Benevolent and Benign? Using Environmental Justice to Investigate Waste‐related Impacts of Ecotourism in Destination Communities

Abstract:  We contribute to the diversification of environmental justice (EJ) by using it to frame ecotourism-related solid waste management problems. Ecotourism is a service industry portrayed as benevolent (providing benefits), and benign (reducing negative impacts). We propose four characteristics shared by ecotourism-based communities in the Global South and communities struggling with more conventional EJ conflicts. We apply these characteristics to the solid waste crisis in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, a renowned ecotourism destination. First, we show that, despite their general absences from the EJ literature, service industries such as tourism and hospitality can create environmental injustices that disproportionately impact certain types of communities. Second, we highlight the roles of location and socio-economic marginality in siting ecotourism development, in complicating related environmental impact management, and in limiting local abilities to respond to environmental management shortcomings. Third, we provide an example of opportunities to introduce EJ concepts and theory into the study of tourism.     

Recent archaeobotanical investigations into the range and abundance of Neolithic crop plants in settlements around Lake Constance and in Upper Swabia (south-west Germany) in relation to cultural influences

An overview is presented of the cultivated plants found at Lake Constance (Bodensee) and in the Upper Swabia region including the Federsee (Baden-Württemberg/south-west Germany) between 4000 and 2400 cal BC. This work relates to recent archaeobotanical investigations of the waterlogged sediments of 30 different Neolithic lakeside settlements. These sites provided almost 500,000 crop plant macro-remains, excellently preserved under waterlogged conditions. Taken in conjunction with other previously collected samples from the region, they provide an added dimension to the understanding of crop plant development in the lakeshore Neolithic in south-west Germany.     

国内外旅游城镇化研究进展

作为一种特殊类型的城镇化,旅游城镇化已成为新型城镇化的重要抓手,同时也是旅游地理学研究的重要课题。本文在对国内外相关文献综合梳理的基础上,对旅游城镇化的概念内涵、驱动因素、特征与影响进行研究对比与综合评述。通过对上述问题的系统回顾,展示旅游城镇化的发展历程及研究价值,辨明旅游城镇化研究的核心问题,以期为该领域的深入研究提供有力支撑。在当前中国旅游城镇化的消费特征、社会阶层、主客关系、身份认同、城市与文化表征亟需深入探索与案例研究的背景下,国外有关旅游城镇化发展模式与特征的研究成果,对我国未来的旅游城镇化具有重要的指导与借鉴意义。     

旅游创造性破坏模型述评

旅游影响与旅游演化是旅游研究的重点与热点,论文对旅游影响与旅游演化领域近来发展的旅游创造性破坏模型进行了述评。在介绍创造性破坏的理论基础与社会背景之后,论文评述了旅游创造性破坏模型取得的新成果,如把旅游商品化与创新看作旅游影响与演化的主动力、发展阶段的多因子判断、指标变化的非线性、资本在旅游利益主体互动中的主导地位等,同时也对该模型在应用范围、阶段特征与划分、旅游影响与演化机制等方面的不足,并对其今后研究进行了展望。