Impact of tourism on the environment at moc chau districts, son la province, viet nam

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY NGUYEN THI XUAN IMPACT OF TOURISM ON THE ENVIRONMENT AT MOC CHAU DISTRICT, SON LA PROVINCE, VIET NAM BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode: Full-time Major : Environmental Science and Management Faculty : Advanced Education Program Batch : 2015 - 2019 Thai Nguyen, 09/2019 DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management Student Name Nguyen Thi Xuan Student ID DTN1553110053 Thesis Title Supervisors Impact of tourism on the environment at Moc Chau districts, Son La province, Viet Nam Prof Dang Van Minh Supervisors' Signature Abstract: Moc Chau, located in the northwest part of Vietnam is known for its ecotourism sites With the cool weather and culture-rich places to visit, Moc Chau has attracted local and foreign tourists The district offers a great deal of environment-related tours and activities, and ecotourism sites to visit and experience Due to the increasing number of visitors, Moc Chau has been under construction of roads, hotels and more Because of activities as homestays, some parts of the forests has been cut off turned into gardens for growing vegetables that are being used to cook meals for hill tribe homestay visitors Development is needed in a country, but if not sustainable, the ability of future generations to meet their needs would be compromised Balance is always required in every aspect of developing, whether in one’s self or countrywide Tourism has both positive and negative effects; it all depends on how it is handled The negative impacts of tourism development can gradually destroy environmental resources on which it depends On the other hand, tourism has the potential to create beneficial effects on the environment by contributing to environmental protection and conservation It is a way to raise awareness of environmental values and it can serve as a tool to finance protection of natural areas The awareness of the people living and visiting in Moc Chau is also of great deal and issue Keywords Environmental impact; Environmental awareness; Tourism Numbers of pages 60 Date of submission September 20, 2019 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Graduate internship time is a very important time for each student This is the time to consolidate and review system the knowledge learned and apply theory into practice, and helping students to improve their knowledge and working methods in order to meet requires scientific research practice With the agreement of the School-board, Advanced Education Program, I have researched the subject: "Impact of tourism on the environment at Moc Chau districts, Son La province, Vietnam" I sincerely thank the teachers who have given me valuable knowledge throughout the process of learning and training at the school, helping me improve my ability to meet the requirements of a student after graduation Thank you, Prof Dr Dang Van Minh devotedly instructed and instructed me to complete this graduation thesis To Advanced Education Program, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, including Dr Duong Ngoc Duong and the thoughtful staff, sincerest thank you for the help and opportunity to conduct this research I would like to express my sincere thanks to Moc Chau districts staff, Son La province for facilitating me during my internship Due to limited time and limited capacity, the dissertation cannot be avoided errors, I am looking forward to receiving the comments of teachers and friends so that my thesis will be improved Thank you sincerely! Nguyen Thi Xuan iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix PART I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research Rationale 1.2 Research's objectives 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Limitations 1.5 Definition PART II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Basic Concepts 2.2 Characteristic of the Tourism Industry 2.3 Tourism Environment 2.3.1 Structure of the Tourism Environment 2.3.2 Relationship between Tourism and Environment 11 2.4 Impact of Tourism on the Environment 12 iv 2.4.1 The Positive Impacts 12 2.4.2 The Sources of Travel Impact the Environment 17 2.4.3 The Potential Impacts of the Tourism Development Project 18 PART III METHODOLOGY 20 3.1 Object and Scope of the Study 20 3.1.1 Research Object 20 3.1.2 Research Scope 20 3.2 Time and Locale of the Study 20 3.3 Research Content 20 3.4 Research Methods 20 PART IV RESULTS 22 4.1 Status of Tourism Development in Moc Chau 22 4.1.1 Status of Traveler to Moc Chau Tourist Area 22 4.1.2 System of the Residence in Moc Chau Tourist Area 24 4.1.3 Restaurant Facilities and Services 25 4.2 Assess the quality of environment in Moc Chau tourism area 26 4.2.1 Soil environment quality 26 4.2.2 Water environment quality 28 4.3 Assess the Impact of Tourism Activities on the Environment 30 4.3.1 Sources of Waste Generation 30 4.3.2 Waste Composition 31 v 4.3.3 Amount of Waste Generation 33 4.3.4 Domestic Wastewater from Tourism Activities 33 4.3.5 Other Environmental Issues: Noise, Ecosystems, The Impact of Tourism Activities on Social Issues (social evils, ect.) 34 4.4 Assessment of Moc Chau Tourism Environment by Tourists 35 4.4.1 Travelers Opinions about Waste Collection and Treatment 35 4.4.2 Travelers Opinions about the Tourism Environment 36 4.5 Raising Awareness 37 4.6 Solutions for Developing Sustainable Tourism 39 PART V DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 40 5.1 Discussion and Conclusion 40 5.2 Recommendations 41 REFERENCES 42 APPENDICES 44 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Location Map of Moc Chau district, Son La province Figure 2.1 Diagram of the environmental impact on tourism 11 Figure 2.2 Diagram of the impact of tourism activities on the environment 12 Figure 4.1 Chart of waste composition ratio in Moc Chau tourist area (2019) 32 Figure 4.2 Assessment of waste collection, treatment and tourism according to tourist opinion 35 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Number of tourists in Moc Chau during 2016-2018 and estimated for 2019 22 Table 4.2 Summary of some accommodation establishments of Moc Chau tourist area 24 Table 4.3 System of some restaurants in Moc Chau district tourist area 26 Table 4.4 Quality of soil environment in Moc Chau 27 Table 4.5 Surface water quality in Moc Chau 29 Table 4.6 Sources of domestic waste generated in Moc Chau tourist area 30 Table 4.7 Waste component in Moc Chau tourist area 32 Table 4.8 Waste generation 33 Table 4.9 Volume of wastewater generation in Moc Chau 34 Table 4.10 Environmental quality assessment at the resort 36 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS UNWTO World Tourism Organization WWF World Wildlife Fund IUCN World Conservation Union UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization DARD Department of Agriculture and Rural Development UNEP United Nations Environment Programme ix PART I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research Rationale Since ancient times in human history, tourism has been recognized as a hobby, a positive activity of human rest Today, tourism has become an indispensable need in socio-cultural life and is strongly developing into a spearhead economic sector in many countries around the world Vietnam has all the factors to develop the tourism industry to become a key economic industry, Vietnam has a rich and diverse tourism potential In 2011, Vietnam has UNESCO world heritage sites including Ho Dynasty Citadel, Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hue Monuments Complex, Halong Bay, Hoi An Ancient Town, My Son Sanctuary, and Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park Also, there are many other tourist destinations and now Moc Chau is one of the key tourist areas of the country Located in the northwestern part of the country, Moc Chau is a highland district of Son La province, a humble land, quietly but hides many wonders of the natural scenery The natural scenery of Moc Chau is combined with human creativity along with the topography of the mountains, the green o f the forest, like a picture arranged in a harmonious composition creating an area with lots of scenery, attractive dreaming Moc Chau is a district of Sơn La Province in the Northwest region of Vietnam The district had a population of 118,867, and the district covers an area of 2,025 km² (Districts of Vietnam, 2003) Moc Chau has many beautiful natural landscapes and is an attractive tourist and resort destination for most domestic and foreign tourists Moc Chau is the local community to identify appropriate development options, ensuring that exploit effectively the potentials of resources, benefit the people and the sustainable development of tourism * For visitors Instruct guests on what to and what not to about the environment in tourist attractions Make tourists aware of the latent impacts and their responsibilities to the local community where they come Providing tourists with the most complete and unbiased information, so they can understand all environmental aspects of the tour, helping them to make the appropriate choice Providing sufficient information for visitors about the need to respect cultural heritage and natural landscapes, landscapes, environment, customs and traditions culture of the tourist destination To observe internal rules and regulations of tourist resorts, tourist destinations, tourist cities and tourist accommodation establishments on the protection of tourist environment 4.6 Solutions for Developing Sustainable Tourism * Solutions to minimize negative impacts on the environment All tourism activities have two-way impacts on natural resources and the environment, in order to minimize negative impacts, we must apply many measures to protect and restore resources, and respect its original values Firstly, attracting the community to protect the environment using a part of public capital and income from tourism to invest in collecting, treating waste, deploying the development of a green and clean tourist village model Secondly, investing in educating tourists and the community about the value of tourism resources to protect and promote the values of traditional culture, 38 tourism environment, attract the community into business activities tourism and tourism resource conservation Thirdly, tourism laws need to be developed and implemented; regulations in close coordination between departments, management levels, and social organizations in the conservation and exploitation of the value of resources Fourth, have plan for zoning functions in the area to identify protected areas, and sightseeing areas of famous places, historical sites, biosphere reserves have time to restore reasonable resources Fifth, strengthen statistical work and apply advanced methods of science and technology in the conservation and promotion of tourism resources 39 PART V DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Discussion and Conclusion Based on the analysis of natural, economic and social conditions, Moc Chau has a rich source of tourism resources including famous landscapes such as Green Tea hills, Dai Yem waterfall, hill Pine and Orchid Garden flowers, etc., with a rich flora and fauna system with many rare and valuable species, rich cultural values and great potentials for tourism exploitation and development Tourists coming to Moc Chau tend to increase over the years, so tourism companies are also very developed to meet the needs of tourists Restaurants and hotels in Moc Chau have been built on a large scale, the quality of staff and employees has been increasingly improved Tourism activities have helped Moc Chau develop rapidly with many services, restaurants and hotels sprouting up, helping people have jobs as well as increasing income and improving the quality of life However, tourism also causes environmental impacts such as: - Soil environment: tourism development, the number of tourists coming to Moc Chau is increasing, so the pressure on the land environment is increasing, due to the construction of works to serve tourists was changing the purpose of land use, the indiscriminate construction materials, damaging the landscape and environment Especially the amount of waste and untreated sewage will be put into the polluted soil environment - Water environment: Water pollution can be caused by many causes, one of which is due to the discharges and wastes from tourist areas but not treated Most enterprises in Moc Chau not have waste water and waste treatment 40 systems, with the increasing number of tourists, will overload the ability of the environment to self-clean - Garbage: Waste is increasing in the tourist area of Moc Chau district, it affects the quality of life of people here, it is an indirect cause affecting the soil and water environment The cause of waste generation in tourist destinations in Moc Chau is mainly due to indiscriminate littering behavior of tourists and citizens 5.2 Recommendations After studying the effects of tourism activities on the environment, the researcher would like to recommend the following points: It is necessary to protect, preserve, improve and develop the living environment in general and the tourism environment in particular, such as landscapes, flora and fauna, etc Managers, planners and policies must always have appropriate tourism development policies, orientations and plans to meet the needs of tourists and towards sustainable tourism development Adjust, combine harmonize the needs of travelers with facilities, superstructure in the present and the future There is a plan to train the contingent of officials and workers involved in tourism in accordance with the work they are currently operating in as well as in the future Propagating and educating people and tourists on environmental protection awareness 41 REFERENCES Book Many authors (2005), “Chào mừng quý khách đến với Mộc Châu”, Thong Tan Publishing House Bui Thi Hai Yen (2011), “Tuyến điểm du lịch Việt Nam”, Vietnam Education Publishing House Limited Company Buu Ngon (2008), “Du lịch miền Tập - Miền Bắc”, Vietnam Youth Publishing House Le Van Lanh (2000), "Du lịch sinh thái", Agricultural Publishing House, Hanoi Nguyen Dinh Hoe, Vu Van Hieu (2001), “Sustainable tourism”, National University Ha Noi Publisher, Hanoi Nguyen Minh Tue, Vu Tuan Canh, Le Thong, Pham Xuan Hau, Nguyen Kim Hong (1999), “Tourism Geography”, Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House Nguyen Thi Kim Thai (2003), “Ecology and environmental protection”, Construction Publishing House Nguyen Thuong Hung (1988), “Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development”, Ecotourism Development in Vietnam - A Sustainable Development Perspective Pham Con Son (2005), “Cẩm nang du lịch – Mộc Châu trữ tình”, National culture Publishing House Pham Hong Long, Bui Thi Hai Yen(2007), “Tourism resources”, Vietnam Education Publishing House 42 Pham Trung Luong, Nguyen Thi Lam, Hoang Dao Cam, Nguyen Duc Hoa Cuong (1999), “Proceedings Workshop on development of a national ecotourism strategy for Vietnam”, Hanoi Publishing House Thanh Dao (2014), "4 mùa Mộc Châu", Vietnam National University, Ha Noi Vu Tuan Canh, Pham Trung Luong, Dang Duy Loi, Nguyen Van Binh, Nguyen Ngoc Khanh (2000), “Vietnam Tourism Resources and Environment”, Vietnam Education Publishing House Article in department Division of Natural Resources and Environment of Moc Chau district, Summation report in 2018 Moc Chau District Department of Culture and Information, A summary report on cultural and information activities in 2018 Moc Chau Economic Department, Report on directing agricultural, forestry and small scale production and rural development in 2018 Internet resource Cindy Vy (2019), Moc Chau, Vietnam 2019 – The Essential Travel Guide to Moc Chau, Retrieved from: https://journeyonair.com (accessed on 07/08/2019) Webs: https://dulichmocchau.net https://earth.google.com/web https://journeyonair.com/moc-chau-vietnam https://mocchautourism.com https://vietnam-tourist.com.vn/tours/du-lich-moc-chau 43 APPENDICES Appendix Questionnaire form Ecotourism Dissertation Questionnaire On the theme of the impact of tourism activities on the environment in Moc Chau, Son La This questionnaire was conducted to collect the necessary information to help give solutions to limit the negative impact of tourism activities on the environment in Moc Chau town The information we receive from you is essential, important and valuable Please answer all questions correctly and in a constructive manner We sincerely thank you! Please tick (V) the idea you choose Please tell me where you are from? How many people are in your group? How long are your trip? days Which month you usually go? Is this resort the main purpose or just one of the destinations on your trip? Main point A few destinations How you know this information? Previously Tour guide Media Articles, magazines, films Friends and relatives Tourist book Travel agency Another source 44 What type of travel you like most? Go to beach Go to suburb Camping Sports activities Fishing Walking Snorkeling Rock Climbing Joggin Other types…………………………………………… How would you rate the attraction at this attraction? (You give points in the range of fluctuation) Very Less Interesting Normal Targets attractive Not attractive attractive [score 4-3] [score 3-2] [score 5-4] [score 1-0] [score 2-1] Natural landscape Biodiversity Local culture Service quality Environmental quality Safety Price Common sense In your opinion, what kind of tourism is here? Abundant Normal Monotonic 45 Do you see in the resort there are traces of……? Factorial More Less None Garbage Campfire spots The tree is crushed Sanitary waste Writing, drawing, engraving, carving Do you see any improvement in the environment at this resort? Wastewater Water resources Forest ecosystem Land resources Trash Climate Environmental quality Water resources 10 Do you have any comments on waste collection and treatment at tourist destinations? Often Occasionally Not done 11 How you assess environmental incidents and health risks for travelers? Very difficult Relatively difficult Nomal 12 How would you rate the level of providing environmental information to visitors? Often Occasionally Never 46 13 When you think the best time to provide guests with environmental and other information? Before visiting While visiting End of the tour 14 How you rate the environment quality in this resort? Very good Good Average Poor Very poor Targets [score 5-4] [score 4-3] [score 3-2] [score 2-1] [score 1-0] Water environment Air environment Earth environment Biological resources Ozone layer Climate chang Ecosystem Other resources 15 Are you concerned about the environment at Moc Chau resort? Often Occasionally Rarely Never 16 How would you rate the environment at the attractions? Very clean Not very clean Too dirty 17 Have you ever thrown waste in tourism environment here? Often Occasionally Rarely Never 18 How often you receive information about environmental protection? 47 Often Occasionally Rarely Never 19 According to you, are the people here aware of environmental protection? Very good conscious Not conscious Normal 20 How you find measures to protect the tourism environment in Moc Chau? Relatively good Poor No measures yet 21 Do you think that it is necessary to increase the measures to protect Moc Chau tourism environment such as planting trees, public waste bins, encouraging the use of recycled products without causing environmental pollution ? Very necessary Not necessary 22 In your opinion, the environment in the Moc Chau resort is considered as a green-clean-beautiful environment such as the environment without pollution, clean, guaranteed water, ? Strongly agree Agree Disagree 23 Are you going to recommend this resort to friends and relatives? Yes No If possible please tell me more about yourself: Age ……………… sex ………… address occupation …… Sincerely thank you for your cooperation! 48 Appendice Pictures of Moc Chau tourist destinations Son Moc Huong Cave (Bat Cave) On Village’s Five Caves 49 Dai Yem waterfall Na Ka Valley plum 50 Pha Luong’s board peak Ang Village’s Pine forest 51 Moc Chau Tea Hills Ba Phach Village – the village of cauliflowers 52