By Ulf Ottosson , FORCV Columnist (Praia, CV), Sustainable Development Specialist for the Swedish Government, and Blogger

A CAPE VERDE BLOG: Big thoughts from a small island
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PRAIA, CV - The islands of Cape Verde are known for long white beaches, some great music, and surfing. Few are aware of the fact that those beautiful Atlantic pearls also host a unique wildlife and spectacular nature scenery. Tourism could both benefit from and contribute to the protection of this important resource, but the current trend is geared towards a highly resource intensive mass-tourism based on quantity instead of quality. My hope is that future tourism in Cape Verde will adapt to the realities of this small archipelago, offering a diversified and exclusive form of tourism, based on low environmental impact and interesting experiences, such as turtle-watching, mountain-hiking and diving, attracting fewer but wealthier tourists.

When Cape Verde was discovered by the Portuguese more than 500 years ago, they found an uninhabited and green archipelago, with an abundance of trees, grasslands and water streams. The discoverers reported a rich variety of flora and fauna, in particular birds and reptiles. Since then, human impact has completely changed the face of the islands. Many natural habitats for both plants and animals have been lost by conversion to agriculture land, cutting down indigenous forests, poor farming practices, and drought. In addition, introduction of alien plants and animals such as rats, sheep, goats, monkeys and cattle has had devastating effects on the native flora and fauna, at times wiping out entire colonies.

Nevertheless, Cape Verde still hosts a globally unique and interesting biodiversity. For more details on this, see my previous text “Cape Verde’s unique biodiversity: an overview” - link:

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The ecology of Cape Verde is very delicate, and is still under severe pressure from a variety of human activities. One of the fastest growing activities on the islands is tourism, currently contributing to about 12% of the country’s total GDP (in 2001, it was only 3,5%). According to the National Statistics Institute, the number of tourists increased from 58.000 in 1998 to 280.000 in 2006, and the number of hotel rooms in the country is expected to go up from 1460 in 1997 to 15500 in 2012. Foreign private investment, most of which is directed towards the tourism sector, has quadrupled in only two years, from USD 50 million in 2005, to a daunting USD 200 million in 2007.

Tourism is clearly a strong engine for economic growth in Cape Verde, attracting foreign private investments and creating employment (even if a significant amount of profits is no doubt leaving the country, and many hotels have a policy of hiring staff from abroad rather than locally). This is in some aspects a positive development, contributing to increased wealth and reduced poverty.

Nevertheless, I have a strong feeling that tourism development in Cape Verde is largely unsustainable, both from an economic and environmental point of view. Why? Simply put, I think it is too big, too much, too fast, too unrestrained.

To my great surprise, I have learned that there is no government national plan or strategy for tourism development in place - no firm political direction is given to this important process. Instead, a laisez faire approach is applied; giving the investment agency Cabo Verde Investimentos free hands to sell land to whomever is keen to buy, on an ad hoc and top-downbasis. The mass tourism already experienced in Sal seems to serve as a general model for development on the other islands. Boa Vista is next; several new large hotel complexes (for instance Riu Karamboa (link:

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)., opening by the end of 2008) are being built or planned. Huge investment plans already in place for Sao Vicente and Santiago, and Maio is expected to follow suite.

But is it really sensible to promote mass-tourism in a small and vulnerable archipelago like Cape Verde? Mass tourism requires enormous quantities of energy (produced by diesel generators), water (from desalination plants with very high energy consumption), luxury foods and products (all imported), and large quantities of waste generation (with very limited space for disposal). I am certain that mass tourism on a larger scale would be detrimental to Cape Verde in the long term – environmentally and economically, and maybe also socially. It is simply not viable in an isolated country with a total area of only 4000 km2 (one sixth of the size of Sardinia) with a total annual rainfall of 225 mm. The environment is too fragile to host large hotel complexes with their vast energy and water demands and waste generation. Social tension, spurring criminality and violence, is inevitable, given the excessive luxury inside the fenced hotels and extreme poverty looming outside.

Equally important, there is an obvious risk that mass tourism projects eventually undermine the very reason that make tourists come to Cape Verde in the first place. People don’t come here for a new version of the Canary Islands; they want something different, something exclusive, something exotic. Cape Verde could potentially provide that extraordinary experience, but more all-inclusive hotels and sandy beaches will not do the trick – this can be found in so many other places in the world, often offering better value for the money.

Cape Verde has just begun its tourism development, and it has a fantastic opportunity to diversify its tourism development so as to sustain long term economic growth, minimize social tension and protect its fragile environment. It could offer a variety of high class specialized tourism, reaching out to those tourists who have a particular interest and are ready to pay more for exclusiveness. Those of us fortunate enough to have walked alongside the breath-taking abysses of the mountains of Santo Antao, experienced an outdoor concert with Lura, scrambled the exquisite sand-dunes of Deserto De Viana in Boa Vista, seen baby sea turtles shoving themselves up through the sand and scurrying towards the sea, or hiked the impressive Fogo krater, will surely know what I am talking about.

Here is my vision for tourism in Cape Verde: while Sal is already lost to mass tourism, other islands should be designated as exclusive Eco-tourism or Culture Islands, each of them specializing in their own unique advantages. The sandy islands of Boa Vista and Maio could seek to attract honey-mooners, the mountainous islands of Santo Antão and Fogo would specialize in adventure, hiking and mountain-climbing, Santiago could charm tourists interested in colonial history, and Sao Vicente would be tailored to be appealing to music-lovers, poets and dancers.

Investments in all of these islands should be directed towards low intensive tourism, attracting a smaller number of environmentally conscious and wealthier tourists, all seeking to avoid all-inclusive hotel complexes and overcrowded pool areas, and willing to pay more to experience genuine culture, nature adventure, peaceful mountain hikes, and romantic getaways. Investors should be required to minimize resource and water use, invest in renewable energy, and put in place their own systems for waste regeneration and disposal.

In this way, tourism would benefit both the economy and environment, and it would continue to attract wealthy tourists also 20 years from now.

Sources:
The Cape Verde government’s website on environmental information (www.sia.cv)
A Semana (www.asemana.cv)
Information from the from the General Directorate for Tourism & National Institute on Statistics
The World Wide Fund for Nature

Good point.

While I am not an expert in eco-tourism, there are quite a few examples of countries who have profiled themselves as eco-tourism countries, and I think that Cape Verde can learn from them. I have personal experience from Botswana and Costa Rica (see e.g.

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where authorities and a large part of tourism business jointly have deliberately sought to advance eco-tourism, with good results for everyone involved.

In Botswana, you have to pay a huge fee to enter the national parks, with a triple advantage: it has minimized pressure from tourism, it has attracted tourists who are ready to pay more for a more exclusive experience, and it has resulted in substantial revenues for the government. In Costa Rica, tourism specializes in low impact nature experiences, such as horseback riding, bird-watching, river-rafting and hiking. I have stayed at magnificent tent camps on stilts in the Costa Rican rain forest: simple but classy – and very expensive. Still, well worth the extra money, because the experience is so unique.

I also believe that the Maldives and Mauritius could good examples; these islands seem to specialize on top end tourism which seeks to attract honeymooners and romantic couples of all ages. This means fewer but wealthier tourists; not many budget travelers go there.

Cape Verde is an isolated archipelago. In many respects (infrastructure, transport, communication) this is a disadvantage, but in terms of tourism diversification and branding of different islands it can be an asset. It seems very natural for each island to specialize – in many respects, they already do. Fogo (which already offers small scale eco-tourism in Cha Das Caldeiras) is very different from Boa Vista; Sal is certainly different from Sao Vicente. The thing is to draw on these differences and make them interesting for different kind of (preferably wealthy) tourists, instead of doing more of the same.

For this to happen, the central and island governments must have a bold and clear strategy, and they must be brave enough to work with and sometimes put pressure on investors to follow this strategy. Secondly, I think that it has to do a lot about “branding”. Consider about two typical slogans: 1) “Cape Verde – a little bit of everything: something for everyone” and 2) “Cape Verde – sun, beaches and surfing”. Today, the latter branding rules. But will it convince tourists to come here in the long run? And what type of tourist will come here?

I don’t underestimate the challenge. It’s surely not an easy thing to become picky with investors; I can understand that the temptation to welcome just any investment in Cape Verde, given the priority to create jobs and decrease poverty, is tremendous.

But I am also sure that tourism can be made much more sustainable, if the government is willing, asserted and brave enough to try new avenues for tourism development. And they should be, because the alternative - tourism business as usual – will be detrimental to Cape Verde. More mass tourism will put too much pressure on these small peaces of land in the middle of the Atlantic; the islands will deteriorate and eventually tourists will go elsewhere. I hope I am wrong, but I fear that I am not.

Tourism can create a better future for Cape Verde. Or it can contribute to ecological collapse. The government has a huge responsibility – and an opportunity – to make sure tourism is sustainable.

the real solution is not eco-tourims but rather a worldwide-social-wellfare, where rich countries like sweden and the usa, will contribute lets say 15% of their gdp to increase the well being of the poorest countries...this will solve all the major problems...

Yet another comment just to provoke - as usual. It's just a game for you, right? Getting tired of it, frankly.

Anyway, just in the unlikely case you are actually trying to make a serious point - I would recommend you read th book "The Bottom Billion" by Paul Collier. It might become an eye-opener for you.

Aid is important (Sweden contributes 1% of its GNP to aid) but it will never be enough for the poorest countries to escape poverty, bad governance and conflict.

Cape Verde is doing the right thing, trying to diversify its economy into e.g. the tourism sector. But it has to do it wisely, if it wants to keep the tourists coming.

uffe,

you are my new punching ball. 1% is nothing, it is not enough. 15% of the gdp is the minimum that will have a positive impact, and will change the world. a world wide social-wellfare system is the next step for humanity. If you don't it by your own initiative we will go and take it.

S_antao,
I have really tried to give you a fair chance on this Forum, trying to refrain from getting caught in your tiresome efforts of constant provocations and personal accusations, which has entangled so many other contributors to this Forum. As far as I can tell, most of the contributors, myself included, are really doing their best to keep discussions on a decent, civilized and respectable level. You, however, are an exception. In discussion after discussion, the subjects are distorted by your inputs, leading to all sorts of kinder-garden discussions, most of them not even remotely related to the original theme of the discussion. The recent discussion under the subject of Double Labor Standards serves as a sad and telling example in this context.

In fact, I must congratulate you, S_antao, because you have been extremely successful in hijacking this whole Forum, poisoning and diverting it from its original intention. In many respects, this Forum could just as well be called “The S_antao Forum for provocations and extreme opinions”.

What if all the time and energy that many people have put in just to respond to some of your mostly preposterous and ignorant ideas and personal accusations had been used for constructive and sound arguments? I tell you, we would have saved the world by now.

Anyway, you can keep on “punching” me and others as much as you like – this is the last reply from me you will ever see. It is just not worth the time and effort addressing your bizarre ideas and claims. As far as I am concerned, from now on, you will be non-existing in this Forum. In this way, you can continue to exercise your right to express your opinions – and I will exercise my right to ignore them.

Life must be quite tough on you, S_antao, spending so much time at internet discussion forums just to show your frustration and anger. I therefore actually feel sorry for you, and I have a genuinely well-intended advice for you: why don’t you leave this Forum, at least for a while, just to give yourself some time for reflection. It would serve us all good.

Uffe, I never did personal attacks. I never told about someone that he was stupid, that his ideas were crap, or that he expresses himself without style...

what are the personal attacks you are talking about?

Anyway when you start a forum, you aggree...to disagree. That's what we are doing. You propose to save the world by giving 1% of the sweden gdp, and I propose to save the world by taking 15% of the sweden, usa, china, bresil gdp, and redistribute it in a worlwide welfare. Is this childish or imature? well it is not.
With the way sweden is helping the rest of the world (1% of the gdp), the rest of the world will need the help of sweden and others for ever. Is it what you want?