Making Tourism Nature Positive in Sharjah and the UAE

Immersing yourself in nature is beneficial for your mental health and for many people, it is a reason to travel, but how does our need to connect impact nature and the environment?

Many people consider visiting nature a way to escape daily life and value opportunities to explore the outdoors. Activities in nature, such as wildlife watching, photography, hiking and visiting unique ecosystems are often the main reason people choose to travel. Nature tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism sectors, and the growth of this sector depends on healthy environments and protected ecosystems. In this article information is provided on how tourism affects nature both negatively and positively, and gives recommendations for responsible nature tourism.

How can tourism be harmful to nature?

Nature tourism is a large market segment, and is the fastest growing tourism sector with an annual growth rate of 10-30%. However, tourism has a considerable impact on nature, and can be very harmful, consider the following impacts:

Tourism is responsible for 8% of carbon emissions worldwide, this contributes to climate change.
Tourism can overload ecosystems when not managed correctly. An example is Thailand’s Maya’s Bay. This popular beach was closed in 2018 due to over tourism and has now reopened in 2022 with strict limits on the number of visitors.
Tourism generates pollution and emissions. Tourism creates greenhouse gas emissions, noise, solid waste, litter, water, oil and chemicals and more, which all must be managed within local infrastructures.
Tourism development requires conversion of land and can lead to destruction of natural habitat, for example cutting down a forest to develop a hotel. Development can lead to environmental damage like beach and soil erosion, loss of natural scenery and can also harm wildlife.
Captive animal and wildlife experiences are popular tourism attractions. However, tourists may not be aware of the harm these experiences cause: captive animals are deprived of natural experience, suffer from trauma and the practice encourages poaching.

Wildlife and nature

People are entranced by animals and willing to pay large sums to get close to them on vacation through activities like riding camels, taking pictures with monkeys, petting lion cubs or visiting dolphinariums and zoos. This demand is fed by the tourism industry and tourists are often unaware of the trauma and abuse inflicted on the animals, many of whom suffer from anxiety.

Thankfully, awareness on the issue is growing, organisations such as World Animal Protection are creating awareness and are making big steps in ending animal cruelty in tourism. After over 500,000 people signed a petition, TripAdvisor stopped selling cruel wildlife activities and is now educating people on the harms of using wild animals in tourism. An ethical alternative to captured animal experience involves observing wildlife in their natural habitat using a responsible tour company.

Wildlife tourism can lead to positive outcomes by bringing economic benefits to local communities and strengthening tourists' connection to nature and animals, as long as it is done in the right way. A responsible way to learn about animals is to observe them in the wild with a local, ethical tour operator, who respects the animals and their environment. Wildlife trips should follow a code of conduct, disturb the animals as little as possible and increase knowledge about the animals and their ecosystem. This type of wildlife tourism can increase appreciation for nature, awareness of the dangers facing the environment and stimulate proactive behaviours such as donations.

How can tourism be positive to nature?

Since nature tourism is only growing, there are opportunities to minimise negative effects but also maximise the positive benefits. Consider the following ways that tourism can support nature in a tourist destination and beyond.

Nature tourism can generate job and educational opportunities for the local community that are associated with conservation, consider tour guides, park rangers, and educators.
Tourism can be a platform to spread awareness on important matters such as threats facing wildlife and climate change.
Tourism can educate people on the importance of protecting the environment. People start appreciating nature more, learn about challenges and are catalysed to participate in protecting the environment.
Tourism fees can be used to generate money where it is most needed, making conservation possible and providing incomes and funds.
Tourism experiences can be a valuable tool to educate children and instil a sense of wonder for nature and pride in their local environment and wildlife.

Nature tourism in UAE

The UAE has a diverse mix of landscapes that form the natural environment. It largely consists of arid land with sand deserts, but also sand dunes, oases, mountains, valleys, beaches, mangroves and salt plains. These natural attractions are reasons for people to visit the UAE. There is an extensive range of nature activities from desert safaris, hiking in the mountains, camping, snorkelling and diving. Desert vehicles have specific regulations to avoid damage to the fragile desert environment and ecotours can be arranged through environmental groups like Emirates Nature -WWF and Emirates Environmental Group along with private tour operators and hotels. Both these organisations co-created ‘Connect with Nature’ in 2019, with the aim of educating and empowering youth in the UAE to learn about nature and conservation through experiences and create a community of conservationists. This programme encourages young people to discover nature in the UAE and to build leadership skills for leading a movement with the focus of putting nature and creating an optimistic future for our planet. Furthermore, six percent of the total area of the UAE is a protected area, which is over five thousand square kilometres.

Nature tourism in Sharjah

Sharjah is home to unique ecosystems: desert, coast, mountains and mangroves. People may think the desert is ‘empty’ but it is actually full of wildlife. Visiting Sharjah’s many ecosystems allows locals and tourists to connect with nature and be stimulated to protect it. Some responsible nature tourism activities in Sharjah that do not harm the environment, nature or animals are:

Find responsible ways to enjoy wildlife watching. Sharjah offers nature reserves where flora and fauna can be admired. Wasit Wetland is a transformed wasteland, where indigenous flora and fauna are now thriving. Many bird species and small mammals, reptiles and insects can be spotted in this diverse ecosystem.
Explore the diversity of Sharjah’s environment. Discover the mountainous areas of Sharjah, like the Hajar mountains in the east which offers many activities for exploration and relaxation. or enjoy panoramic views of the Khorfakkan’s mountains. There are also diverse hiking options for different levels of expertise such as Mleiha Fossil Rock trails, a scenic hiking trail through the Shees valley and Al Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre offers many trails and hikes.
A unique experience is to learn about mangroves and at Khor Kalba mangrove centre you can see the oldest UAE mangrove forest. Or you can go diving or snorkelling in the Khorfakkan bay, which offers wrecks, corals and marine life.

Want to learn how to become a nature positive tourist or tourism business? Join the Sustain Sharjah community to dive deeper.

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