Edmund Bartlett | How can tourism help to sustain COVID-19 environmental gains?

After more than two years of tireless efforts to balance economic survival with the protection of the health and wellness of global population, through a range of restrictive measures, it is certainly welcome news that the last several months have been favourable to the imminent downgrading of COVID-19 from a pandemic to an epidemic. This is based on the evidence that global infection rates have declined precipitously since the beginning of the year, with the World Health Organization indicating in mid-February that COVID-19 cases were down 17 per cent globally.

As more and more countries record reduced rates of COVID-19 infection and transmission, they have been incrementally easing many restrictions for citizens who are fully vaccinated such as mask mandates, limits on public gatherings, social distancing, travel bans, mandatory quarantine, and stay-at-home and work-from-home orders. The relaxation of restrictions has laid the foundation for speedy recovery of the global economy and the eventual return of billions of citizens to many of the habits, cultures, lifestyles, and activities that they have enjoyed before the pandemic.

Despite the obvious importance of societies returning to some semblance of normalcy as soon as possible, this excitement must be tempered by the recognition that the pandemic has produced unprecedented changes to the world. One of the more far-reaching impacts of the pandemic has been described by many scholars as the “great reset”, a term that suggests that the ecological, social, geopolitical, and economic impacts of the pandemic have taken societies back to a period that some have likened to the beginning of time. From the perspective of its ecological or environmental impact, a group of researchers coined the term “anthropause” to describe the period of unusual planetary calm caused by early COVID-19 lockdown. The phenomenon allows us to make observations about the reaction of nature or the environment to the slowdown of human activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

REDUCTION IN INTERACTIONS

In recent history, the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly caused the most sustained global reductions in human mobility and physical interactions between human beings and the natural environment. When the pandemic was first declared in 2020, countries went into lockdown, and many popular tourism destinations experienced little to no traffic. The last two years have provided scientists with the opportunity to examine how nature has responded to the resultant dramatic deacceleration of the physical interaction of human beings with the natural environment and the various forms of pollution and degradation that emanate from it.

By using data collected with tiny animal-attached electronic devices called ‘bio-loggers’, the team of scientists who coined the phenomenon, amassed more than one billion GPS location records for some 13,000 tagged animals from all around the world – including birds, mammals, and a variety of marine species - that allowed them to draw important conclusions ( Sci-Tech Daily 2022). Their analysis confirmed positive outcomes such as fewer animals being killed by vehicles and the return of some migrant and endangered species of animals. Other positive environmental benefits recorded elsewhere included improvement in global air quality due to lower anthropogenic emissions of air pollutants and atmospheric particles, recuperation of water ecosystems in some countries, restoration of some aquatic life due to reduced commercial fishing, and less soil pollution due to significant reduction of solid and water waste. These observations seem to support the view that as a consequence of the pandemic, nature appeared to have recovered or is “taking over again”. Scientists have, however, cautioned that the return to normalcy that is anticipated to accelerate throughout this year into next year is likely to endanger the sustainability gains that were realised as a result of the experience of “anthropause”.

The belief among these scientists is that as COVID-19 travel restrictions ease, a surge in human mobility and travel activity beyond pre-pandemic levels appears to be imminent. They warn that this will lead to an outcome they have described as “anthropulse”, which will produce the opposite effect of anthropause by reversing recent environmental gains and dramatically accelerating environmental degradation. This is as people who are keen to make up for time lost over the last two years are likely to simultaneously intensify their return to a wide range of economic, social and cultural activities that will place added stress on the natural world. A new study conducted by Travel Pulse, for example, found that people are planning more travel in 2022 due to being less concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

PRESENTED OPPORTUNITIES

While the threat of anthropulse is well-founded, I strongly believe that the slowdown in human mobility witnessed over the past two years has presented opportunities for the tourism sector that can be maximised. Indeed, there is certainly an opportunity for Destination Jamaica to position itself to tap into the pent-up demand for international travel and to appeal to more diverse outbound tourism markets by aggressively marketing itself as a safe and secure destination option for visitors. However, to ensure that we sustain some of the environmental benefits that have been realised since the pandemic started, we must intensify the pursuit of tourism strategies that promote a more sustainable tourism that ensures a balance between the economy and the environment.

The shift to sustainable tourism will not only allow Jamaica to compete for the growing number of international tourists who are expected to opt for more sustainable destinations in the post-pandemic era, but it will also allow Jamaica to accelerate the development of niche markets in sustainable tourism that the country is naturally suited for. These include eco-tourism, health and wellness tourism, cultural and heritage tourism, and community tourism.

While we diversify the tourism product with a view to promoting sustainability, we must collaborate closely with all partners, especially hoteliers, to build capacities and commitment to the transitioning to alternative and renewable energy in the delivery of in-house tourism services.

Ultimately, despite the general evidence to the contrary, I believe tourism and environmental development need not be in conflict with each other. As minister of tourism, I am committed to ensuring this.

- Edmund Bartlett is minister of tourism for Jamaica. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.