Topic 2.8: Environmental Impacts of Travel and Tourism » Evaluating Environmental Impacts with Case Studies

⚖ What Does "Evaluate" Actually Mean?

In your iGCSE exam, you will often be asked to evaluate the environmental impacts of tourism. This is not the same as just listing them. To evaluate means to weigh up the good and the bad, consider different viewpoints and reach a judgement. It is one of the hardest skills in Geography but also one of the most rewarding once you get it right.

Key Definitions:

• Evaluate: To examine evidence carefully, consider different sides and make a supported judgement about the overall impact.
• Environmental impact: Any change to the natural environment caused by tourism this can be positive or negative.
• Stakeholder: Any person or group with an interest in a place tourists, locals, governments, wildlife charities, businesses.
• Sustainability: Meeting the needs of today's tourists without damaging the environment for future generations.

⚖ A Framework for Evaluating Environmental Impacts

To evaluate well, you need a consistent framework. Use these four questions every time you look at a case study:

📍 Evaluating with Case Studies: How to Do It

The best way to practise evaluation is to apply your framework to real places. Below are three detailed case studies that bring together multiple environmental impacts. For each one, you will see the negatives, the positives and a balanced judgement. This is exactly what your examiner wants to see.

🔍 Case Study 1: The Maldives Paradise Under Pressure

The Maldives is a chain of low-lying coral islands in the Indian Ocean. It is one of the world's most popular luxury tourism destinations, attracting around 1.7 million tourists per year. It is also one of the most environmentally fragile places on Earth.

🔴 Negative Impacts

Coral reefs have been damaged by tourist snorkelling and diving. Freshwater aquifers are being depleted by resort demand. Waste disposal is a major crisis the island of Thilafushi is used as a rubbish dump and is visibly polluting the surrounding ocean. Seaplane transfers between islands generate significant carbon emissions.

🟢 Positive Impacts

Tourism revenue funds marine protected areas around many atolls. Resorts have invested in coral restoration programmes. Some resorts run entirely on solar power. Marine biologists are employed through tourism income to monitor reef health.

⚖ Balanced Judgement

Tourism is both the Maldives' greatest threat and its best hope. Without tourism income, there would be no funding for conservation. However, the scale of waste pollution and reef damage is reaching a tipping point. Stricter visitor management is urgently needed.

📈 Key Statistic

The Maldives generates over 90% of its government revenue from tourism. This means environmental protection and economic survival are completely linked making evaluation here genuinely complex.

🔍 Case Study 2: Maasai Mara, Kenya Wildlife Tourism at a Crossroads

The Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya is famous for the Great Migration, when over 1.5 million wildebeest cross the Mara River each year. It attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists annually and is central to Kenya's economy.

🔴 Negative Impacts

Off-road driving by safari vehicles has caused severe soil erosion and vegetation loss across large areas of the reserve. During the migration, dozens of vehicles crowd around river crossings, causing stress to wildebeest and disrupting natural behaviour. Noise from vehicles disturbs predator hunts. Lodges use large quantities of water in a semi-arid environment.

🟢 Positive Impacts

Tourism provides the main economic justification for keeping the Mara as wildlife habitat rather than converting it to farmland. Anti-poaching units are funded by tourism fees. Local Maasai communities earn income as guides and lodge staff, reducing pressure to poach. Conservation organisations funded by tourism have reintroduced black rhinos to the area.

⚖ Balanced Judgement

The evidence suggests tourism is, on balance, positive for the Mara but only if managed carefully. The "use it or lose it" principle applies strongly here: without tourism, the land would almost certainly be converted to agriculture. However, vehicle numbers must be capped and off-road driving banned more strictly.

🔍 Stakeholder Conflict

Maasai herders, lodge owners, conservation NGOs and the Kenyan government all have different views on how the Mara should be managed. Herders want grazing rights. Lodge owners want more tourists. Conservationists want fewer vehicles. The government wants maximum revenue. A good evaluation acknowledges these conflicts.

🔍 Case Study 3: Dubrovnik, Croatia When a City Becomes a Victim of Its Own Success

Dubrovnik's medieval walled city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Adriatic coast. It became globally famous after being used as a filming location for Game of Thrones. By 2019, it was receiving up to 10,000 cruise ship passengers per day in peak season in a city with a resident population of just 42,000.

🔴 Environmental Negatives

Cruise ships anchored offshore produce significant air and water pollution. The narrow limestone streets suffer physical erosion from millions of footsteps each year. Waste management systems are overwhelmed in summer. The surrounding Adriatic waters show signs of pollution from vessel discharge. Noise pollution disrupts the character of the historic environment.

🟢 Management Response

Since 2017, Dubrovnik has capped cruise ship arrivals and limited daily visitor numbers inside the city walls to 4,000 at any one time. A colour-coded traffic light system monitors crowding in real time. These measures have reduced peak-hour congestion by around 30%. The city has also invested in electric shuttle buses to reduce vehicle emissions.

⚖ Evaluation: Has Management Worked?

Dubrovnik is an important example because it shows that negative impacts can be reduced through active management. The visitor cap has improved the experience for tourists and reduced environmental damage. However, cruise ship pollution remains a serious issue because ships anchor in international waters where local laws do not apply. This shows the limits of local management some impacts require international cooperation to solve.

👥 How Different Stakeholders Evaluate the Same Impact

One of the most important evaluation skills is understanding that different people see the same impact very differently. Here is an example using coral reef damage from tourism:

In your exam, showing that you understand multiple perspectives is a sign of high-level thinking. You do not need to agree with all of them but you must acknowledge they exist before reaching your own judgement.

⚖ Comparing Impacts: Which Are Most Serious?

When evaluating, you may be asked to compare different types of environmental impact. Use this guide to help you rank them:

🔴 Most Serious

Irreversible damage species extinction, permanent habitat loss, coral reef destruction. These cannot be undone regardless of future action. Always treat these as the most significant in an evaluation.

🟡 Moderately Serious

Long-term but reversible soil erosion, water depletion, deforestation. These take decades to recover but can be reversed with investment and management. Serious, but not catastrophic if action is taken.

🟢 Less Serious

Short-term and reversible litter, noise, traffic congestion, visual pollution. These are unpleasant and damaging but can be resolved relatively quickly with good management and visitor behaviour change.

📈 Pulling It All Together: A Model Evaluation Paragraph

Here is an example of a strong evaluation paragraph for your exam. Study the structure carefully this is what top-grade answers look like.

✍ Model Answer: Evaluate the Environmental Impacts of Tourism in the Maasai Mara

"Tourism in the Maasai Mara has significant negative environmental impacts, particularly soil erosion caused by off-road safari vehicles and disturbance to wildlife during the Great Migration. However, these must be weighed against the considerable positive impacts: tourism revenue funds anti-poaching patrols, supports local Maasai communities and provides the economic justification for maintaining the reserve as wildlife habitat rather than converting it to farmland. On balance, the evidence suggests that tourism is more beneficial than harmful to the Maasai Mara's environment but only if visitor numbers and vehicle access are strictly managed. Without these controls, the negative impacts could outweigh the benefits and the reserve's long-term survival would be threatened."

Notice how this paragraph: names a specific place, gives specific negative impacts, gives specific positive impacts, uses the word "however" to turn the argument and ends with a clear, conditional judgement. That structure will earn you top marks.

✍ Exam Tips: What You Need to Know

🎯 Key Points to Remember

• Evaluation means weighing up evidence and reaching a judgement not just listing facts.
• Use the four-question framework: scale, reversibility, who is affected and balance.
• Irreversible damage (extinction, permanent habitat loss) is always the most serious type of impact.
• Different stakeholders evaluate the same impact differently show you understand this.
• The Maldives, Maasai Mara and Dubrovnik are strong case studies for evaluation questions.
• Good management can reduce negative impacts but some impacts require international cooperation.
• Always end an evaluation paragraph with a clear, supported conclusion.

📚 Quick Summary: Evaluating Environmental Impacts