Resources Use and Conservation The Elements of Conservation Economics A suggested classification of resources that facilitates an analysis of the

issues concerning their use and conservation, including policy implications is: Non-renewable (NRR) Productive: minerals, e.g. copper, lead, zinc Energy: Fossil fuels, e.g. oil, coal, gas Renewable (RR) Agricultural Fisheries Forests Hydro-electricity Bio-fuels Unlimited Aggregates Tidal Solar Wind

The Economics of Resources Conservation a. Non-renewable Resources- the rate of depletion and possible exhaustion of nonrenewable key productive and energy resources is a central economic issue. The problem of maintaining their supply is likely to become more acute in the face of growing demand by Asian countries, such as China and India, experiencing rapid exploitable sources. Hotelling Rule- sets out the conditions for the optimal use of such resources over time. The rule for the supply of a resource is to maximize its present value by estimating the future returns and costs over the expected time period that is economically exploitable; that is , to the point where the net returns equal zero. Technological developments lead to new methods for the exploration and extraction of resources and improve the efficiency of their use , such as the extension of product life that reduces the demand for the constituent resources and facilitates recovery (collection),re-use and recycling. The issues of re-use and recycling have become more important in recent years on two counts. 1. There is the problem of disposing products that are nor recyclable as the capacity to use landfill sites is rapidly being exhausted. The problem of waste generation raise the issue of the full costs of its disposal 2. There is an economic issue over the opportunity cost of obtaining resources from primary as opposed to the secondary sources of re-use and recycling ,while the cost can be estimated reasonably accurately , this is not the case for secondary sources.

PS SS QPQ QSS -

Primary Sources Secondary Sources Quantity from Primary Sources Quantity from Secondary Sources

MPB - Marginal Private Benefits MSB - Marginal Social Benefits MPC - Marginal Private Costs MPB = MPC ACE - Assimilative Capacity of the Environment

b. Renewable resources Maximum sustainable yield- an essentially biological concept and a long standing basis for the modelling of renewable resources in economics -The concept of maximum sustainable yield is concerned with resources that are capable of renewal either naturally or through appropriate management. -The economics of maximum sustainable yield considers the relationship between the price of the product, the cost of exploiting it, the yield in terms of the physical quantity and the stock or population.

Tourism and the Use of Non-renewable and Renewable Resources Non-renewable Issues in Tourism One of the major economic activities in the world, tourism has a marked impact on the demand for non-renewable resources. It also generates significant wastes, which, although not as hazardous as pollution from extractive industries, manufacturing and chemicals pollution can create acute disposal problems (Stabler and Goodall, 1996) as well as major environmental problems. Tourisms use of Non-Renewable Resources There were many initiatives in the 1990s to improve the environmental performance of the supply side regarding the use of resources and reduction of waste when attention concentrated on the causes and effects of firms operations. -Tourism association urged businesses to institutes programmes to avoid the use of materials likely to be environmentally harmful, substitute purchases of recycle products for those from primary sources and to reduce waste by an absolute cut in the consumption of material and energy and by recycling materials as far as is practicable. -To use suppliers who meet the environmental standards expected by purchasers and action to educate and encourage tourists to adopt environmentally responsible behaviour. Within tourism, as in other industrial fields , as well as a lack of comprehension by businesses of environmental issues and objectives (Stabler and Goodall:1997),an element of complacency was engendered in that some areas of activity ,it was felt that the potential to attain sustainability was limited. The Irreproducibility and Irreversibility of Resources Use in Tourism Some natural resources that attract large numbers of tourist are irreproducible, such as the Giants Causeway, Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef and the rain forests of Asia and South America, if they were to be severely degraded, or even destroyed by tourism development or overuse.

It has been estimated by international conservation bodies concerned with bird , insect,marine,mammal and plant life that with the loss of their habitats through human activity or improper management ,as many as 50 species are becoming extinct each year. Many such designated resources of this nature that are vital to tourism that are being encroached upon and subject to overuse. Numerous and varied landscapes sometimes influenced by human activity, which, although not actively utilized, from a backdrop to tourism, are a key component of the product for destinations. Overcrowding and over-development often occur in relatively small locations. Concluding Observations on Tourisms Use of Non-renewable Resources Tourism firms towards the conservation of materials and energy reflect the market oriented approach, their conservation has not been fully considered in the wider context of sustainability. Renewable resource issues in tourism: the relevance of the concept of maximum sustainable yield

The economic analysis of maximum sustainable yield holds implications for the management of open access resources used by the sector, particularly the need to secure workable agreements on their use in destinations. Responsible Tourism Adapted Tourism Adventure Ecotourism Geotourism Sustainable Tourism Alternative Appropriate Community-based Conservation Cultural Ecological Ethical Fair-trade 3 terms assumed prominence Green High-value Natural area Nature- aware Nature-based Popular ecotourism Pro-poor Responsible Self- reliant Small group Soft Social Sustainable & Wildlife tourism Representative studies of ecotourism: Cater and Lowman (1994) Wearing and Neil (1999) Newsome et.al (2001) Weaver (2001) Page and Dowling (2003) Buckley (2003) Hall and Boyd (2005) Fennel (2007) Ecotourisms Organizations Conservation International The Ecotourism Society Eco-source Network Green Globe 21 United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNSCD) WTTC

United Nations declared 2002 to be the International Year of Ecotourism and there was also the Quebec City Declaration on Ecotourism that emerged from the World Ecotourism Summit in the same year. Two journals that devote articles on Ecotourism 1. Ecotourism Journal 2. Journal of Sustainable Tourism (JOST) Ecoutourism- is a sustainable, non-evasive form of nature-based tourism that focuses primarily on learning about nature first-hand and which is ethically managed to be low impact, non-consumptive and locally oriented (control, benefits and scale).It typically occurs in natural areas, and should contribute to the conservation of such areas. Fennel(2007:24)