

Increasing Urbanization, Resource Pressures, and Income Inequality

Economic Shock & Change

Great Recession in the US; Eurozone Crisis; Cultural & Economic Globalization

2012 –International Tourists to reach 1 Billion

up from 674m in 2000; 980m in 2011

Sustainable Tourism? - Environmental Footprint - Quality of Life

Resilience

& Global

Warming

“RESILIENCE” as an Alternative? Physics /Engineering

The property of a material to absorb energy when deformed and not fracture/break; the maximum energy per unit volume that can be elastically stored.

Ecology

The capacity of an ecosystem to absorb or respond to a disturbance without permanent damage to the relationships between populations.

Psychology

The tendency to cope with stress and adversity, including “bouncing back” to a previous state of normal functioning or developing an inoculating effect to improve functioning - “coping strategies”.

Organizations

The ability of an organization (company or government) to provide and maintain an acceptable normal level of service in the face of periodic or catastrophic system faults and errors.

e.g., natural disasters, terrorist attacks, supply chain & electrical grid disruptions

Creating Climate Change Resilience

Transportation: Raising roads & runways; increasing culvert sizes; strengthen bridges Agriculture: Shifting to drought resistant crop varieties; re-training farmers; emphasizing local agriculture Business: Examining and altering supply chains; increasing transparency and disclosure regarding climate risk Water: Increasing protection for wetlands; installing permeable pavement, green roofs, and rain and water gardens Energy: Protecting or moving production & distribution facilities/ vulnerable to flooding, extreme heat, drought or weather events Public Health: Identifying ways to reduce urban heat islands; assessing medical response vulnerabilities to weather/climate extremes Ecosystems: Planning for movement of habitat, changes in local plants and animals, sea level rise Land Use: Changing building codes; planning “retreat” from sea level rise

on Pulau Kapas, Terengganu, Malaysia

Urban Planning’s Shift to Resilience

Topics in a Call For Papers for “The Politics of

Sustainability & Climate Change”

Urban planning strategies for managing climate change

Resiliency or adaptability paradigms within urban design

Urban climate change policy and design

Climate change denial and anti-climate change legislation

Grassroots responses to climate change policy

Effects of climate change on cities

(Post) political dimensions of sustainability policy

Sustainable or green architecture

Disaster Preparation in cities

Critiques of sustainability

Artistic engagements with climate change

Technological innovations for managing climate change

Resilience:

Learning & Adaptation

Severity of adverse events is

context dependent

Quicker Recovery Reduced Severity

Scale of Social & Environmental Change

(1) Unexpected Large Shocks & Sudden Changes Physical

Typhoon/Hurricane/Cyclone System

Earthquakes, Tsunamis/Floods, & Droughts

Social

Violent Overthrow of a Government

Massive Famines, Deaths & Migrations

Economic Collapse

(2) Unpredictable Gradual Shifts & Moderate Change Physical

Biological Ecosystem (flora & fauna) Relocations & Endangerments/Extinctions

Climate Change / Global Warming

Social

Globalization – Economic & Cultural

Paradigm Shifts – Enlightenment/Science, Industrial, ICT

Scale, Change &

Resilience in Tourism Places

Change Rate

To

uri

sm/

Syst

em

Sc

ale

1.

Private

Tourism -

Slow

Change

2.

Private

Tourism -

Sudden

Shock

4.

Public

Tourism -

Sudden

Shock

3.

Public

Tourism -

Slow

Change

Resilience Issues

1. Facilities & Service

Maintenance

2. Major Attraction or

Market Loss

3. Climate Change &

Globalization

4. Major Natural &

Human Disasters

Scale of Resilience Entities

“Persistent Resilience”: coping with the mundane pressures of social & economic transformation Vulnerability : the opposite of resilience

Kampung Setiu Lama, Terengganu, Malaysia

Individual Family Business Community Society / Country Ecosystem / Bioregion Planet

Tourism Business Resilience in Cherating, Malaysia

Cherating Village

Small, Laid-back Fishing Village

Nice, wide Surfing Beach; Asia's first Club Med

Many Guesthouses & Small Hotels (Chalets)

1973 - residential houses started to be

converted into chalets

some residence (fishermen) moved away from

tourist areas (beach & highway)

Also driven out by coastal erosion

– common on East Coast of Malaysia

Early 1990s – tourism became main source of

income for most in the beach area

Backpacker Tourism = major income source

1999 – 42 houses rented rooms to tourists

The 4 R’s of Resilience (based on the Emergency Management definition)

Cherating, Malaysia

Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) Model

ENTREPRENURIAL RESILIENCE

Decline Factors

Internal Seasonality Low tourist arrival Location disadvantage due to

new development Lack of family support Lack of government support Old age Ill-health Death of owner

External Economic Crises Iraq war September 11th 2001 terrorism Diseases and endemics

Consistent Stability & Growth Factors

Support from government

Partnership with other

organizations

Property ownership

Introduction of new activities

Improves quality of facilities

& services

Decline & Bounce Back Factors

Decline

Location disadvantage

Economic crises

Iraq War

Seasonality

Bounce Back

Offer new activities

Enhanced promotion

Collaboration/partnership

Family support

Improved & enhance facilities and services Wireless services

Meeting rooms

Bars/restaurants

Mosque

Resilience Lessons from the Cherating 1. Tourism area separated from local residential area

Non-tourism involved residents may be “forced” out by nuisance impacts

2. Need for market/niche development

New products & continuous marketing

3. Global events influencing local economy

4. Business lifecycle of small enterprises related to the entrepreneur’s life expectancy & descendents

5. Availability of other options for economic livelihood

Three Approaches to Resilience

(1) Engineering Resilience

Ability of to return to a steady-state equilibrium after a disturbance emphasis on the speed of return to equilibrium

(bounces back); efficiency &predictability

(2) Ecological Resilience

Ability to learn from a disturbance & prepare for future stresses acknowledges multiple equilibriums &

potential flip into alternative stabilities

(3) Transformational Resilience

Ability to evolve, transform and adapt over mixed timeframes and geographic scales into new models in response to stress Whole system changes & Paradigm shifts aka Evolutionary Resilience, Socio-ecological Resilience & Persistent Resilience

Recreational

fisherman in

Singapore

Transformational Resilience

- Learn & Create a New Paradigm

Ecological Resilience

- Learn & Return to Equilibrium

Engineering Resilience

- Return to Equilibrium

• People become resilient in

response to adversity

• Disturbances include both acute

shocks and chronic slow burns

• Tools: institutions, leadership,

social capital & social learning

Community Resilience in Batu Puteh, Sabah

32

Batu Puteh = 4 villages, 1762 villagers

Vegetables

Paddy

1%

Fruits 1% 3% Fishing

1% Shopkeeper

1%

Government

5%

Private Sector 9%

Tourism 10%

Oil Palm

69%

Tourism Income: (260 tourism cooperative members)

2007 = RM300,000 (USD $100,000); 2011 = RM1.37 million

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Tourism Income Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Natural attractions

KOPEL Tourism Cooperative

ISSUES: - Retaining youth

- Human resource development

Kinabatangan

River Wildlife

$82,850.00 $130,380.00

$186,950.00 215,878.50 193,274.30

$63,399.46

$69,253.85

194,323.61 238,701.31

$29,927.74

$78,156.07

$82,539.12

155,065.79

186,842.93

$82,031.64

$100,044.69

151,677.81

194,903.27

$34,145.75

$58,296.25

$83,704.50

93,219.93

128,844.15 70,295.32

90,235.32

85,347.25

126,954.40

40,892.00

44,562.25

$12,698.00

$28,524.70

$38,559.20

55,981.49

75,075.90

$79,966.05

$50,195.81

$65,728.40

31,595.50

42,643.30

30,307.80

53,386.50

$-

$200,000.00

$400,000.00

$600,000.00

$800,000.00

$1,000,000.00

$1,200,000.00

$1,400,000.00

$1,600,000.00

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Tourism Income - Categories

KOPEL River View Café

kraftangan

Lain lain

MCG Dance Group

Hammock Camp

Conservation Fees

TREC

Village Bus Services

KOPEL F&B

Village Boat Service

Local Guides

Miso Walai Homestay Only

Crafts

Forest Camp

Miso Walai Homestay

Cultural Attractions of the

Orang Sungai (“river people”)

1314 1856

2545 2055

2368 282

293

398

465 404

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Tourist Arrival Data

Groups

FIT’s

Rain Forest Eco Camps (2007 & 2009)

2001

2006

Lake

Restoration

2007

2010 Forest Restoration Tourism = RM 1.3 million in 2011

Forest Restoration = RM 240,000 in 2010

KOPEL Tourism Cooperative - 260 members – since 2003

Home Stay

Bureau

Cultural

Bureau

F&B

Bureau

Conserva-

tion

Bureau

Tour Guide

Bureau

Boat

Service

Bureau

Promotion

& PR

Bureau

Transport

Bureau

Chairman & Vice

Chairman

Secretary & Vice

Secretary

Treasurer & Vice

Treasurer

Outdoor Experiences

Boat Trips

Wildlife Observation

Tree Planting

Forest Camps & Camping

Forest Interpretation

Limestone Caving

Homestay & Culture

Cooking Lessons

Traditional Games

Traditional Music & Dance

Partners

Sabah Forestry Department - forest restoration; 2009 Eco-Camp

LEAP Conservancy: sourcing funds; capacity building

Alexander Abraham Foundation: lake & forest restoration

American Forests: Orang-utan habitat restoration; forest restoration

Arcus Foundation; Shell Oil Malaysia: 2007 Eco-Camp

Volunteer Organisations & High Schools: Rakuno Gakuen

University, International School Brunei, Global Vision International

(GVI) , plus independent volunteers

Adventure Tour Companies: Outlook Expeditions (school groups),

Exodus Travel, Intrepid Travel, Geckos Travel, Imaginative Traveller

- “responsible tourism” adventure holidays

Resilience Lessons from Batu Puteh Diversification of both tourism product and other economic activities

Early planning to enhance community buy in for cooperative approach

Long term commitment to capacity building by local and external leaders

Entrepreneurial approach to partnerships building and external funding

Sensitivity of international market conditions and opportunities

Borneo Nature Lodge,

Sandakan, Sabah

Terrapuri Heritage Village Resort,

Kg Setiu, Terengganu

Summary & Conclusions

Sustainable Development (SD)

Major Shortcomings: Oxymoron & Culturally constructed

Focus on Engineering Mitigations & Certifications

New Global Challenges

Climate, Economy, Governance Issues – Overwhelming SD

The ‘Resilience’ Alternative

Focus on Adaptation to Change

Big Resilience (Disasters) & Small Resilience (Persistence)

Resilience in Tourism Development

Tourism Area Life Cycle & Entrepreneurial Resilience

Community-Based Tourism & Transformational Resilience

Tourism & Disaster Resilience in Taiwan

Tourism Resilience in Taiwan

The 4 R’s of Resilience (based on the Emergency Management definition)

Resilience = “adaptive capacity”

KPI = key performance indicators

Resilience Planning &

Sustainable Planning Planning after a Disaster

Same as before – But Time is Compressed

Much more to do - at a much faster pace

Due to High Change Rate

Process flexibility varies

Information flows, Development of social capital

Demolition and debris removal

Commerce

A Sustainable City

is a Resilient City

Scale, Change &

Resilience in Tourism Places

Change Rate

To

uri

sm/

Syst

em

Sc

ale

1.

Private

Tourism -

Slow

Change

2.

Private

Tourism -

Sudden

Shock

4.

Public

Tourism -

Sudden

Shock

3.

Public

Tourism -

Slow

Change

Resilience Issues

1. Facilities & Service

Maintenance

2. Major Attraction or

Market Loss

3. Climate Change &

Globalization

4. Major Natural &

Human Disasters

Small/Private Tourism - Sudden Shock Resilience

Major Attraction or Market Loss

Tourism as a distinct economic activity in a diversified economy

Need for market development; new products & continuous marketing; Entrepreneurial approach to partnerships building and external funding; Awareness of how global market conditions events influencing local economic opportunities

Business lifecycle of small enterprises related to the entrepreneur’s life expectancy & descendents

Early planning to enhance community buy in for cooperative approach; Long term commitment to capacity building by local and external leaders

Small/Private Tourism - Slow Change Resilience Facilities & Service Quality

Infrastructure Planning: Indentify Vulnerabilities to Diversify & Change Delivery Systems for Transportation, Food & Water Supply, Public Health & Basic Needs, Energy & Communication, and Business Supply Chain

Land Use Policies & Planning: Support Natural Ecosystem Planning & Conservation; Mitigation planning to avoid disaster prone areas (e.g., floodplains & active fault zones; Adaptive construction & design

Tourism as a Highly Resilient Industry

Outline

Defining Sustainability & Sustainable Tourism

New Global Challenges

Resilience as an Alternative Approach

Tourism Area Life Cycles and Persistent Resilience

Transformational Resilience and Community

Development

Disaster Resilience

Concluding Thoughts