Much like Boracay, several favorite tourist destinations in other countries were shut down by their government due to polluted waters, overcrowding, or untreated waste disposal.
In 2011, Ecuadorian officials enacted new regulations limiting the number of visitors, their length of stay and frequency of landing to the historic Galapagos Islands. Officials opened up previously closed destinations in the small archipelago as a way to redistribute visitors, reduce fuel consumption and limit the over pollution caused by tourism. While the islands house roughly 30,000 locals, some 200,000 tourists visit each year.
In May 2016, Thai officials ordered the indefinite closure of Thailand’s “most beautiful” Koh Tachai Island, a popular diving site in the Similan National Park on the Andaman Sea. The move was to protect the island’s beaches and coral reefs from any further damage wrought by tourists, whose huge numbers were too much for the local ecosystem to handle. Thai experts measured that a beach in the island should only hold up to 70 visitors on average. But before the closure, more than 1,000 visitors would be at the island at any given time.
Less than two weeks after Koh Tachai’s closure, three more islands— Koh Khai Nok, Koh Khai Nui, and Koh Khai Nai, which are accessible from Phuket—were also shuttered for the same reason. Thai officials reasoned that the temporary closure would allow the islands’ ecosystems to replenish and would help prevent any permanent damage from over-tourism.
The same was done recently to Koh Phi Phi Island’s Maya Bay, which was popularized by the 2000 movie “The Beach” starring Leonardo Di Caprio. The scenic beach will be closed from the beginning of June to the end of September this year to allow officials to clean up the heaps of garbage left by the 4,000 tourists who visit the site each day.
Between January and February this year, Colombia closed off its Tayrona National Park, located in Santa Marta on the country’s northern coast. Colombian officials explained in a statement that their move was “to give a rest to the ecosystem of the protected area.” Apparently, this move has already been done by Colombian officials several times before.
Boracay belongs to the top 10 beach resorts in the world. It’s a natural treasure. It should be declared a protected natural area under the NIPAS (National Integrated Protected Areas System) Law.
Government and local officials, landowners and renters, environmentalists and academics should all sit down in a roundtable and seek the best solution. Saving a natural treasure is worth the brainstorming and time needed to restore it.
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