Preliminary Study of the Effect of Tourism Activities on Litter Pollution: A Case Study on Padar Island, Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Abstract

Tourism is a significant socioeconomic activity in a coastal country such as Indonesia. However, it degrades the ecosystem quality when the increasing litter pollution is poorly managed in the marine tourism area. The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of tourism on the litter pollution on the Padar Island, Komodo National Park, Indonesia, specifically on the hiking track. According to the performed investigation, plastic litter was discovered dominant on the Padar Island (131 of 146 items). It was found that filter cigarette butts (49 items, 33.56%), candy wrapper (18 items, 12.33%), wet tissue/wet wipes (17 items, 11.64%) and outsole from shoe/sandals (13 items, 8.90%), dominated the litter collected. Smoking activity, food and beverage consumption, and hiking activity are all examples of activities that may result in litter from visitors in this national park area. Tourism impacts the litter pollution in the Padar Island hiking trail. Therefore, more robust awareness strategies and controls are required to reduce the litter pollution and prevent further consequences.

Seasonal heterogeneity and a link to precipitation in the release of microplastic during COVID-19 outbreak from the Greater Jakarta area to Jakarta Bay, Indonesia

“…These plastics, which are often single use, are brittle and have a low fracture resistance ( Jin et al, 2019 ). After being abandoned and exposed to the environment, these forms of plastic are at a higher hazard of rapidly deteriorating into little particles of plastic waste ( Cordova et al, 2021b , 2020; Falahudin et al, 2020 ). Moreover, the fraction of large-sized microplastics with a size of 500-1000 μm and > 1000 μm was considerable (79.69 %).…”

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“…The predominant litter found here directly results from specific human activities, as highlighted in this research. The significant presence of cigarette butts, candy wrappers, wet tissues/wipes, and outsoles from shoes/sandals indicates primary activities leading to pollution, such as smoking, food and beverage consumption, and hiking (Cordova et al, 2021). This specific nature of litter can be attributed to the recreational activities promoted by the park (Cordova et al, 2021).…”

“…The significant presence of cigarette butts, candy wrappers, wet tissues/wipes, and outsoles from shoes/sandals indicates primary activities leading to pollution, such as smoking, food and beverage consumption, and hiking (Cordova et al, 2021). This specific nature of litter can be attributed to the recreational activities promoted by the park (Cordova et al, 2021). The park's vast natural landscape, hiking trails, and scenic viewpoints attract numerous tourists.…”

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“…Sutawa (2012) and Lanya et al, (2017) reported that the land use in agriculture has remarkably transformed to tourism facilities as the development in the tourism sector took place. In the same vein, Cordova et al (2021) identified the waste problem as an emerging challenge that happened in Komodo Island as a tourism place.…”