PROPUESTA DE ESTRATEGIAS ORIENTADAS AL DESARROLLO

This section includes the key definitions and meanings of terms that will be used throughout the study.

1.5.1. Marine tourism

Orams (1999:9) defines coastal and marine tourism as, “those recreational activities which involve travel away from one's place of residence which have as their host or focus, the marine environment and/or the coastal zone”. The marine environment comprises waters that are saline and tide-affected and is made up of marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs. Coastal environments, on the other hand, are those areas which border the marine environment (Orams, 1999). Recreational activities in the marine environment include scuba diving, snorkelling, yachting, water-skiing, wake-boarding, boat-based fishing, wildlife watching, scenic boat cruising, sea-kayaking, surfing, surf-ski paddling, kite surfing, windsurfing, stand-up paddle boarding, and swimming (ASCLME, 2012; EAME, 2004; Orams, 1999). The marine tourism industry consists of a diverse range of businesses. They may include small operations such as scuba diving businesses, fishing charters, and moderate to large operations such as yachting, whale-watching, fishing and cruise ships (Orams and Lück, 2014). Coupled with this are the supply chain agencies (such as tour operators and travel agents) and businesses that provide support to these marine tourism industries (government agencies, law enforcement, marine safety organisations, rental agencies, equipment suppliers, travel and accommodation suppliers and repair and maintenance shops) (Orams, 1999; Orams and Lück, 2014).

1.5.2. Scuba diving tourism

Scuba diving tourism is a form of marine tourism (Orams, 1999). The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) defines dive tourism as “persons travelling to destinations with the main purpose of their trip to partake in scuba diving” (WTO, 2001:85). A tourist can be defined as a person who travels outside their usual environment (George, 2013), or who visits another destination for at least 24 hours, for leisure and study purposes, for health reasons or for business travel (UNWTO, 2004). Leisure, as defined by Gunter (1987), is characterised by a sense of separation from the everyday world, feelings of intense pleasure, freedom of choice and adventure; leisure represents an opportunity for recreation (George, 2013). Tourism, recreation and leisure are thus activities that are closely linked (George, 2013) and recreational scuba diving can therefore be described as a leisure activity. Scuba diving is classified as an adventure sport in which activities are concentrated mainly around the remote tropical and small island regions of the world, close to coral reefs typically surrounded by warm clear waters (Lindgren, Palmlund, Wate and Gössling, 2008; Spalding, 2001). In this study, the shortened term, „dive tourism‟ is used.

1.5.3. The East African Marine Eco-region (EAME)

The Eastern African Marine Eco-region (EAME) extends for over 4 600 kilometres along the eastern coastline of Africa. It is an area that includes the territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) from southern Somalia extending south through Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and the north-east coast of South Africa (EAME, 2004; Oglethorpe, 2009;

USAID, 2009). This coastal region functions largely as a unit, or ecological region, given that throughout the East African coast, the shores and coastal seas harbour a characteristic set of species, habitats, dynamics and environmental conditions (Oglethorpe, 2009). The total estimated area covered by the eco-region is 540 900 km², with the offshore limit extending to the 200-metre depth contour, beyond the continental slope (EAME, 2004; Obura, 2005a;

Oglethorpe, 2009).

The EAME is also home to a host of marine species along with endangered species including the coelacanth and dugong, and several species of whales and marine turtles, 10 to 15% of which are endemic to the region (Oglethorpe, 2009). This marine ecosystem, comprising its various habitats, communities and species, constitutes the marine biodiversity of the East African region. Oglethorpe (2009) attributes the EAME‟s unique species richness to its

latitude from the equator. This contributes to high levels of biodiversity, exceeding 11 000 species of plants and animals (1 500 species of fish, 200 species of coral, 34 species of marine mammals, nine species of mangrove, 12 species of sea grass, 1 000 species of marine algae, several hundred sponge species, 3 000 species of molluscs, 450 species of crabs and at least 300 species of echinoderms). Much of the coral reef ecosystems in the EAME are located within marine protected areas (MPAs) which are discussed in more detail in sections 1.5.5 and 3.4.4.3.

In the context of this study, when referring to the East African Marine Ecoregion, the acronym EAME will be used. However, reference will also be made to specific countries along the eastern coastline of Africa and these countries will be referred to by their respective individual names (Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa). The countries mentioned are all situated within the EAME and are referred to as EAME countries.

1.5.4. Coral reefs

Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems on earth. They provide a habitat for over a million species in the coastal and shallow-water areas. These areas contain some of the world‟s most productive ecosystems, providing a habitat for over a million species, including 4 000 fish species and 800 known species of coral living in and among the mangroves, coral reefs and sea grass beds (Buddemeier, Kleypas and Aronson, 2004;

Grimsditch and Salm, 2006; Spalding, 2004; Talbot and Wilkinson, 2001; Vernon, 2000).

Coral reefs can be characterised as massive coral colonies made up of thousands of tiny marine invertebrates called polyps that secrete skeletons of calcium carbonate (limestone).

These form coral communities which collectively make up a coral reef ecosystem (Souter and Linden, 2005). Coral reefs are unique ecosystems in that they are three-dimensional shallow water structures made up mostly of scleractinian (hard) corals which can be described as reef-building corals (Payet and Agricole, 2006). These corals form the basis of all coral reef communities. Although coral reefs cover only 0.2 % of the world‟s oceans, they contain about 25% of marine species and are renowned for their biological diversity and high productivity (Floros et al., 2013; Jury, Mthembu, Masinga and Cuamba, 2004). Corals grow best in the shallow, clear waters of tropical and subtropical oceans where the annual temperature range is between 18–30 °C with an optimal range of between 26–28 °C. This can be seen in the latitudinal distribution of coral reefs, where the temperature is closer to the

optimal value, providing reefs with higher coral diversity closer to the equator (Van As, Du Preez, Brown and Smit, 2012).

1.5.5. Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s)

MPAs can be defined as “coastal and sea areas enjoying some level of legal protection nationally or locally, and that are especially dedicated to the conservation, protection and maintenance of biodiversity and associated cultural resources” (Francis, Nilsson and Waruinge, 2002:503). MPAs are recognised as playing an effective role in the conservation of reef ecosystems (Halpern, 2003) and attract the managed recreational use of coral reefs and marine ecosystem resources through activities such as scuba diving (Thurstan, Hawkins, Neves and Roberts, 2012). The primary purpose of an MPA is to protect and maintain biological diversity and cultural resources. This is managed and enforced through legal and other effective means (Francis et al., 2002). MPAs are considered to be a crucial element of the conservation of the marine environment (Thurstan et al., 2012). They have grown in number to over two and a half thousand globally in efforts to conserve coral reef habitats (Burke et al., 2011). Many documented studies exist which express the benefits that MPAs have for the conservation of marine resources and their ecosystems (Johnson and Sandell, 2014; Leenhardt, Low, Pascal, Micheli and Claudet, 2015; Selig and Bruno, 2010). These conserved resources have resulted in the increased attractiveness of MPAs to scuba divers and snorkelers (Barker, 2003).

1.5.6. External risks

Risk can be described as the potential of loss or harm to a person, group, organisation, system or resource, known as an entity (Raval & Fichadia, 2007). External risks, according to Shaw (2010), can be divided into two groups, namely, domestic and international risks. Domestic risks occur within the host country, while international risks are risks that occur outside the host country‟s borders. These are characterised as external risks and have the potential to impact negatively on an entity either directly or indirectly (Shaw, 2010). While Saayman and Snyman (2005) concur that there are internal and external risks (domestic and international), they also identify internal and external risks within the domestic paradigm. For the purposes of this research, external risks are those risks which occur outside of the business and include both domestic and international risks.