A paper warning of the pending perils of water availability for the tourism industry was released by a research consortium supported by the EarthCheck Research Institute (ERI), together with Ecolab (ECL) and Griffith University
From Challenges to Solutions: Providing the Business Case, was released in advance of UN World Water Day. It shows that water and its combined effect with energy use could become the most contested resource of the future.
The quality of the available water supply is diminishing, while the demands on volume and the costs to use are increasing, according to the paper. The inequity of water use by large hotels where the consumption of water by guests can outpace that of the local population by up to eight times creates the potential for conflict and a significant new business risk.
EarthCheck Research Institute (ERI) Chairman, Professor David Simmons (from New Zealand’s Lincoln University) said the tourism industry has to make swift changes to meet the new risks, including introducing responsible design and operational practices before hotel developments are approved.
Photo: Jin Tao Flickr photostream