Green Tourism

Specialist Reports Special Interest Holidays Green Tourism Water Conservation 

Water is vital for human life and rich tourists often take this commodity from those who need it simply to live. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, 100 tourists consume in 55 days the same amount of water as 100 Third World villagers for 15 years. Even worse, it is estimated that an 18-hole golf course in a dry country 500,000 gallons a day.

Nowadays, even a resort like Benidorm doesn't have enough water. As a result it is drawing too deeply on water stored underground and as the level of this drops, seawater seeps in, contaminating wells with salt. This doesn't just make the water unusuable. It poisons the surrounding farmland. In the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania safari lodges take water from the Maasai and their cattle. In Goa women have to walk further and further to find the water they need as their local supplies are diverted to hotels.

As Westerners are generally unwilling to cut down on their use of water, the solution is for facilities for visitors to manage their water use better - using sea water where feasible, for example for ornamental water features, using recycled water for gardens and golf course, and introducing systems like desalination plants if next to the sea.

Tips

• If water is scarce take showers rather than baths - short showers if water is seriously scarce.



• Especially if you suspect that water purification systems are poor (true even of some areas of for example Italy) take biodegradeable products including shampoos and soaps (for example from Neals Yard) rather than any containing sudsing agents and other chemicals which could cause pollution.