Assignment
Instruction: Read the article below and answer the questions that follows in the space provided.
Globalization and tourism: Deadly mix for indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are paying a high price for tourism, says Raymond de Chavez. In their drive for profits, transnational corporations which dominate the international tourist industry have, with the complicity of governments (particularly those of the Third World), devastated the lives and lifestyles of indigenous peoples. The process of globalisation will only exacerbate their plight.
Threat to indigenous peoples
But what does globalisation and tourism mean for the indigenous peoples? It is already an established fact that tourism had brought pernicious and long-term damaging effects on indigenous peoples even prior to globalisation. The present economic order further exacerbates and hastens these impacts.
For one, indigenous communities, which have otherwise been left untouched by traditional tourism activities, have now been targeted for tourism ventures, most specifically, ecotourism. A relatively new variant, ecotourism is described as environment-friendly, sustainable and nature-based. It came about as a response to the growing environmental awareness worldwide these past decades.
Eager to cash in on this trend, the industry promoted ecotourism as an alternative activity, ostensibly to promote tourism while protecting the environment. This activity 'involves visiting relatively undisturbed natural areas with the aim of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery, wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural aspects'.7 It includes spelunking, mountain climbing, scuba diving, bird watching, and whale watching, among others.
To a large extent, therefore, indigenous communities have become targets of ecotourism in this globalised economy.
In the Philippines, where tourism has long been considered as a major dollar-earner, ecotourism has also become a priority. Blessed with a rich biodiversity, the Philippines has developed ecotourism as a strategy to entice more foreign tourists and increase its share in world tourism revenue. Its Department of Tourism (DOT)'s Master Plan aims to develop 'sustainable' tourism while making the Philippines a leading tourist destination in Asia.14
In support of this thrust is the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (NIPAS) of 1992, which classifies certain areas as protected zones. The DOT has identified 17 protected areas all over the country as suitable for ecotourism. It is important to note that the majority of these areas are territories of indigenous peoples.
In the Cordillera in the northern Philippines, tourism continues to affect adversely many of its 1.3 million indigenous population. Sagada in Mountain Province, home to the indigenous Kankanaeys, is known internationally for its cool climate, rice terraces, and caves, among others. Its people have maintained their indigenous way of life, subsistence economy and sustainable relationship with nature for centuries.
In recent years, tourism arrivals have grown tremendously, caused in part by ecotourism promotion packages advertising Sagada as a pristine community where one can commune with nature. Hotels and inns mushroomed, changing the town's landscape and straining its water resources. Pollution caused by littering and improper waste disposal has now become a major problem for the community.
Apart from environmental degradation, the influx of tourists has disrupted the Kankanaeys' traditions and practices. The solemnity and sacredness of rituals, such as those relating to the agricultural cycle and passage of life, have been affected due to the presence of curious tourists. Caves, traditionally their burial grounds, have been vandalised by graffiti, and some of the bones of their ancestors stolen.
Western influences have also taken their toll on the local community. These include the production, distribution and use of prohibited drugs such as marijuana and hashish. Taboos have been constantly broken by foreign tourists. Tourists, for example, have bathed in the nude in waterfalls, which is frowned upon by the local community.
In 1995, the world-famous Ifugao Rice Terraces in Banawe, Ifugao province, was declared by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site. This was part of the Philippine government's campaign to sell Ifugao as a major tourist destination in the world.16
The influx of tourists over the decades has similarly affected the Ifugaos, the indigenous inhabitants of the province. Foremost is the disruption of traditional economic practices of the community. The builders of the world-renowned rice terraces, the Ifugaos for centuries have subsisted on crops planted in their terraces. With the entry of tourists and hotels, the lure of money from tourist-related businesses such as selling of woodcarvings, became more attractive than subsistence farming. This has left many terraces untended and in danger of deterioration.
Commercial production of woodcarvings has also affected nearby forests. Trees have been cut down to support commercial woodcarving activities that cater to foreign as well as domestic tourist demand. This has led to the drying up of water sources much needed for irrigation.
Joan Carling of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance aptly summed up the effects of tourism on the indigenous peoples in the Cordillera when she wrote:17
'The tourism industry has facilitated the further disintegration of the peoples' indigenous way of life. Cash production for the tourism industry has led to commercialism and individualism in contrast to the indigenous ways of simple living and mutual cooperation. Likewise, the commercialisation of their culture has led to undignified ways of seeking a livelihood such as allowing themselves to be photographed as souvenirs or to do their indigenous dance for a fee. This practice was never part of their culture.'
The pervasive effects of globalised tourism can also be seen in the way it has affected other indigenous peoples all over the world. In the Cook Islands in the Pacific, a 204-room hotel was built on land sacred to the local people. The construction has caused environmental damage amounting to US$1 million.
Task
Answer the following questions in 5-7 sentences.
A. How is ecotourism being discussed above?
B. Why do indigenous people is paying a high price with globalization?
C. How can an indigenous site loss its authenticity due to homogenization?
D. What can the government do in order to prevent tourism and hospitality initiative to disrupt the natural and authentic representation of our ecotourism sites?