Geographies of Tourism and Environment - Contemporary views of 'the environment' Today's aims
To discuss what the environment means in terms of tourism; To investigate notions of current human-environmental relations; Critically discuss the notion of the anthropocene and what this entails; Outline ideas of planetary boundaries in human activities; Tourism histories
"Tourism was born in the country where urbanization occurred earliest and on the largest scale: England ... Seaside holidays, holiday villages... package tours were all invented or reinvented in England. It is this English tourism that created the places and itineraries, landscapes and practices outside its borders". Jean Didier Urbain in Doquet and Evrard, 2008: 179 Historical development of tourism
"The global spread of mass tourism is often understood in terms of the diffusion of practices first developed by English tourists and driven by the seemingly universal processes of urbanization and industrialization"
Waleed Hazbun (2010) 'Modernity on the beach' Tourist Studies 9 (3): 203- 22
Tourism and 'the environment'
Tourism always takes place within an environment;
But what do we mean by environment?
Try to define environment;
And what does environment mean in terms of tourism? Tourism and environment
In the 21st century can we identify where we are in terms of human-environmental relations? What is the role of tourism in environmental change? At what geographical scale is it best to analyse tourism? How can tourism be separated from other activities - and does it matter? Tourism and “The Environment”
We are used to the ‘spaceship earth’ type visions of environmental problems;
As a unified political project based upon a common ecological fate 'we' all share; Tourism and 'the environment'
Tourism research has been focused mainly on destinations; And impacts of tourism on destinations; But we need to start from other positions; Ones that problematise Tourism as just a social activity; Where contemporary society on the one hand produces and enhances life; And environmental studies show the damaging of the conditions of life;
From Holocene to Anthropocene - a new era of environmental transformation?
“Welcome to the Anthropocene. It’s a new geological era, so take a look around. A single species is in charge of the planet, altering it’s features almost at will. And what is more natural than to name this new era after the top of the range anthropoid, ourselves? (Pearce,Fred (2007) When the River Runs Dry: What happens when our water runs out?) Human - environmental impacts
The effects of human activity on geologic, biologic and atmospheric processes are now larger than at any point in Earth’s history; The Anthropocene is defined by the human influence on Earth, Where, it is argued, humanity has become a geological force shaping the global landscape and evolution of the planet The Anthropocene: Humanity as ‘geological’ agents of change?
Are we in a new geological era where humans are agents of geological power? Explained: http://vimeo.com/39048998 That 'human' activities are accelerating biodiversity loss; Adding to natural background of carbon atmospheric emissions to change climates; Deforestation; arresting of sediment flows of rivers, deltas; Will Steffen TEDx talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABZjlfhN0EQ
A geographical approach to the processes of the anthropocene.
Claim it begins in Europe in 1784 with invention of steam engine (Crutzen)? So, corresponds with environmental arguments that it is the industrial revolution; But in what places did the processes associated with the anthropocene begin? Where have different processes that drive anthropocene been orchestrated from? How does what can be done vary from place to place;
Normative responses to environmental transformations of the anthropocene
Many in Environmental movement argue for reduced impacts, more locally based economies; Other Technocentrics argue to use this power as a spur to further and deeper interventions into our planetary ecosystem That is, there is a triumphalist aspect; A celebration of 'our' power to transform the earth; Geo-engineering, etc. The Anthropocene
That it is being considered as having validity means something profound has happened in human-environmental relations;
At one level the idea presents an opportunity to collectively reflect on environmental impacts & responsibilities;
This includes tourism and it's rise in the era of Carbon based societies;
Problems associated with thinking environ- mental problems as just global problems
Although we live in an interconnected biosphere, we experience very different ecological fates (Wolfgang Sachs); Need to think of spatial relations of environmental geographies; The routes taken by trade, transport, pollutions, communications; Which form the geographical means through which our world is joined together;
Political, economic, social, environmental processes of spatial relations
How specific spaces (cities, regions, nations) relate to other places; These include financial transactions, forms of cultural exchange, geopolitical struggles over time; We need to follow the lines of a place’s engagement with elsewhere (Doreen Massey) Such lines of engagement are both part of what makes a place what it is, and are part of its effects; Environmental relations are also hidden in everyday products we buy and consume; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o6WHN4 NDTk Planetary Boundaries
Previous environmentalist view of 'Limits to Growth' was heavily criticised - why? That limits can be adapted to with technology, social system changes, etc; But newer idea of there being planetary boundaries to human activities: http://www.stockholmresilience.org/21/news-- events/seminar-and-events/whiteboard-seminars/9- 23-2009-introducing-planetary-boundaries.html
Planetary Boundaries
Stockholm Resilience Centre: Planetary Boundaries and human opportunities:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3XxAwzD vj4&list=UUG0QUKa0MTBzBKiW18AZfTg
Planetary Boundaries and 'social justice':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp1HxTzS yUk&list=UUG0QUKa0MTBzBKiW18AZfTg
Anthropocene, and what it points to...or Capitalocene?
Yes, but...Donna Haraway’s opinion on the 'Capitalocene' and beyond: http://vimeo.com/97663518 Or... Noel Castree: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ks3 nGYTVlY or...Dipesh Chakrabarty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svgq LPFpaOg
The anthropocene
What conclusions, if any, can we draw from the different views around the anthropocene? Might this approach aid tourism studies?