The Synergy Between Scuba Diving and Household Behaviour: Testing Plastic and Food Waste "The Use of Natural Habitats for Tourism Education"

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The Synergy Between Scuba Diving and Household Behaviour: Testing Plastic and Food Waste UNIVERSITY OF SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA FACULTY OF ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS SCIENCES DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN TOURISM MANAGEMENT AND PLANING The Synergy between Scuba Diving and Household Behaviour: Testing Plastic and Food Waste "The use of natural habitats for tourism education" Doctoral thesis submitted by MA Luís Mota International Mention 2013 UNIVERSITY OF SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA FACULTY OF ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS SCIENCES DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN TOURISM MANAGEMENT AND PLANING The Synergy between Scuba Diving and Household Behaviour: Testing Plastic and Food Waste "The use of natural habitats for tourism education" Doctoral thesis submitted by MA Luís Mota Supervised by Ph.D. Xosé Manuel Santos Solla International Mention 2013 Ph.D. Xosé Manuel Santos Solla, Senior Lecturer of Human Geography, and Director of the Centre for Studies in Tourism [CETUR], at the Department of Geography, of the Faculty of Geography and History, from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Hereby CERTIFIES: That the research work entitled ‖The Synergy between Scuba Diving and Household Behaviour: Testing Plastic and Food Waste - The use of natural habitats for tourism education, was proposed, and developed by the Environmental Engineer, from the University of Aveiro in Portugal, and Master in Sustainable Tourism Destination Management, from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain, Luís Mota, under my direct supervision in the Department of Geography, of the University of Santiago de Compostela, and qualifies him eligible for the Ph.D. degree in Tourism Management and Planning. Santiago de Compostela, November 25, 2013. Ph.D. Professor Xosé Manuel Santos Solla MA Luís Mota ―Through human history, environmental impact has largely been a by-product of human desires for physical comfort, mobility, relief from labour, enjoyment, power, status, personal security, maintenance of tradition and family, and so forth, and of the organizations and technologies humanity has created to meet these desires.‖ (Stern, 2000, p.408) Acknowledgements It would be impossible to find sufficient words to describe how thankful am I to everyone who made writing this thesis possible. Starting with my family, I thank you all very much for your support and assistance at times such as when I experienced some computer or logistic difficulties. I am very grateful to my parents especially for believing that I could do it at any cost, and to my grandmother for always being positive and spoiling me with her special cookies! I am also very grateful to my girlfriend Nicole for accepting me as the eternal student and making part of the dream. Without my coordinator Ph.D. Xosé Manuel Santos Solla, this project would not have been possible, and I wish to express my gratitude to him for accepting me as a Ph.D. student, always being available, replying to my emails, and making suggestions about how I could improve my work. Through him, I had the chance to visit the Sustainable Development Division at the University of Quintana Roo on Cozumel Island. I am also very thankful to my fellowship coordinator Ph.D. Oscar Frausto Martínez for boosting my research, prompting fieldwork results, and giving me the chance to share my knowledge. Also a few words of thanks must go to Justo Rojas for his contribution and critical approach to assisting in the design of a valid measurement tool for fieldwork. I am very thankful to my friends Manolo and Budi for hosting me and for the wonderful times we shared together. Also my profound thanks go to Ana Nevado, Richard Patchett and Neil Martin for assisting me with language correction. Is very important to register the interest of all diving schools participating on this study, likewise diving managers, and diving staff involved, to whom I would like to express my gratitude for allowing my research and also allowing me to assess their customers in the field. I thank all staff members from the Cozumel Reef National Park for all the assistance and training they provided. The final thankful word goes to the Ph.D. Francisco Jose Eiroa Orosa, the Ph.D. Aldo Barreiro Felpeto, and the Ph.D. Francisco Arenas for recommending this research work for the International Ph.D. mention. 5 6 Abstract The activity of scuba diving is used for studying behaviours of U.S. visitors to a popular tourist destination in Mexico. The impact created by human activity can produce marine debris and therefore affect the marine environment. The subpopulation of 181 divers was tested for their current household practices regarding discarding plastic and food waste, providing quantitative statistics for divers‘ referential behaviour. Prior to partaking in scuba diving, certified, trainee, and ―one-day-experience‖ divers attended informal environmental education sessions. Moreover, 30% of all divers involved in the study participated in a web survey analysing the long-term impacts from scuba diving activity. Adapted from the theory of planned behaviour, post-experience observations were used for a Two-Step cluster analysis, which demonstrated that environmental awareness and attitude toward the behaviour can be important predictors for reducing the amount of plastic and food discards in the household. Being a member of an environmental organization does not affect waste management practices, and scuba diving is not a blueprint for behavioural change; however, it definitely plays an important role in creating an awareness of and observing the impacts on the reef. Thus, this nature-based activity is only characterized as a good vehicle for promoting good environmental practices for discarding plastic and food, motivating people to rethink their attitudes toward their behaviour in the household. 7 8 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ 5 Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 7 List of abbreviations ......................................................................................................... 12 List of Figures ................................................................................................................... 16 List of Tables .................................................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 1 ..................................................................................................... 26 1.1. Introduction........................................................................................................... 26 1.1.1. The scuba diving experience ........................................................................... 28 1.1.2. Aspects of diver profile ..................................................................................... 36 1.1.3. Diving tourism and impacts on nature .............................................................. 43 1.1.4. Marine debris ................................................................................................... 47 1.1.5. Plastic pollution: microplastics on water bodies ............................................... 54 1.2. Objectives of the study and hypothesis ............................................................... 60 1.2.1. Significance of the study .................................................................................. 66 1.2.2. Limitations of the study .................................................................................... 67 1.3. Methodology ......................................................................................................... 69 1.4 Summary and discussion of Chapter 1 ................................................................ 71 CHAPTER 2 ..................................................................................................... 75 2.1. Literature review ................................................................................................... 75 2.1.1. Millennium Development Goals ....................................................................... 77 2.1.2. UN sustainable tourism program ..................................................................... 84 2.1.3. Education and tourism ..................................................................................... 88 2.1.4. Approaching tourism, nature and users ........................................................... 93 2.1.5. Experiential learning with David Kolb‘s learning cycle ..................................... 97 2.1.6. Divers‘ behaviour based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour...................... 102 2.2. Municipal solid waste: Potential land source of marine debris .......................... 115 2.2.1. Environmental Protection Agency reporting household waste ...................... 117 2.2.1.1. Plastic disposal........................................................................................... 122 9 2.2.1.2. Food waste ................................................................................................. 127 2.3. Indicators of sustainable development for fieldwork research ........................... 135 2.4. Study area: Cozumel Island and scuba diving activity ....................................... 138 2.5. Summary and discussion of Chapter 2 .............................................................. 146 CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................... 153 3.1. Justification
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