Investigating the feasibility of a locally developed carbon-offsetting scheme : the case of the Drifters Desert Nature Reserve

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the context of both climate change and peak oil, it is clear that the tourism industry cannotcontinue with a business-as-usual approach. Unfettered fossil fuel use is no longer an option andnovel approaches need to be explored in order to change the configuration of energy systems.Transport is particularly energy intense and consequently, since it involves travel, so is tourism.The Drifters Desert Nature Reserve (DDNR) is probably a net carbon sink. The property is largeand has thousands of long lived trees and bushes: but this would be an 'easy out' in an industrywhich is has a reputation for evading tough questions. Are there affordable techniques that can beemployed by the Reserve that will reduce its carbon footprint and enable it to move toward beingentirely carbon neutral, without relying on sequestration?A willingness to pay (WTP) survey investigating if clients were prepared to pay a voluntary amounttowards reducing the emissions of the DDNR, thereby offsetting some of their own emissions, wasconducted; 121 questionnaires were completed. The results were extrapolated out to represent theWTP of the 1055 clients that visited the DDNR in the last year. It was found that 73% of all theclients who stay at the DDNR are willing to pay toward helping the DDNR change the way itssystems are configured as a means to offset some of their own emissions debt in getting to thereserve. Lodge clients were prepared to pay almost double the amount clients staying at thecampsite would consider. In both cases, WTP was around 10% of the value of the accommodationpackage chosen.The fossil fuel use and consequent carbon dioxide debt of the DDNR was calculated andemissions were found to be in the region of 30 tonnes per annum. As per the case in the greaterNamibia, transport is responsible for the bulk of the carbon dioxide output, with energy provision inthis off-grid reserve being a close second. Of four potential interventions considered, two werefound to be financially viable, regardless of the WTP of clientele.It is speculated that WTP on a small scale is administratively laborious and the potentialcontribution of a voluntary offsetting payment was perhaps not high to justify the implementation ofthe scheme. It was however found that reconfiguring the energy systems would definitely be aworthwhile exercise.On corporate level where efficiencies of size amplify gains, Drifters, as a group of 14 lodges and anoverland company, may well find that a transparent voluntary emissions reduction (VER) payment,ring-fenced, appropriately used, and properly implemented, is worthwhile.Ethically, however, injecting VER payments into a balance sheet is problematic, especially wherethe payback period of the technological interventions is short and the benefits derived are longterm.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University