Editors Note ONE of the most striking developments in recent burgeoning trade. While some countries have undeniably decades has been the phenomenal expansion of tourism managed to reduce the foreign import component of worldwide. It is one of the fastest-growing sectors in their tourist trade, many others have failed to staunch the world economy, currently accounting for some 10% the continuing leakages. of global GDP. However, apart from such loss of national Few realise that there is even a United Nations revenue, it is the socioeconomic and cultural conflicts agency, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), to and environmental and human rights violations in host promote the sector. UNWTO views tourism as a driver countries that have made tourism so questionable. The of economic growth which can help developing rush to tourism development has resulted in a scramble countries to eradicate poverty, protect cultural and for land to construct the amenities and infrastructure biological diversity, and promote womens empowerment to support it. This has led to soaring land prices and and gender equality. large-scale displacement of locals. In the name of Already in the 1970s, however, this claim that sustainable tourism, indigenous peoples like the Maasai tourism was a passport to development came under in Tanzania are being evicted from their traditional lands challenge. Studies of tourism in the West Indies revealed to make way for so-called nature refuges operated by that ultimately, most of the receipts from tourist foreign companies. expenditure failed to remain in the host country to Perhaps the best symbol of the mindless, provide the necessary resources for development; destructive development engendered by tourism is the instead, they flowed back to the metropolitan countries. rise of the aerotropolis or airport city a city built Thus, according to one study in the 1970s, for every around a new or existing airport. With such dollar spent in the Commonwealth Caribbean, 77 cents infrastructures mushrooming across the globe, even returned in some form to the metropolitan centres. farmlands and wildlife habitats will not be spared. Some two decades later, a study of tourism Where land is in short supply, as in islands such leakage in Thailand by the National Institute for as Bali (Indonesia) and Penang (Malaysia), massive land Development and Administration (NIDA) estimated that reclamation projects have become the vogue. Such 70% of all money spent by tourists ended up leaving projects invariably have adverse ecological impacts. Thus Thailand. the Benoa Bay reclamation project designed to link three The reasons for these leakages are not difficult important hubs of Bali has drawn fierce protests from to explain. The infrastructure to support tourism, e.g., villagers in adjoining areas who fear that it will cause airports and attendant facilities, road construction, hotels the flooding of their homes. and overseas tourist promotion facilities, quite often As for the claim that tourism promotes gender requires massive imports and expenditure abroad. The equality, this must be set against the backdrop of the situation is made worse where the tourism sector is ruthless exploitation in the form of sex tourism and dominated by Western tourist agencies, airlines and hotel the all-pervasive commodification of women that is chains, particularly multinationals. Far from promoting taking place in the industry. Above all, the truth is that development, critics have charged, tourism serves to the vast majority of ordinary women workers in the entrench the unequal relationship between North and tourism industry are forced to live with discrimination, South which was the whole basis for underdevelopment. sexual harassment and exploitation, job insecurity and Since the 1990s, the dramatic changes in the world low wages. economy which have taken place have served to make Finally, as planetary well-being is threatened by developing countries more vulnerable not only to such climate change, it is important to remind ourselves that leakages but also to all the other ills associated with aviation is one of the major sources of carbon tourism. emissions. With new research suggesting that such With the onset of globalisation and the adoption emissions from global tourism could increase by 300% of neoliberalism (either voluntarily or as part of the by the end of the century, global tourism growth may conditionalities imposed by the World Bank or yet prove to be our ruin. International Monetary Fund for loans), tourism has In our cover story, we feature articles which become refashioned and reoriented wholly in accordance discuss many of the negative aspects of tourism with the tenets of this economic ideology. highlighted above. However, in addition, we include an The ideologys central tenets of privatisation, article on the anomalous case of Palestine. Here, because deregulation and liberalisation have facilitated the of the Israeli occupation of their country, for extraordinary expansion of tourism in developing Palestinians, tourism has acquired a unique role: as a countries and, with it, the import component to support tool of both oppression and resistance! it. The liberalisation of the financial sector and removal of constraints on foreign capital and ownership have provided unparalleled opportunities for the entry of The Editors multinational tourist agencies and hotel chains in this Visit the Third World Network website at: www.twn.my THIRD WORLD RESURGENCE No 301/302 Third World RESURGENCE www.twn.my No 301/302 Sept/Oct 15 ISSN 0128-357X The claim that tourism is a boon for developing nations has been belied by its adverse effects on sustainable development in destination countries, including on local communities and the environment. 5 ECOLOGY 22 Tourism for womens rights? WORLD AFFAIRS Albertina Almeida 2 Its alive!: The amazing 26 Maasai fight eviction from 49 A new intifada for a new world of soil Anna Lappé Tanzanian community land generation David Hearst by US-based ecotourism 51 A short history of US bomb- HEALTH & SAFETY company Susanna ing of civilian facilities Jon Schwarz Nordlund 3 Antibiotic abuse is driving 54 Iraq, Afghanistan and other antibiotic resistance 29 The puputan struggle against special ops successes Shobha Shukla the Benoa Bay reclamation Nick Turse project Anton Muhajir 34 Tourism, the extractive HUMAN RIGHTS COVER industry and social conflict in Peru Rodrigo Ruiz Rubio 57 Ethnicity in Nepals new Global tourism growth: 38 Tourism and the consump- constitution: From politics of Remedy or ruin? tion of Goa Claude Alvares culture to politics of justice 41 The occidentalisation of the Mallika Shakya 5 Tourism a driver of in- Everest Vaishna Roy equality and displacement 43 The ghettoisation of Pales- VIEWPOINT Anita Pleumarom tine tourism as a tool of 11 Tourism and the biosphere oppression and resistance 61 The coming of Corbyn crisis: Provisions for inter- Jeremy Seabrook generational care Alison M Freya Higgins-Desbiolles 48 The bitter irony of 1 billion Johnston POETRY 19 Rise of the aerotropolis tourists 1 billion opportuni- Rose Bridger ties 64 To the Bio-Bio Andres Bello THIRD WORLD RESURGENCE is pub- THIRD WORLD RESURGENCE is pub- Publisher and Chief Editor: S.M. lished by the Third World Network, an in- lished monthly by Third World Network, 131 Mohamed Idris; Managing Editor: Chee ternational network of groups and individu- Jalan Macalister, 10400 Penang, Malaysia. Yoke Ling; Editors: T Rajamoorthy, Lean als involved in efforts to bring about a Tel: 60-4-2266728 Fax: 60-4-2264505. Ka-Min, Evelyne Hong; Contributing Edi- greater articulation of the needs and rights Email: [email protected] tors: Roberto Bissio (Uruguay), Charles of peoples in the Third World; a fair distri- Printed by Jutaprint, No. 2, Solok Sungai Abugre (Ghana); Staff: Linda Ooi (Design), bution of world resources; and forms of de- Pinang 3, 11600 Penang, Malaysia. Lim Jee Yuan (Art Consultant), Lim Beng velopment which are ecologically sustain- Cover Design: Lim Jee Yuan Tuan (Marketing), Yap Bing Nyi (Editorial) able and fulfil human needs. Copyright © Third World Network E C O L O G Y Its alive!: The amazing world of soil 2015 has been declared by the UN as the International Year of the Soil. Anna Lappé explains why the soil is a matter of life and death. WE cant eat those carrots, the kids treated like the royalty it is. To date, plant is attacked by aphids, trigger- cried out. Theyre covered in dirt! theres no mention of soil in United ing nearby plants to mount their own My friend had been regaling me Nations climate change conventions. chemical defence, repelling aphids with stories about teaching public In fact, the only international agree- and attracting wasps, their natural school kids healthy eating and garden- ment that refers to soil is the United predator. ing and this particular comment struck Nations Convention to Combat De- Though mineral subsoils can take a chord: Kids are so used to devour- sertification, and it focuses only on centuries to form, using techniques ing carrots from plastic bags that dry areas. Advocates hope bringing like permaculture and organic agricul- theyre shocked to see the vegetables attention to soil this year will change ture its possible to make new soils with soil still clinging to their orange that. consciously and rapidly, says ecolo- gist and filmmaker John D Liu, who flesh. has been documenting the incredible What we dismiss as dirt is per- Just a thin band of soil revitalisation of the Loess Plateau re- haps the most valued and underap- gion in China for 20 years. The re- preciated part of nature. stands between our gion was one of the most eroded plac- Just a thin band of soil stands es on Earth; revitalisation efforts be- between our species survival and to- species survival and gun in 1995 are already showing re- tal extinction. We depend on soil for total extinction.