L’écotourisme comme solution de gestion de la pollution par les déchets plastiques dans la baie de Ranobe (Sud-Ouest de Madagascar)

Abstract

Plastic waste is a huge scourge worldwide including Madagascar. However, our island is considered a sanctuary of biodiversity that attracts many tourists. This is why the present study was conducted with the aim of developing an environmentally friendly tourism in Madagascar, taking as an example the tourist spots of the southwest of Madagascar (Ambotsibotsiky, Ifaty, Mangily and Madiorano). The study, carried out from March 27, 2021 to March 06, 2022, was based on (i) the inventory of plastic waste from sampling at the beaches by using transects and quadrats, (ii) the categorization and quantification of the waste inventoried from the weighing of the collected samples, (iii) the identification of all users as well as the products used as sources of waste from individual surveys with the chief fokontany, hoteliers, NGO managers, tourists, visitors and the population. The results of the inventories showed that waste is of anthropogenic origin. Waste of food origin dominates (either 29.72%) all the waste scattered in the four sites while waste of unknown origin is the heaviest and represents 30.89% of the total weight of waste collected. Among the four study sites, Mangily beach is the most polluted with 861 wastes collected. Plastics arrive on the beaches by direct discharge from human beings whose tourist or daily activities are responsible for it, and indirectly by the action of the waves and winds which carry them and deposit them on the beach. Ecotourism is perceived as a classic tourist activity like any other by the population, whereas it is well defined by the majority of tourists and hoteliers who were surveyed. The recommendations put forward are based on the participation of all the tourist actors and well defined for the implementation of the "zero waste ecotourism policy".