Environmental planning for Manado and Minahasa : the potential environmental impacts of growth in urban populations, tourism, and industry

First, Manado is a medium-sized city with a relatively healthy urban environment. Wise and timely planning, environmental management, and infrastructure investments should prevent the potentially serious environmental impacts of rapid urban growth. Second, rapid urban growth might also harm natural resources surrounding the city, primarily coastal and marine areas and the Bunaken Marien National Park, unless appropriate steps are taken to mitigate such effects. Third, official development plans project that tourism will grow rapidly in the Manado area and will make a substantial contribution to economic growth. There is some concern that tourism could accelerate growth in Manado"s urban population and, thus, contribute directly and indirectly to degradation of environmental conditions in the city and the surrounding area. Maintaining environmental quality is important to sustaining tourism. Therefore, investments in urban infrastructure that are needed to maintain urban environmental quality might be further justified by demonstrating that local economic growth will be slowed by the environmental degradation that would occur without such investments. This study aims to (1) identify, assess, and prioritize the major anticipated environmental impacts of estimated growth in urban population, tourism, and industry on the coastal and urban natural resource base in the Manado/Minahasa area; and (2) recommend ways to minimize the most serious potential environmental problems, including appropriate investments in infrastructure, financial measures to recover infrastructure costs, and policy improvements. The period of interest is the ten-year period from 1992-2001. The study projects potential rates in growth in urban population and tourism and estimates the potential value of tourism in the study area over the next ten years. Potential environmental impacts of growth in urban population, tourism, and industry are assessed with respect to four distinct resources: the urban environment of Manado; the coastal land and waters of the Manado/Minahasa study area; Bunaken Marine National Park; and the Tondano river watershed. (Author abstract)