Nature-Based Tourism-Induced Pressures Contributing to Biodiversity Disturbance and Loss in Sub-Saharan Africa
摘要
The ecological footprint of humans continues to negatively impact Earth’s biological compositions, leading to a progressive decline in biodiversity. While nature-based tourism (NBT) is acknowledged as an important sector that relies on nature and wildlife resources, its role in biodiversity loss is indisputable. Tourism development is characterized by its positive and negative effects on biodiversity. This chapter examines NBT-related stressors of biodiversity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A meta-synthesis of scholarly literature on the environmental impacts of tourism was conducted. An interpretive qualitative approach was used to analyze the data. The chapter highlights the main NBT-related stressors, which include climate change, land use and land cover change, and biological invasion, among others. The chapter concludes that although tourism significantly contributes to biodiversity conservation, its negative impacts on the environment cannot be ignored. It is, therefore, important to interrogate the environmental impacts of the tourism industry on sustainable biodiversity conservation, especially in developing countries. While the chapter underscores the need for more research on the negative roles of tourism in environmental conservation, it recommends the promotion of innovative and pragmatic interventionist strategies, which are designed to reduce the threats to biodiversity in SSA.