Impacts Of Tourism On The Environment: A Case Study Of Nungwi And Kiwengwa Villages In Unguja

ABSTRACT

The study, assesses the impact of tourism on the environment in Nungwi and Kiwengwa villages, administratively in Unguja. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey, key informants interviews and physical field visit. Data were analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16.0 and content analysis was used qualitative data. Findings indicated that hotels and restaurants were the major environment degradation agents, while snorkeling/diving and presence of beach shops were miner agents, a thought of poor waste disposals, coastal erosion, shortage of fishing sites, marine pollution, and loss of biodiversity, sanitation disposal and solid wastes dumping were the impacts. The challenges of the environmental conservation identified in the study areas, were lack of environmental conservation education among the local communities, poor cooperation of local people with tourism investors, and unsafe disposal of wastes. The study concludes that, tourism related activities if well managed, can be the driving force for environmental conservation and sustainable tourism in Nungwi and Kiwengwa villages. The study recommends undertaking EIA studies, before a large tourism infrastructures were constructed and maintaining the carrying capacity of land by assessing any tourism activity established its size and the ability of land to support, in order to avoid land degradation of the villages.