National Parks are Victims of Their Own Success as Locations for Leisure Pursuits

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National Parks are Victims of Their Own Success as Locations for Leisure Pursuits

This subject has been a matter of much conjecture for many years as

international tourism spreads to the most endangered and rare

environments across the globe, it is evident that in terms of long

term sustainability, National Park ecosystems are at serious threat

from that posed by industrial tourism.

Physical Degradation

People come to national parks in order to experience the wildlife and

the natural environment. National parks offer an escape from the 21st

century metropolitan lifestyle of stress and deadlines, which is

becoming increasingly popular with many people. These wilderness

destinations have also come into fashion due to the increased emphasis

of celebrity upon the issues concerning global climate sustainability

and global warming. This has lead to the increase in visitors which

whilst it is beneficial for the economies of some of the poorest

places on earth, it is damaging the very environments that people have

come to save.

The problem lies in the necessity for consumer goods; there are very

few travelers who are willing to leave all their creature comforts

behind. The modern consumer society, which utilises disposable goods

and electricity, does not easily fit into the nation park environment.

Despite this, the governments of the nation park areas are keen to

gain the patronage of tourists, as it is likely to provide a very

large source of revenue. Therefore, it would seem that national parks

vicitmise themselves in order to make money.

Increased patronage has also led to problems related to degradation;

in safari areas s...

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...tle effect

from the tourists.

Conclusion

My response to the question of whether Nation Parks are a victim of

their own success is that yes, in most cases nation parks are victims

of their own success due to the amount of money that people realise

they can make from an area. The initial realisation of the market

value of the area means that the owners get carried away and exploit

the area too much. Now, the areas of the world that are nearest to

nature are those that whilst being National Parks, are not successful.

Without intervention any national park that is able to attract large

numbers of people to it will eventually corrupt the initial idea of

protecting the area due to the amount of money to be made. That is why

it is so important to initiate management plans in order to prevent

damaging exploitation.

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