LANUGAGE

The Korowai language belongs to Awyu-Dumut family which is the language of South East Papua. An English linguistic expert has now prepared its grammar and dictionary.

HABITATATION

The majority of Korowai people lives on houses prepared on the trees. There residential area is totally separate from the rest of the village. They do not like to go any where from their residential area. But, when they related to the civilized world and especially the European people established many villages from the residence where they provided all the possible facilities, even then they did not move from their place. But from 1980s few Korawai people started shifting to these new villages in Yaniruma. But there number was very less. These villages are been established at the shores “Mu” and “Mbasman” of River Becking, which is not very far away from their own area.

In 1987 a village was established at Manggel, in 1988 second village was established at Yafufla, in 1989 a village named Mabul was established at the shores of River Eilanden and in 1998 another village was established at Khaiflambolup. In short these villages were prepared for Korowai people but in response they did not show the enthusiasm that was expected. This is due to this indifferent attitude that many villages are still shown empty.

The basic reason for that may be that these colonies are situated far away from the resources of food (Sago). In the local language the word “Sago” is used for food.

ECONOMY

The Korowai people are basically hunters and fulfill their appetite by hunting. They also do gardening and now gradually diverting towards yielding crop. The Korowai people are conscious of the importance of protein from the beginning and therefore they hunt animals and are very expert in fishing. They fulfill their requirements of proteins from the above-mentioned food.

What business Korowai people do? And what they sell or buy? The information regarding this is very little and not enough. There are special ways in Korowai tribe to carry out the daily chores of life for instance “Sago” means the responsibility of preparing food is of adult youngsters. They not only collect food but also prepare it. Likewise whatever religious ceremonies they celebrate according to their beliefs, youngsters also play their role in these ceremonies. There is no role of women in these types of ceremonies.

Some Korowai people started works which provided them little cash income. But this income was so-called. Such local inhabitants started work with tourist companies. They guided the tourists and serve them in every way. It means they can get both financial and materialistic benefits from their touring industry. These opportunities are on very limited scale for now. Local guides makes the tourists visit these villages and host them quite well. They also organize local “Sago” invitations for tourists, take their wares from one place to another and simultaneously show them traditional and ancient shows, which they perform themselves.

In the history of Korowai tribe, once for limited time (from around 1996 to 1999) anarchy prevails there. The basic reason was that the very precious wood (Agarwood) of this village, which is also called (gaharu) in the local language was started moving outside illegally. Actually the thing was that some outsiders or smugglers, who were aware of the value of this wood, started cutting the valuable wood of this jungle. Innocent Korowai people could not do anything against them and silently watched their valuable natural resource looting by looters. The value of this wood can be guessed by the fact that any buyer used to pay around 4 dollars for one kilogram of gaharu wood. Likewise this valuable “gaharu” wood reached the markets of Europe and Middle East, where one thousand dollars per kilogram of this valuable wood were also sought. The smuggling of this wood was also carried out by way of Southern shore “Agats” and also from “Jayapura” at the Northern shore.  Help from missionary planes was also sought for this purpose which used to arrive and depart from “Yaniruma” and “Boma”. The control of “Gaharu” trading was under the army and army was running this business.

The valuable wood of Papua jungles was sent outside. Along with this loss, there was greater loss that the trading of “body selling” increased to greater extents, which played an important role in prevailing Aids in the whole Papua.

MARRIAGES

Here also like other civilized nations of the world, a parental system is established, in which father is the leader of the house and he runs the entire social, economical and political affairs.  The polygamy tradition is also established in this tribe but normally they do not marry with the blood relations. Now they started preferring marriage with cousins from maternal side.

SOCIAL LIFE

Here the leadership structure based on ancient times i.e. any powerful person becomes the leader of the tribe with respect to his personal traits and capabilities. There is no role of any organization in this leadership. The fighting among tribes starts specifically due to disputes related to casting magical spells.

RELIGIOUS LIFE

The belief of Korowai tribe is that this whole universe is full of every type of spirits, in which some spirits are more special and harmonious to each other as compared to other spirits. Especially homage is paid to spirits of forefathers. According to Korowai tribe belief, the “Ginol Silamtena” is the spirit of the creator of this universe. But Korowai people neither give any importance to it in their daily lives nor do they accept that there is any role of it in their daily lives. It is essential for each and every person of Korowai tribe to arrange a special dinner once in his life time. According to their faith prosperity and growth occurs due to this dinner party.

In order to evade the difficult time these people altar the pet pig for their forefather’s spirits.

Korowai people are keepers of extraordinary and valuable customs, which includes their ghostly stories, folk tales, magical sayings and spells and ancient customs of natural feats.

In respect to death and life after death, Korowai people believe that in return of the acts of a person, he has to come again in this world. The people, who have gone from their tribes after death and now living in the world of spirits, any one of those spirits can sent his relative again in this world and that person will rebirth in the shape of any new born in their tribe.

COORDINATION WITH EUROPE

In the end of the 1970 decade, few Christian (Protestants Missionaries) started living with Korowai people. In the decade of 1980 an Indonesian human expert Dea Sudarman prepared many documentaries for Japanese Television.

In 1993 a film crew had arranged a research study in the “Dio Village”. The main theme of this study was “The houses made on trees and man-eating”. The Korowai people were presented negatively in this case study, which led to the creation of film “Lords of Garden”.

In 1996 a local Christian Community was established, which consists of members from the neighborhood tribe “Kombai”. For the long time it has been thought that Korowai people are fundamentalists in their beliefs and will never divert to any other religion and will resist against such efforts. Hence many people accepted Christianity in the end of 1990 decade and formally entered in this religion.

In the autumn of 2003 a small team of Bible Translators reached in Yaniruma and started their work.

In May 2006 a tour guide Paul Riffle led the crew team of Australian T.V. Show “60 Minutes” in order to prepare a special report on this tribe and their people. After few days of filming a man reached the crew team and claimed that his six year nephew “Wa-Wa” had been accused of becoming a sorcerer (Kakua). He was in great danger, since he could be killed and eaten. But the crew team of “60 Minutes” refused to help that person. But afterward Paul Riffle contacted his opponent “Seven Network”, who agreed to send a “Today Tonight” crew in order to take “Wa-Wa” out of this area.

But, before these people could reach this area, the Indonesian higher authorities deported all the officials from “Jayapura” on the issue of Visa.

MAN-EATING

One of the reports about Korowai people was received that they still eat human flesh. But human experts say that it does not happen now, since these people are in constant coordination with outer people and it is also revealed in the latest reports that false stories has been spread in order to proliferate tourism.

In 2006 a T.V. show “60 Minutes” claimed that when anybody is accused of becoming a sorcerer “Khakhua” in the Korowai society and on proving the crime he was beaten harshly, hanged and afterwards eaten. In this regard many uncertified claims were also made that the brain of a person is eaten immediately while the corpse is still hot and that pregnant women and children are not involved in this eating.

WAY OF CONTSTRUCTION

Korowai houses are made on height, for which higher wood pillars are fixed on the land initially. This way has been going on since past, in order to keep the houses safe from water and flood. Secondly these houses remain away from the reach of the invaders. This step is specifically taken for the safety of children and women; otherwise the conqueror tribe either makes women and children their slave or kills and eats them.

The thick, high and strong pillars of iron wood in one way keep the houses safe from fire too, otherwise the strategy of invader is to fire the houses made of wood, grass and straw, which compels the residents to come out of their houses due to smoke and suffocation and thus invaders arrest them. Iron wood is that hard and solid wood, which does not catch fire easily.

These people are living in the ancient past in spite of living in the present and are not ready to change themselves. But efforts are going on and it is hopeful that soon these people will change their present state by entering in the present.

By Muhammad Irfan Zafar

Content Writer

Woman Murdered After Refusing Sex

A French woman named Stephanie Foray has been murdered in Kuala  Lumpur after she refused to have sex with a man.

The 30-year-old French tourist is believed to have been murdered by a 36-year-old orchard owner. According to police reports, the woman is believed to have been struck on the head with a bottle after she refused to have sex with her assailant.

Police say that after Stephanie was murdered, her body was buried in a cave.

According to police, the suspect and Stephanie had been drinking copiously and was murdered upon refusal to have sex with the man after he initiated it. Investigations are still on the way to find out if the woman was raped before she was murdered.

Sources close to the investigations revealed that police arrested the 36-year-old orchard owner after finding Stephanie Foray’s belongings on him.

Stephanie worked as a communication officer in France. She travelled to Asia alone.

Most of the focus is on Japan and the radiation hazard emanating from the breakdown of its nuclear plants. There is a fear that the nuclear contamination may spread even to neighbouring countries. Indonesia seems to be deeply worried. Niccobar Island is only a few kilometres from Indonesia. If radiation spreads to Niccobar, then it may not take longer to spread to the mainland Andaman Island. From there, Kolkatta or Chennai are nearby. One can go on imagining such dreadful things and confuse one’s minds. But look at the way Hawaiian people live.

Image via Wikipedia

Hawaii is nearby Japan but its people are not confused. People live without bothering about possible radiation effects even though the government monitors it carefully. The US President Obama has assured Hawaiian people that no harmful effects of radiation are likely to reach the Hawaiian shores and the mainland is completely safe. The President has even encouraged tourists to visit Hawaii unmindful of what is happening in the neighbouring country. Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO Mike McCattney and Board Chairman Ron Williams inspected Hawaii islands which included important tourist spots like Aiii Drive in Kona and Hualalai. They examined to what extent tsunami had ravaged the islands. After their visit, they proclaimed that the tsunami impact on the island was minimal and that the tourists could continue to visit the islands. King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel has not closed down and continues to provide accommodation and facilities to tourists. Almost all business establishments in Aiii Drive have reopened after briefly closing.

Look and contrast it with what happened when tsunami affected Andaman Islands on December 26 in India. Our government hardly made any effort to reassure the people and foreign tourists. No effort was made to normalise tourist operations in Andaman and Nicobar islands. As a result, much tourist income was lost. The bureaucracy simply slept.

More than the tsunami and earthquake, people are worried about the aftermath of nuclear radiation. For this, President Obama assured the Americans that no harmful radiations are expected to affect the West coast of USA, Hawaii, Alaska or US territories in the Pacific. To back up the President, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko also confirmed it. Forgetting the Japanese bombing of Pearly Harbour and killing of more than 3000 American soldiers in the Second World War, the Hawaiian people have swung into action to maximum help their Japanese brethren. Hawaiian business leaders have also launched “Aloha for Japan’ scheme with strong backing from Lt. Governor of Hawaii Brian Schatz and Japan Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo. Cultural programmes like music, dance and performances are being enacted to collect money. Banks are serving as collection points to help the tsunami victims. It is also unbelievable that no Japanese tourist who had visited Hawaii before the tsunami had preferred to stay back. Instead all the Japanese tourists have vacated their hotel rooms and returned to Japan to share the sorrow with their fellow beings. I only imagine, had it been Indians, what would have been their attitude……

Lalbagh is the ideal place to while away your time in the midst of nature for the city-dwellers as well as tourists and to enjoy peace and bliss in the otherwise bustling city. Here you could stroll around and watch a variety of flora and fauna in leisure sitting under the shade of a tree. The vast Lalbagh Lake with a small island, Kempe Gowda Tower and Glasshouse are some of the great attractions to the visitors.

The replica of the Baha’i temple in New Delhi, done in white flowers, is the greatest crowd-puller of the Horticultural Show this time. It is made of two lakh white flowers and is 22’ in height. More than 500 varieties of flowers and fruits from different climates are showcased in the exhibition, which is a rare visual treat.

Glimpses of Horticultural Show at Lalbagh:

The venue of Independence Day Horticultural Show at Lalbagh, Bangalore. All pics by author.

A replica of the Baha’i temple in New Delhi, designed in flowers.

Dr. M.H. Mari Gowda Rose Garden, Lalbagh, Bangalore.

Lalbagh lake, established in 1760 A.D.

Pigeons flying over Birds Colony at Lalbagh. Birds Colony was established in 2007.

Riot of colours: part of Lalbagh Horticultural Show.

Flowers smiling. Lalbagh, Bangalore.

Crotons.

Flowers galore.

Flowers of various hues. 

Cacti at Lalbagh Horticultural Show. 

A flower peeping through stems: Lalbagh, Bangalore.

A close-up of the flower. 

Beehives in Lalbagh.

Beetroot grown in a pot: part of Horticultural Show.

During the mid-nineties, it was a common sight to see men hang precariously on the edge of BMTC bus doors. When the bus navigated sharp bends, the cumulative weight of such foot-boarders would cause the mud guard of the bus to scrape against the wheel. There have been several mishaps due to the callous attitude of passengers yet their attitude never seemed to change. Today, most of the BMTC buses are equipped with automated doors which open only at a bus stop or upon the driver’s discretion, thus eliminating the foot-board menace.

Most buses are also air conditioned which makes it an ideal mode of road transport especially within the city. AC buses are definitely more preferred than autos today.

The most recent change to BMTC buses is the automated stop announcement system. This is a bilingual (English-Kannada) announcement system and has been set up in most new buses. This is a very commuter friendly feature as Bengaluru has a large migrant population and is also frequented by a large number of tourists.

Finally, the ever growing array of Volvo and Marcopolo buses has significantly eased bus travel. Most of these buses are painted in vibrant blue, orange and red which is a pleasant sight for public. Also, these new-age buses are less polluting than the old fleet of BMTC buses. Kudos to BMTC.

 (Photo by Google)

Did you know…

1) 1/3 of the world’s pineapples come from Hawaii

2) There are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet: A, E, I, O, U, H, K, L, M, N, P, and W

3) The only royal palace in the United States in located on Oahu Island and called Iolani Palace

4) There are more than 100 famous beaches in the Honolulu area

5) Abba, a famous musical group from Sweden, sang a groovy song called Happy Hawaii

6) Volcanoes deep under the Pacific ocean have erupted thousands of years ago and formed the Hawaiian islands

7) The Hawaiian island of Oahu has the world’s largest wind generator

The Hawaiian island of Molokai receives a whopping 240 inches of rainfall a year!

9) There are several languages which are spoken in Hawaii: English, Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, and Pidgin

10) Hawaii’s state motto is Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono; this means “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness”

Introduction:

Tourism is defined as “the travel for leisure, recreational or business purposes” this could then means people going on holidays, visiting somewhere they’ve never been before, looking for a challenge and some excitement. Basically anything that removes the person from their usual environment for more than twenty four hours. Leisure and tourism makes up a large part of the world’s economy, many countries and places rely on tourism for a lot of its income and jobs but does this all come at a price. Over the years places are built up, natural habitats and areas are destroyed in order to attract more tourists. If you look at the butler model you can see that after the build up things tend to go back downhill and slow down, people stop coming to go somewhere else and that means all that was destroyed was destroyed in vain.

As butlers model shows you get an initial rise as people start to visit after discovering the place such as if you were to find an area of natural beauty a few people would visit but nothing major at that time. Other people notice that there are more people than normal going there so they get in on it, providing services and facilities that will keep people staying in the area longer, this grows rapidly hence the steep like on the graph but then another place is found and people start going there instead and the original area begins to “stagnate” it can then either be rejuvenated or just left to decline, but either way changes and damages have been done to the area which means it won’t be how it originally was again.

Nepal:

Nepal is a country located in south Asia and is bordered by China and India. It is actually located in the Himalayas and has 8 of the worlds 10 tallest mountains in it, including Mount Everest the highest peak on Earth. It has a population of about 30 million with around half of these living under the poverty line of $1.25 a day meaning that the country has had to look for different ways of making money. The tourist trade has been a large help to this country, brining in sight seers and adventurers looking to scale the mountains or see this country, with them though they brought problems. Kathmandu, the capital, was once basically untouched by visitors and when Edmund Hilary reached the peak of Mount Everest there were no main roads into Kathmandu, that was just 60 years ago. Now it is a large metropolitan city and is the gateway for tourism into Nepal and as the population rose so did the pollution and amount of waste. The Bagmati river which flows form up in the mountains and through Kathmandu was once clean but now thanks so sewage and other pollutants being dumped into it is 4000 times worse than the environment agency’s standard, this is not all due to tourism though as the city would develop anyway and produce waste but the push and increase by tourism has lead to a worse case than it may of been. Air pollution is another major problem with many of the residents wearing face masks to protect themselves from the fumes of industrial, car and human pollutants going into the air and creating smog, these problems are only getting worse by an exploding population.

Mount Everest is another one of the main reasons that tourists visit Nepal, they want to either see the tallest mountain in the world or take on the challenge of climbing it. They bring rubbish with them though in some places the rubbish piles up 2 to 3 metres high, with no recycling in the small towns up some of the mountain it is a real problem. Wood is one of the main resources in these small towns but it is against the law to cut down trees off the mountain itself so it need to be brought in, many locals ignore this as they need the wood to provide heat and hot water to tourists in order to get money, each hot shower burns up to 3 trees. To combat this as was mentioned earlier it is illegal to cut down trees on the mountain itself as it has been made a protected area, it is enforced by guards but it is often ignored by the natives. To combat the litter problem anyone entering the area now has to pay a large deposit of about $600 which they get back if they bring all of their litter back out with them, the actual price of entering has raised as well in order to try and cut down the amount of tourists.

Dubai:

Dubai is a city in the United Arab Emirates and is currently a global city and business hub, built off of the oil industry initially it now relies quite heavily on tourism for its income. Dubai is the most populated city in the UAE and has the second largest area and is well known around the world for many developments such as the world islands, the palm tree and other large scale building projects that are intended to attract attention and tourists to the area. As the question is about rural landscapes this will not so much talk about problems in the city itself it will focus more on how the city is impacting the surrounding area and how this is caused by tourism.

Dubai is constantly expanding, so much so that it ran out of coast to build on so created its own with the addition of the palm tree and world islands that create more space for tourists and other developments, this though had an impact on the landscape as the habitats and environment in the sea were destroyed or damaged. Dredging was done in order to get a lot of the material to build these islands this destroyed some coral reefs which take years to develop and are very sensitive to any small change. The islands are mainly being used to house holiday homes for tourists which does help the economy as it brings money into the area and creates jobs so it isn’t all negative, but the damage done to the environment is more or less non reversible and so will not be the same again.

This expansion is also happening to the other side and the city is moving into the desert and destroying this natural landscape. More and more of the landscape is disappearing, but efforts are being made to protect it, people have brought forward the ideas of making parts of it into a reserve where nothing can be built and it is preserved how it is this has not been done yet and will not fully solve the problem, if expansion was to happen all around it then only a small part of the desert was to be saved. Dubai’s surrounding deserts have also suffered from illegal dumping of waste, everyday tankers collect waste from septic tanks from around the city but due to problems with processing it all leading to it taking a long time some of the tanker drivers have resorted to dumping the waste behind sand dunes or in storm drains. This pollutes the sand dunes and the desert and the storm drains run out into the sea near where the swimming beaches are polluting the water. The government have stepped up against this and implemented a $25000 fine for anyone caught doing this and if it happens by the same person on more than one occasion their tanker is taken away. The same sort of pollution goes for rubbish dumps as these need to be located somewhere outside of the city and so the desert is a good place to put them. All of these problems are made worse by the amount of tourists increasing the amount of waste produced and also the amount of amenities needed and so spurring on more and more development.

The Serengeti:

The Serengeti is a geographical region in the north west of Tanzania and stretches as far as south western Kenya. It contains many different wildlife reserves and game reserves and many different types of environment ranging from forests and swamps to grass land and plains. It has 70 types of large mammal and 500 types of bird species and 80% of the Serengeti is protected by law from poachers and other threats. One of the main incomes to the area is through tourism; people want to come see the vast openness and unique landscapes and the animals and people that live on it. There are a few different native tribes who still live off the land and there are many different animals to see on safaris. This does bring problems as well as money to the area.

When tourists come to see the Serengeti they need somewhere to stay, hotels and lodges need to be built in the environment to house them, these need to be carefully planned and built so that they do no scar the natural landscape. Rubbish disposal and disposal of other waste needs to be taken into account when setting up a hotel so that you do not end up soiling the thing that people come to see. Water is also needed for the tourists, if this is to come from a natural spring or reservoir it will be taking it away from animals that need it therefore a sustainable source needs to be found and used, or if not bottled water may be needed more adding to the amount of litter that is produced. The safaris themselves cause problems as the vehicles need tracks to go along and these scar the landscape, they can spoil the natural feeling that it has. They can also alter drainage patterns and give longer term negative impacts to the area. The vehicles cause noise pollution and can disturb animals habitats such as nesting grounds or destroy burrows etc. This can all negatively impact the area that the tourists have come to see. But these problems have been addressed by the people who help to look after the Serengeti park or smaller parks inside of it, there are policies and guidelines that people need to stick to if doing things in the Serengeti and so these help reduce the impacts. They say in a report that people paying to see it provides money which they can then use to help conserve it and also that allowing visitors and tourists in provides an increasing number of people who see the environment and want to do more to conserve it and look after it and so positive things come out of the negatives.

Another positive thing that tourism has done to the area is that it has helped reduce the amount of poaching that goes on in the area. Poaching is illegal to do and harms many animals as they often go for endangered species to sell their fur or tusks on the black market. But tourism to the area has provided another source of money that these poachers can get from the Serengeti one that doesn’t have the same sort of impact as poaching does. It has become more economic to show tourists round the parks and provide services for them than it is to poach therefore it is helping preserve the animals and environment.

Analysis:

Tourism brings many different things to an area, the main short term effect it has is that it boosts the economy and brings a lot of money in which leads to quick development, if you look back at Butlers model you can see that it quickly goes up steeply. This then means that the area becomes more developed and can afford to improve themselves and the quality of life etc. This is the case in the Dubai case study where tourism brought in a lot of money and it developed bigger and better than it was before, not only for themselves but to make it a better place for tourists to visit, in turn attracting more tourists which brings more money which brings more tourists and the cycle continues. This all comes at a price though as obviously nothing is free, places are changed and sacrifices are made in order to develop the area for more tourists, this can destroy some of what the tourists go there to see, as in the case study of Nepal where the city of Kathmandu and Mount Everest have been damaged by litter and other pollutions which destroy the scenery. This also applies to the Serengeti case study as the safari tours and jeeps, hotels and everything else that is needed to be there for the tourists and to attract the tourists is damaging the land and the environment that they are meant to be showing off. The really bad negative impact though is the pollution and litter which destroy areas like the river in Nepal and being left behind at villages up the side of Mount Everest; it can damage the ecosystems in the Serengeti and pollute the natural scenery of Dubai such as with the waste being dumped behind sand dunes. These are negative impacts that tourism have on rural landscapes as ultimately the area will never be the same as it originally was.

It’s not all negative impacts that tourism has on these areas, the increase in money for a start means that there is more people can do to help the area. In the Serengeti the people who manage the parks like to look at it that if more people visit then they give more money which can then be used to improve and conserve more of the landscape therefore the negative impacts are almost being cancelled out by the positive impacts that extra money is making. It also brings more attention to the area and more people are interested in conserving it, if the government see it and realise it is one of the main incomes of that area then they will do something to protect it like making Mount Everest a protected area, this then means that the government are doing something positive to help the area and make it last for longer. More jobs and money are always created by tourism in rural areas such as with Fishers Farm in west Sussex, it is a family attraction park aimed for small children. It is built in the ground of an old farm that failed and so is basically built off a brown field site so hasn’t had a major negative impact on the environment, it has created jobs for a lot of people as people nee dot build the equipment, run the shop, look after the animals etc. So has done little damage to the rural landscape but added a lot of positive things. Not only does it do that directly but in its shop it sells local produce which brings more money to the small towns surrounding it and so helps them out as well so in all has benefitted the area. Without tourism a lot of the people living in these countries wouldn’t have much money, like in Nepal, they rely a lot of tourist money as part of their economy and so if there were no tourists a lot more of them would be living under the poverty line.

Conclusion:

So in conclusion it’s not possible to say that the impacts of leisure and tourism are overwhelmingly negative, as it greatly relies on the situation and areas involved. Some places may be absolutely devastated by tourism and ruined but others need tourism to survive and be able to preserve what they need. Some things may scar the landscape and some of it look ugly, but if it is managed well enough and the money that comes in through tourism is put towards improving and looking after the area then it eventually cancels out and you start to see positive impacts, more money means better quality of lives and better infrastructures and economy. Countries such as Nepal who without tourism would be fairly impoverished have embraced tourism as a way to develop and make themselves bigger if you look again at butlers model you can see that after development there is either rejuvenation or decline, as long as Nepal pick rejuvenation and use the gained money to improve their city, clean up the rivers and help preserve what they have then it will outweigh the negative impacts. You can see that this is and has happened already in Dubai but they need to stop developing as fast and not move into the deserts and try and preserve some of their history and naturally landscape in order to stop the negative impacts from becoming big. Many places have improved since development such as Snowdon in this country bringing back the train that goes up the mountain which creates jobs and more money and helps the locals. As was said before this is only good if it is properly maintained and looked after, if it is allowed to go out of hand and destroy everything then there will be no more money coming in to help rejuvenate it as no one wants to visit it anymore so effective schemes like raising the price to enter mount Everest and having to put a deposit on litter is very good. The deposit on litter is especially good as it means that people will tidy their own stuff and if not then money is available to get someone to do so anyway. So to answer the question I do not agree, with everything there are both negative and positive impacts, sometimes we have to deal with negative impacts in order to get a greater positive result at the end and I believe that in most cases this is what you have to do with tourism. Embrace it, maybe make a few sacrifices along the way to improve, control it and at the end you will have something better than what you started out with.

There have been aftershock and communication was lost. Some say that they could not walk for 15 seconds because of the earthquake. The only real damage was to a building with luckily no injured person.

If you have any thoughts about The Pacific Island Nation of Vanuatu Earthquake, feel free to comment.

Advantage cards                                                                                                                                                    A card (rather like a credit or debit card) has been introduced to the areas of Windsor and Maidenhead which entitles the holder to many benefits within the town. Some of these benefits include three free visits to the castle a year, and discounts to the leisure centre and Legoland. Owners are constantly kept informed and updated via a tri-annually published magazine. The best thing about this card is that it’s completely free for residents, although tourists have to pay for it.

Reduced parking rates for residents                                                                                                                 Parking in the main Windsor car park is free for residents for a whopping 2 hours.

Park and ride                                                                                                                                                Residents can park in Legoland for free and take transport into Windsor, meaning that the centre of town is less congested

Separate residents and tourists roads for shopping                                                                                   Tourists are often forced towards the main attractions as soon as they leave the station, so many different areas are designated for tourists and residents, prices are also lower in residents’ shops, but tourists aren’t prohibited from going to them. They’re mainly just ignorant of them

Bins                                                                                                                                                                 Finally, lots of bins have been installed, because it’s nice to have a clean town to both live in and visit