Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Ambientales Opción Economía Ecológica y Gestión Ambiental The Lanzarote Society and Tourism’s Metabolism Marcelo Hercowitz Trabajo de investigación de 9 créditos Tutor: Prof. Joan Martínez-Alier Barcelona Diciembre de 2001 Acknowledgment During my permanence in Barcelona, in the development process of this research, I had contact with many people who gave me academic and personal support to keep working. I owe my sincerely gratitude to all these persons. Furthermore, I have to thank the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation (AECI), for their funds support. I wish to thank Prof. Charles Perrings and Prof. Callum Roberts, from the University of York, for receiving me as a visiting student at the Environmental Department of this University and for their comments on my research. I also would like to thank people from Lanzarote, who kindly received me in the period I spent collecting information in the island. I must thank the Fundación César Manrique, with special thanks to Idoya Cabrera Delgado, my first contact in Lanzarote, for opening doors to me in both the foundation and in Lanzarote itself. My gratitude also to the Cabildo de Lanzarote, specially to Miguel Ángel Martín Rosa, responsible for the data office and to people from the Biosphere Reserve council specially to Aquilino Miguélez López. Yet, in Lanzarote, I must thank Domingo Concepción García from the ecologist association El Guincho. At the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), I am sincerely grateful to my colleagues and professors. I thank Professors Mario Giampietro, Pilar Andrés, Jeron Van den Bergh (visiting UAB, from the Free University of Amsterdam) and Alpina Begossi (visiting UAB, from the University of Campinas – UNICAMP) for their comments in different phases of this research. I thank specially Professors Giuseppe Munda for his unconditional support and friendship and to my supervisor, Joan Martínez Alier, for the rich experience of sharing his knowledge, working with his supervision, especially, for providing me with the opportunity to go deeply into the ecological economics field. Last but not least, thank to all the good friends I made and shared experience in Barcelona; to my friends from Brazil, for their genuine friendship – being spatially close or distant –; and to my family to whom I do not have words to express my appreciation for everything. To all of them and to those who I could not mention here, Thank you very much Marcelo Hercowitz Barcelona, September, 2001 Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction ________________________________________________ 7 Chapter 2 – An Introduction to The Field Study: Lanzarote___________________ 13 2.1 The Local Context ____________________________________________________13 2.1.1 Physical Description ____________________________________________________ 13 2.1.2 Human Settlement ______________________________________________________ 15 2.1.3 Economy _____________________________________________________________ 16 2.1.4 The Agriculture Without Water ____________________________________________ 17 2.1.5 Demography___________________________________________________________ 18 2.1.6 The Tourism Era – Lanzarote on the Biosphere________________________________ 20 2.1.7 Ecological System ______________________________________________________ 22 2.1.7.1 Biodiversity_________________________________________________________ 22 2.1.7.2 Atmosphere _________________________________________________________ 25 2.1.7.3 Soil _______________________________________________________________ 26 2.1.7.4 Hydrographic system__________________________________________________ 26 2.1.7.5 Landscape __________________________________________________________ 27 2.1.8 Protected Areas ________________________________________________________ 27 2.2 The General Context of the Research ____________________________________30 2.1.1 Desert Ecosystem_______________________________________________________ 30 2.1.2 Protected Areas and Biosphere Reserves_____________________________________ 30 2.1.3 The Tourism Alternative _________________________________________________ 32 Chapter 3 – Justification of the Chosen Approach – The Society’s Metabolism ___ 36 3.1 Carrying Capacity____________________________________________________36 3.2 Society’s Metabolism – Energy and Material Flow Accounts_________________40 3.3 Resilience ___________________________________________________________43 3.4 Conclusion __________________________________________________________46 Chapter 4 - The Lanzarote’s Energy Flow Account, 1999_____________________ 48 4.1 Transportation Sector_________________________________________________51 4.2 Electricity ___________________________________________________________52 4.2.1 Desalinization Process – Water ____________________________________________ 52 4.2.2 Commercial and Industrial Sectors _________________________________________ 53 4.2.3 Residences and Public Illumination_________________________________________ 54 Chapter 5 – The Lanzarote’s Material Flow Account, 1999 ___________________ 56 5.1 Total Material Requirement (TMR) _____________________________________56 5.2.1 Domestic extraction _____________________________________________________ 56 5.1.2 Imports_______________________________________________________________ 57 5.1.3 Domestic and foreign hidden flows _________________________________________ 58 5.2 Total Domestic Output (TDO) __________________________________________58 5.3 Exports _____________________________________________________________59 5.4 Net Addition to Stock (NAS) ___________________________________________59 5.5 Tourists’ Material Flow _______________________________________________60 5.5.1 Input_________________________________________________________________ 60 5.5.2 Output _______________________________________________________________ 65 Chapter 6 – Lanzarote’s Metabolism _____________________________________ 68 6.1 Gateways ___________________________________________________________68 3 6.2 A Non-Equivalent Description __________________________________________70 6.3 Impacts _____________________________________________________________72 Chapter 7 – Conclusion ________________________________________________ 74 References __________________________________________________________ 79 Annex 1_____________________________________________________________ 83 4 List of Tables Chapter 2 – An Introduction to The Field Study: Lanzarote....................................... 13 Table 2.1 – Census of Lanzarote’s Population on the XX century........................................19 Table 2.2 – Population of Lanzarote (1996-1999)..................................................................19 Chapter 4 - The Lanzarote’s Energy Flow Account, 1999........................................... 48 Table 4.1 – Oil Input ..............................................................................................................50 Table 4.2 – Electricity Production by Source.........................................................................50 Table 4.3 – Number of Vehicles.............................................................................................51 Table 4.3 – Number of Vehicles - Continuation. ...................................................................51 Table 4.4 – Percentage of oil used by type of vehicle and utilization, 1999. .........................52 Table 4.5 – Water Production, Consumption and Respective Energy Used. .........................53 Table 4.6 – Water consumed and energetic expenditure on the desalinization process - 1999. .................................................................................................................................................53 Table 4.7 – Tourists oil consumption (m.t.). ..........................................................................54 Chapter 5 – The Lanzarote’s Material Flow Account, 1999........................................ 56 Table 5.1 – Cultivated land area and type of culture (ha.) – 1999. ........................................56 Table 5.2 – Agricultural production in 1999, excluding “green stuff”, “others” and grape (m.t.)........................................................................................................................................57 Table 5.3 – Goods unloaded in Arrecife’s Port (importation) according to the economic activity of destination (1999). .................................................................................................58 Table 5.4 – Composition of solid residues generated in Lanzarote, 1996..............................59 Table 5.5 – Total expenditure of tourists and residents in Lanzarote, 1999 (million of pesetas)....................................................................................................................................61 Table 5.6 – Weights of importation to Lanzarote according to destination activity and population, Ton., 1999. Construction sector – scenario 1.......................................................64 Table 5.7 – Weights of importation to Lanzarote according to destination activity and population, Ton., 1999. Construction sector – scenario 2.......................................................64 Table 5.8 – Weights of importation to Lanzarote according to destination activity and population, Ton., 1999. Construction sector – scenario 3.......................................................64 Table 5.9 – Composition