ENVIRONMENTAL

MANAGEMENT

OF TOURISM

DEVELOPMENT

IN PAKISTAN

-Shah Alam Khan Economic Analyst, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Sports and Tourism Division) Pakistan
Tourism has become one of the foremost economic activities in the world. In 1950, the number of people who travelled internationally was only 25 million. This has reached the staggering figure of 567 million in 1995 and is rising an average of 5 per cent a year. Tourist spending, which was only $US 2.1 billion in 1950, has gone up to $US 372 billion in 1995. If the costs of international and domestic travel are included, the figures are ten timeshigher. With the increasing trend in travel to new destinations, tourism in South Asia has seen one of the fastest growth rates, roughly three times faster than the world average. During 1995, South Asia hosted 4.38 million tourists, which is 11 per cent higher than in 1994. The growing worldwide volume of tourism, besides generating employment and foreign exchange in tourist receiving countries, has created tremendous environmental problems. Countries which have taken conscious and planned approaches in tourism development have not been as badly affected as those which have allowed tourism to develop unchecked without proper planning.
Tourism in Pakistan is not a large scale sector, and it plays a moderate role in development of the country. Since 1971, the year in which tourist statistics were first compiled, tourist arrivals have ranged between 122,000 and494,000. Compared to the volume of international tourism, domestic tourism in Pakistan is fairly large. During 1995,the number of domestic tourists was estimated at 42.8 million. While the economic role of tourism in Pakistan may not be significant, its role in degrading the environment has been found to be very significant, mainly becausetourism in Pakistan is concentrated in only a few areas with a high degree of seasonality. The tourism experience is the end result of the combined efforts of related enterprises. Therefore, policies addressing the environmental needs of present and future generations must cover a wide variety of basic tourismservices.

In pursuing economic development, societies extract, process and consume natural resources. Recent trends such as rapid industrialization and urbanization show signs of posing a threat to these resources. Even with the use of modern technology, these are limits to which these resources can be stretched. Pursuing economic goals with no consideration for carrying capacity is likely to cause permanent damage to natural resources, and eventually depletion of stocks could occur. In development, what is most important to note is that generation on behalf of generations still to come. This can only development. The most widely quoted definition of sustainable Environment and Development, "Development That Meets the Ability of Future Generations to Meet Their Own Needs." natural resources are a trust held by the present be achieved through what is known as sustainable development is given by the World Commission on Needs of the Present without Compromising the

In tourism, careful planning is a prerequisite to ensure that development is sustainable and does not exceed the carrying capacity of resources, which include both natural and man-made attractions. Planning for sustainable tourism development should take place at national, regional and local levels. The major tools of planning are land use plans; environmental impact assessments; legislative, regulatory and enforcement measures; monitoring; and local participation.
The number of visitors that is compatible with the image of the tourist product and the type of environmental experience that the tourist is seeking is also an important aspect of sustainable tourism development. Further, facilities should be developed in order to create a good impression in the mind of the tourist. Governments must make sure that businesses catering to tourists meet the minimum norms of health, cleanliness, and safety. Sustainable development is now recognized as an essential approach to achieving development goals without depleting natural and cultural resources or degrading the environment. Benefits of tourism development to local communities include: new jobs and businesses; additional income; new markets for local products; improved infrastructure, community facilities and services; new skills and technologies; greater environmental and cultural awareness; and protection and improvement of land use patterns.

International tourism is often encouraged because, besides other benefits, it generates foreign exchange.Countries must realize that tourism affects local communities and is not necessarily desirable or feasible for every place or each community, mainly because ecology and the economy are becoming ever more interwoven, locally,

74

D.

regionally, nationally and internationally. Countries must make sure that tourism development that takes place is sustainable in the long-terms. If looked at globally, sustainable models of tourism development require a global ethic which encourages the participation of individual tourists, groups and communities, without whom sustainable tourism growth will be next to impossible. Three main principles of sustainable development must be used as guidelines while planning tourism development:

(a) (b)

Development ecological

must be ecologically

sustainable

and compatible

with the maintenance

of essential

processes,

biological diversity and biological resources.

Development must be socially and culturally sustainable and must increase people's control over their lives, be compatible with the cultural values of people affected by it, and maintain and strengthen community identity. sustainable and efficient and resources must be managed so that

(c)

Development must be economically they can support future generations.

International tourism in Pakistan may not be an immediate threat to fragile tourist resources. It is the rapidgrowth of population and movement of domestic tourists which requires the government's immediate attention. Thecountry's population doubles every 25 years. The present population of 130 million is estimated to reach 150 million in the year 2001. Most alarming is the rural-to-urban migration. The population growth in big urban centres is over 7 per cent compared to the country's 2.9 per cent population growth rate. This pattern is also visible in tourist movements and tourist facilities. For example, during the last ten years the number of rooms in hotels having 10 ormore rooms has increased from 425 in 1985 to 1,209 in 1995 in Islamabad. The worst unplanned growth of hotelshas been in the Swat valley, where the number of rooms has grown from 926 in 1985 to 2174 in 1995. This does notinclude dozens of un-registered hotels having less than ten rooms.
The Pakistan government is conscious of the importance of the physical environment. With the rapid increase of population in Pakistan in the last few decades, the demand for natural resources has risen dramatically. In many instances, the development plans have undermined the physical environment. Market forces were allowed to interact ignoring all carrying capacities, thereby contributing to environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources. Destruction of the physical environment because of population growth and erosion of socio-cultural values are a great threat to tourism, as these are fundamental prerequisites for the success of a destination. In the absence of these, tourism would naturally decline. At the government level, tourism's intimate link with the environment has been well understood in Pakistan. As a consequence, the tourism industry is now considered as an opportunity for conservation and preservation of the environment rather than a threat, while reaping economic benefits at the same time. High priority is now given to sustainable development to ensure that:

(a) (b)

Development Development Development

is in harmony with the features of the physical environment. is carried out in consultation is economically efficient. with the local community.

(c)

In the context of worldwide concern about the issue of sustainable development, especially as it pertains todeveloping countries, the slow and hesitant progress that Pakistan has made in this sphere needs to be acceleratedand focused on real issues. The active role being played by the Pakistan Environmental Council in awakening thepublic's consciousness and formulating and enforcing internationally-recognised standards goes a long way in meeting not only present needs but future development requirements.

In recognition of the need to integrate environmental and socio-cultural considerations into the planning anddecision-mak process, the government of Pakistan is considering the introduction of a mandatory environmental impact assessment procedure under the provisions of the National Environmental Act, which is Pakistan's basiccharter for protection and management of the environment. Through this important planning tool, adverse impactscan be identified at the initial stage in order to take corrective steps to prevent and mitigate them. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)/lnitial Environmental Examination (lEE) will be made mandatory for all project proposals for development in areas identified as having sensitive ecosystems, such as the Muree, Galliat, Swat, Gilgit, Chitral and Kaghan valleys. Gradually, implementation of the EIA/IEE will also to be extended to other areas in the country.

At present, all public sector tourism development projects are screened initially with the particulars given in the PC-I form, which is a composite document accepted by all organizations involved in approving tourism projects. The main organizations responsible for approving tourism project proposals are the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance. The former organization has a separate section for environmental assessment which evaluatesprojects on their environmental merits.

75

Historically, the country's first Tourism Master Plan, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations in 1967, recognized environmental considerations in general terms for tourism development. However, environmental conservation was not given much attention. Government agencies at the time were not structured to consider environmental and other physical planning aspects. Hotels were constructed as close as possible to attractions such as streams, mountain slopes and archaeological monuments. The government of Pakistan has been in the process of framing a national conservation strategy based on re-thinking development options from the viewpoint of future sustainability and the need to re-order goals and priorities. The National Tourism Policy launched in June 1990 stressed that the government would have to ensure the preservation of Pakistan's environment and ecology, as market forces cannot be expected to ensure that environmental degradation will not occur. Pakistan has unparalleled environmental assets which need to be preserved despite their potential touristic attraction. Public funds would be provided for launching educational programmes, creating awareness and for undertaking the requisite preservation efforts. However, this policy recommendation is based on a strategy of growth, without any reference to the efforts or expenditure needed in order to restore, manage and sustain natural resources as well as cultural resources. This is an example of a particular government agency assuming it can unilaterally discharge its responsibilities concerning the environment. In fact, the tourism environmental policy should be a component of the national development strategy. to check environmental degradation in mountainous areas of Pakistan, a set of three basicmountaineering rules and regulations were framed in 1983 in an effort to control pollution. The first rule makesexpeditions responsible for leaving camping sites clean of all garbage. A liaison officer who usually is from the army is required to furnish a certificate upon the return of any expedition showing that the expedition has complied withthese conditions. The second rule makes expeditions and their porters responsible for damage to the forest or theanimals in the areas the expedition has gone to. The liaison officer is again required to furnish a certificate that thiscondition has been fully complied with by the expedition. The third rule states that in case these rules are breached,the offending expedition or all of the members of such a party and any sponsor of such a party will be disqualifiedfrom any future mountaineering in Pakistan for a period of four years. Another requirement of mountaineering rules is that expeditions owing to different cooking practices and economic necessity, market and damage trees by using them as fire wood. should supply kerosene oil to their porters.However, most of the porters sell the kerosene in the In order

Since 1988, every international expedition has been required to contribute $US 200 for clean-up operations in the mountainous areas. The money is used to build toilet facilities along or near the frequently-used base camps and stopping points along the routes.
In 1990, a new rule was instituted to enforce reporting and certification procedures. It was decided that in cases where a liaison officer submits a false certificate, the matter would be brought to the proper authorities for disciplinary action. If the liaison officer is a civilian, then his or her registration as a guide would be cancelled, thus disqualifying that person from serving as a guide for a period of four years.

In addition to existing penalties, new mountaineering rules were put into effect from 1991 which require thatexpeditions make a cash deposit of $US 1,000 with the Tourism Division. In the event of a complaint from the liaisonofficer that an expedition failed to observe environmental instructions, the deposit could be forfeited, in part or in full, depending on the nature of the violation. All international expeditions applying to conduct clean-up operations for identified peaks, routes, base camps and stopping points would be exempted from paying the royalty on thecondition that they would not ascend the identified peak.
As another effort to control pollution, the administration in the northern areas have been requested to issue a conduct book to every porter at the time of porter's registration. Porters are required to surrender the conduct books to liaison officers during an expedition. At the end of the expedition, the liaison officer and the expedition leader make an entry into the book about the porter's conduct in maintaining cleanliness, preserving forest wildlife and behaving with care towards the environment. In the event that a porter violates the rules, he could be disqualified from being a porter for a period of from one to three years, depending on the nature of the violation.

An evaluation of these rules and measures indicates that most are drawn up on an ad-hoc basis, usuallyunsystematically, in response to particular situations as they arise. In view of the apparent increase in pollution over recent years, it would seem that the policies, regulations and actions have not produced the desired results. There are several possible reasons for this. First, efforts have not been focused and responsibilities have not been clearly defined. Second, a specific core programme with actions directly related to conserving the environment and naturalresources has been either lacking or impractical and without an appropriate time-frame for implementation.

76

Third, those who make decisions and take action have not been strongly motivated. This is partly because their responsibilities have not been clearly spelled out. People in both the public and the private sector need to be more aware of their interest in conserving environmental resources and using the environment wisely, and then be motivated to devise strategies and implement conservation policies and programmes. Fourth, in a broader context there is the need for plans at the national, regional and sectoral levels within which core mountain conservation programmes can fit. A broader national commitment would strengthen the sense of responsibility of individuals and agencies that must take action to balance mountain tourism with the need to preserve the environment in the northern areas. It is thus necessary to have an institutional development plan.
Fifth, there have not been enough financial resources or adequate financial planning in the absence of cost estimates or determination of who will pay. Expenditures mandated or recommended in policies have always exceeded the available resources. Sixth, a monitoring and evaluation programme has been lacking, even though this is necessary and periodic assessment of progress in implementing policies and related measures. for ongoing

It is clearly a major task to promote and develop behaviour that acknowledges the need to sustain and protectthe mountain environment. The requirements for this task include political will, far-sighted policies, more efficient institutional structures, better social partnerships and increased participation of local people. Even if the work is started now, it will contiune to be the job of several generations.

77