ABSTRACT
Resort operations affect the environment and their impacts should be thoroughly considered at planning and design stages of the development. The list of potential operational impacts can be quite extensive, almost certainly starting with the disturbance to natural cycles – seasonal and diurnal – in the surrounding ecosystems. The resort is most economical when it operates for 365 days per year. It is this superficial continuity brought to the environment, which is naturally cyclical, that is disturbing. Continuous operation means additional water discharge in the dry season and light being available at timeswhen the sun has already set. Many activities also break natural links, for instance by scaring both prey and predators, and reduce the size of many original habitats. Resort operations tend to generate waste and pollution, with the site being contaminated by fumes, insecticide chemicals, cleaning agents and micro-organisms (viruses, bacteria and fungi) brought in by humans moving through. Some vegetation is being damaged and some animals injured or killed – deliberately or in accidents.
