Over-exploitation
We risk loving our wildlife to death.
What’s going on?
Tourism packages up nature for sale.
We love visiting natural areas that offer direct access to nature, but many of them are fragile and even a small number of visitors will need tourism infrastructure like paths, roads, cycle tracks, which can all damage natural habitats. Even eco-tourism can have a negative impact on the environment.
Overuse of water and demand for energy to sustain resorts can have direct impacts on precious local resources like groundwater.
The high footfall of tourists in natural areas is increasing erosion of footpaths, trampling of nature, and disturbance of wildlife.
In addition to the damage caused by direct contact with corals, snorkelers and divers can also kick up clouds of sediment with their fins, which when it lands on a coral reef, can block the sunlight contributing to the destruction of the reef. [1]
Over-exploitation is also hidden in our supply chains – for example, we’re destroying forests and orangutan populations by using palm oil in the food we serve. [2]
Our desire to get closer to wildlife, for example, whales and dolphins, large mammals, or nesting birds, can increase their stress levels and have a negative effect on breeding.
Get nature positive
We need business, in every area of tourism, to understand the impact of over-exploitation and how it affects biodiversity in nature, both locally and globally.
Explore the actions your business can take to get nature positive.
