Ecotourism--Lily Dayanim and Presley Taylor
A topic that is often glossed over when talking about environmentalism and particularly environmental anthropology is tourism. Tourism is a huge industry that millions of people take part in each year. Vacations are often seen as a luxury where the “real world” is shut out for a certain amount of time, and there is much less respect and care paid to the local environments and cultures oftentimes when people travel. Our podcast discusses the environmental effects of tourism with a focus on a case study of the Riviera Maya region of Mexico. With the explosion of tourism in this area within the past forty years, the region has seen drastic environmental and cultural impacts. This expedited change is a microcosmic example of what is happening on a global scale with the increase in tourism and the common lack of regard for foreign ecosystems. This podcast not only conveys the impacts of tourism on the environment, but also provides solutions as to how people can proceed with tourism while being good stewards of the environment as guests in these foreign nations.
This podcast also contains an interview with a local environmentalist and the groundskeeper of the Eden Cenote named Cuitlahuác. As a local in the Riviera Maya region for forty years, he has seen the dramatic changes to the natural environment surrounding the area. He has also used his unique perspective and voice to cause an uproar and serve as an activist for environmental change. He has personally sued the federal government of Mexico and won, which got Akumal declared as a national park. His green thumb has made a huge splash in both the politics and personal relations in the region. Everyday he reminds visitors of the cenote not to wear sunscreen or any other harmful substances that enter the water supply. His dedication and perseverance in environmental preservation is very inspirational and reminds us that each and every one of us have the power to make a tangible impact in terms of climate change and environmental degradation. Finally, Cuitlahuác goes into strategies that tourists in the area as well as in the world at large can implement in order to serve as better stewards of the environment.
The goal of this podcast is primarily education. We want people to understand how tourism is affecting the world. We decided to focus on the Riviera Maya region of Mexico because it is such a common tourist destination for Americans and especially Texans. We felt that impacts in this region would speak to many listeners of the podcast, as many Austin residents have been to the Yucatán region. The hope was that the more people can relate to the experience and to the region highlighted in the podcast, the more people will resonate with and care about the information presented and the message implied. We hope people will research how to be good stewards of the environment before their next travel experience.
Work Cited
This podcast also contains an interview with a local environmentalist and the groundskeeper of the Eden Cenote named Cuitlahuác. As a local in the Riviera Maya region for forty years, he has seen the dramatic changes to the natural environment surrounding the area. He has also used his unique perspective and voice to cause an uproar and serve as an activist for environmental change. He has personally sued the federal government of Mexico and won, which got Akumal declared as a national park. His green thumb has made a huge splash in both the politics and personal relations in the region. Everyday he reminds visitors of the cenote not to wear sunscreen or any other harmful substances that enter the water supply. His dedication and perseverance in environmental preservation is very inspirational and reminds us that each and every one of us have the power to make a tangible impact in terms of climate change and environmental degradation. Finally, Cuitlahuác goes into strategies that tourists in the area as well as in the world at large can implement in order to serve as better stewards of the environment.
The goal of this podcast is primarily education. We want people to understand how tourism is affecting the world. We decided to focus on the Riviera Maya region of Mexico because it is such a common tourist destination for Americans and especially Texans. We felt that impacts in this region would speak to many listeners of the podcast, as many Austin residents have been to the Yucatán region. The hope was that the more people can relate to the experience and to the region highlighted in the podcast, the more people will resonate with and care about the information presented and the message implied. We hope people will research how to be good stewards of the environment before their next travel experience.
Work Cited
- Frerck, Robert. “Can Mass Tourism Be Sustainable? Part 2, Riviera Maya: Geology and Pollution.” Blue Ocean Network, https://blueocean.net/can-mass-tourism-sustainable-part-2-riviera-maya-geology-pollution/.
- “The Impact of Tourism on Coastal Areas.” Waste Wise Products Inc., https://www.wastewiseproductsinc.com/blog/sustainability/the-impact-of-tourism-on-coastal-areas/.
- Murray, Grant. Coastal Management Constructing ... - Research.fit.edu. https://research.fit.edu/media/site-specific/researchfitedu/coast-climate-adaptation-library/latin-america-and-caribbean/mexico/Murray.-2007.-Cancun-Coastal-Tourism-Impacts.pdf.
- What Is Ecotourism - the International Ecotourism Society. https://ecotourism.org/what-is-ecotourism/.
- “The World Counts.” The World Counts, https://www.theworldcounts.com/.