‘Pollution’ warning given on uncontrolled tourism

Press, 1 March 1982, Page 18

‘Pollution’ warning given on uncontrolled tourism

LES BLOXHAM Countries pinning their economic salvation on a rapid growth in tourism have been warned by a former Indian Minister of Tourism, at the Pacific Area Travel Association’s annual conference in Bangkok, to beware of tourism’s associated pollution. While tourism could bring a great prosperity to an area, it could also cause a pollution in every way as disastrous as industrial pollution, said Dr Karan Singh, a member of the Indian Parliament. “The authorities very often do not realise the extent of the damage being done until something drastic happens, and then it is too late,” he said. Tourism, the world's biggest industry, would be immensely poor without cultural and historical treasures such as the pyramids of Egypt, the ancient caves of India, the temples of Angkor Wat and Borobudur, and the glory of the Taj Mahal in India, said Dr Singh. But he noted with regret, that many countries were losing the battle to preserve such cultural and historical treasures. “Sometimes, as in Angkor Wat, the monuments are damaged by war; sometimes, as in Abu Simbel, they fall victim to development activities; sometimes, as in the case of the huge oil refinery which is being built quite close to the Taj Mahal,

they are victims of faulty planning,” he said.

The world's treasured monuments were also being imperilled by the very growth of population and increasing urbanisation. “And of course, by the criminal insensitivity of individual tourists who disfigure them” Dr Singh recommended that investigative studies be undertaken by the World Tourism Organisation and other related bodies such as P.A.T.A. in close collaboration with governments and heritage societies. The information should be pooled and ' circulated internationally.

Dr Singh warned his audi-. ence of 1500 delegates, most of whom are dedicated to boosting the growth of tourism, that the world today was at a vital crossroads.

“Technology has given people tremendous power to transform their environment, but care must be taken to ensure that we do not become like the mythical Atlantis — a glittering civilisation unable to survive its own technological ingenuity which, one day, sank beneath the waves.

“All life on this planet is sacred, and we who claim to be the highest of earthly creatures, must never forget our debt to Mother Earth for having nurtured us since the beginning of time. “It is in the flight of that deeper responsibility that I would urge you to consider the importance of historical and cultural tourism,” he said, to a standing ovation.