Course:EOSC270/2022/Group 13 Impacts of Tourism on Caribbean Coastlines

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What is the problem?

Human activity around coastlines

Fig. 1: Mangrove forests provide protection from erosion and storms
Fig. 2: A map illustrating the Caribbean region and the bordering nations (click on icon in top right corner to enlarge image).

Coastal communities play an important role in the welfare of humans, providing food sources, protection of local infrastructure against storms, and tourism; an important source of income for locals (Wyatt et al., 2018). These regions have been put under stress with growing populations, tourism, and seaside urbanisation. Ocean cruises and all-inclusive resorts are the predominant activities sought after by tourists (Honey, 2019) with over 26 million Caribbean tourist arrivals in 2014 (Acevedo et al., 2017). Intertidal communities help mitigate the effects of erosion while also serving as a food source for many aquatic organisms; and thus, humans (Owens, 2007). The mangrove is an important intertidal organism that is credited for providing homes to various intertidal species as well as the protection of coastal communities from storms and erosion —see the extensive root systems in Fig. 1 (Kaplan et al., 2016). They are especially important for the maintenance of intertidal communities and “ecosystem dynamics” (Polidoro et al., 2010). Coastal development threatens these populations as mangroves are cut down to promote urbanisation (Brenner et al, 2018). Impacts have also extended outwards to the sea, where coral reefs have been damaged by cruise ship activity and turbidity has increased due to construction (Baldwin, 2010). Many ecological impacts on intertidal communities and the surrounding ocean can be observed as direct consequences of human activity. Consider the Southwest Tobago region where surrounding counties are seeing an increase in tourism driven migration (Hassanali., 2013).

Pervasiveness of impacts

The effects of tourism not only impact Caribbean coasts, but coastlines all over the world. Beach littering is a major culprit in negatively impacting coastal and marine organisms. Such debris can be ingested or cause the entanglement of marine organisms. Riverine transport of litter and human activities are the main sources of the debris (Rangel-Buitrago et al., 2017). Plastic litter can contribute to oceanic microplastics; elevated levels of microplastics have been found around harbours (Jones et al., 2021). Microplastics have also been isolated from the sand of recreational beaches (De-la-Torre et al., 2020). Such plastics are known to have “high persistence” and contribute to oceanic Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (Rangel-Buitrago et al., 2017). With ocean circulation and migration of marine organisms, this becomes a global issue.

Consequences of human activities

Studies conducted in 1997-1998 examined the degradation of intertidal wetlands and erosion of beaches in Antigua, West Indies (Baldwin., 2010). Drastic alterations to coastal ecosystems can be caused by dredging, construction, sewage dumping, cruises, littering, and diving (Baldwin., 2010). Algal blooms due to sewage dumping by cruise ships can cause anoxic conditions, killing certain marine organisms (Baldwin., 2010). Light pollution can disrupt the trophic interactions of intertidal communities: impacting navigation, migration, communication, and predator – prey dynamics (Underwood et al., 2017). Neritic organisms can also be affected by night lighting. With the vertical migration patterns of some fish who migrate closer to the surface at night to feed when the darkness provides protection against predators, lighting at night may expose them.

How does this problem impact marine ecosystems?

Fig. 3: There is a significant increase in tourist density and litter amount on beaches, and plastic is the most abundant among all the macro litter collected.

How does tourism impact coastal areas?

Tourism, especially mass tourism during peak seasons, can negatively impact the coastal ecosystems due to multiple reasons. Firstly, the construction of resorts, hotels, recreation centers, etc. requires removal of local landscapes such as wetlands and forestation, which then leads to habitat loss for local species (Ghosh, 2011). Local extraction for building material also disturbs the balance of small, regional ecosystems (Ghosh, 2011). After the resort takes in a large amount of tourist population, there is a massive consumption of energy in terms of heating and cooling systems, lighting, and other electricity-generated activities that may disturb the thermal dynamics in the region (Ghosh, 2011). Considering the original small population in some tourism destinations, the local infrastructure such as the sewage system, may not be able to properly process the large amount of waste generated by the sudden peak of population (Ghosh, 2011). Smaller islands in which tourists are looking for tranquil vibes and unique local scenery are actually more susceptible to those coastal construction projects and tourism activities as they usually have small ecosystems that are highly dependent on specific environmental conditions and are more vulnerable to any sudden changes (Neto, 2003). Not only on the coastal areas, recreational activities such as cruising extends the impacts of tourism further into the open ocean (Ellis, 2021).

Consider littering on Caribbean beaches

As for coastal regions, especially sightseeing beaches, littering is a major problem. During peak seasons, there can be up to 103,000 people per square kilometer on a popular beach in Caribbean regions (Garcés-Ordóñez et al., 2020). As shown in Fig. 4, among all the macro litter collected on the sample beaches, plastic is the most abundant material and those items are directly resulted from tourist activities (Garcés-Ordóñez et al., 2020). Those litter items then form marine debris that can continuously affect marine organisms as wind and currents move those debris further away from shore (Garcés-Ordóñez et al., 2020).

Cruising: a unique feature of Caribbean tourism

In terms of the tourist destinations on the Caribbean coasts, another dominant recreational activity is cruising. The Caribbean has become the most popular and busy cruising destination in the world and the local economy is four times more dependent on tourism than other resorts (Ellis, 2021). Theoretically, cruises produce a large amount of waste: a cruise with 2,000 to 3,000 passengers can generate 1,000 tons of waste each day, which can cause contamination of ocean water and lead to a series of consequences including change in salinity pattern, eutrophic conditions and therefore algal blooms (Ellis, 2021). Cruises are also sources of noise and excessive lighting (Ellis, 2021). Moreover, there is significant damage to coral reefs nearshore due to anchoring of cruises and ships (Ellis 2021). However, due to the difficulty of directly examining the negative impacts of cruising, governments of destination countries tend to ignore the problems and fail to put enough effort into quantitatively assessing the impacts (Wilkinson, 2017).

Fig. 4: Coral reef damaged by cruise anchor

What is the extent of the problem?

What are the measurable ecosystem changes that have occurred?

Fig. 5: a Caribbean beach covered in human waste and plastic

In the Caribbean, it’s estimated that 65% of solid waste and 100% of domestic wastewater generated in coastal populations are improperly managed and discharged into natural water bodies, contributing to plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems (Garcés-Ordóñez et al. 2017).  On Santa Marta beaches in the Colombian Caribbean, plastics consisted of, on average, 30%-77% of macrolitter, with microplastics ranging from 1 to 355 pieces per square meter (Garcés-Odóñez et al. 2020).  

As of 2020, The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network concluded that 16% of Caribbean reefs have been destroyed (90% loss of corals) and are unlikely to recover soon, 56% are at a critical stage (50-90% loss of corals, likely to be unrecoverable within 10-20 years), 13% are threatened (20-50% loss of corals, likely to be unrecoverable within 20-40 years), and 15% are healthy (Wilkinson, 2004).  The devastation to coral reefs originates from coral bleaching from warming sea temperatures, Black Band Disease from environmental stresses such as increased pollution, nutrient deficiency, sedimentation, and higher water temperatures, anchor dropping from medium to large boats directly breaking corals, improper recreational use from divers and commercial submarines, and many other factors.

What is the present status compared to the past?

Fig 6: An exponential increase in global plastic production, from 1950 to 2012 (from PlasticsEurope 2013)

Microplastics, cruise ship anchoring, coastal erosion, light and noise pollution, and anthropogenically-driven reef destruction are all fairly modern issues, with their effects only dating back a few decades.  Since 1950, the average ocean surface temperature has risen 1.5˚ Celsius; researchers have found a 63% drop in biodiversity in Caribbean reefs (Wetzel, 2021).  A 1987 study of Caribbean ocean anchors found that 46% of anchors were dropped in coral and seagrass, and 23% of the time had “severely” disrupted the bottom.  Since 1950, the production of plastics worldwide has increased from less than 1 to over 300 million tonnes as of 2012, of which roughly 8 tonnes of plastic enters the ocean yearly; this trend is continuing to increase (Ryan, 2015). The Caribbean is estimated to dump 17,000 tonnes of plastic into open dump sites daily, and due to improperly managed waste sites, roughly 54% of this mass ends up in the ocean (Clayton et al. 2020).

On the current path, Caribbean coral reefs will be gone in 20 years, the biggest impacts resulting from rising sea temperatures, overfishing, and ocean pollution (Aldred, 2014).  Plastic levels in the ocean and coasts will continue to rise, increasing exponentially to nearly double what it is now by 2030 (UN, 2021).  However, destruction from anchor drops will likely continue to drop because of a $300 fine for every square meter of reef destroyed.

*These statistics are representative of the Caribbean as a whole.  It’s nearly impossible to measure data from tourists alone, excluding all local and native communities.  However, because of poor infrastructure in the Caribbean due to inactive and ineffective efforts from Caribbean governments (for instance with waste management) tourists’ effects on the ocean are amplified compared to other regions.  For example, Hawaii has a strong recycling infrastructure, decreasing their plastic pollution leakage to almost zero, compared to the Caribbean’s 54% (How the city…).  

Given the impact, what are the solutions?

Figure 7. Airplane approaching St. Maarten airport. Limiting such flights could decrease local pollution, both noise and exhaust gas.

In order to care for the fragile coastal ecosystems of the Caribbean, there are a variety of solutions that require teamwork to implement successfully. Climate change and increased tourism leave their traces, often literally in the sense of litter, and Caribbean nations are starting to get creative with ways to tackle these impacts.

Climate Change

More tourists means more flights and therefore more emissions that put stress on environments. Marine reserves have been implemented to preserve these areas and take some of that stress off surrounding areas. In St. Lucia for example, these protected areas are already showing promise (Roberts et al., 2001). Generally, to aid in mitigation one can avoid non-essential flights to these already vulnerable locations, which are facing ocean acidificationwhere carbon dioxide emissions are bleaching reefs in the Caribbean (Gledhill et al., 2008).

Figure 8. A reef community in the Caribbean. These areas must be protected from damage by human impacts such as pollution and cruise ship anchor damage.

Litter

As waste disposal is a growing concern for many nations, Jamaica has stepped up and started a plastic recycling pilot project (UN, 2021) that encourages citizens and tourists to partake in clean up events and follow the 4 R’s: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Reusable materials are therefore favoured over new plastics that could potentially end up on beaches, as litter. Litter has also been a big consequence of increased tourism. In response, environmental wardens are being trained to oversee proper waste management at tourist destinations to ensure none ends up on already fragile beach ecosystems. Bans on single use plastics, as well as Styrofoam, (Diez et al., 2019) are also in effect in hopes that less plastic will end up on beaches as a result of careless vacationers. This would prevent wildlife from accidentally ingesting these harmful plastics that are often mistaken for food. Being mindful of proper waste disposal is a responsibility all tourists must assume. Environmental awareness and improved regulations are key to reducing litter, as well as keeping the tourism business running (Garcés-Ordóñez et al., 2020).

Urban development and cruises

Increased tourism means more hotels, which has consequences for important ecosystems such as mangrove forests. Work is being done to increase the breadth of marine protected areas to include more mangrove forests, as well as improving the management of these regions, so that less urban development takes place there. Increased tourism also means more cruises, which are a big part of the Caribbean’s revenue. While they are harmful to many marine environments, ways to address this include limiting ship routes and/or diverting routes away from the most fragile areas, similar to marine protected areas, allowing the ecosystem to restore (ACS, 2016). Less cruises and non-harmful routes ensure the survival and prosperity of these beautiful environments for future generations.

References


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