Tourism and the Lingering Effects on Costa Chica
Costa Chica is a small community running 200 miles along the coastal region of Oaxaca, Mexico neighboring a popular tourist area known as Acapulco, Guerrero. The increase in tourism in the surrounding area has heavily impacted this community and similar ones, due to the increase in deforestation, pollution, and agrochemical runoff. Understanding the environmental impact tourism has on these underrepresented communities will help expand awareness of how high attraction sights negatively benefit communities. Finding information on a small town in Mexico is difficult due to state neglect of caring and addressing the community's issues. Research was performed to find information about how these committees have been impacted due to tourism and the demographics that have been impacted by the environmental injustice to the area. Overall, due to the negative impact of tourism on Costa Chica the people of this region have seen an increase in illness and decrease of resources. Lack of access to healthcare and food shortage have also contributed to difficulty to prospering in the community. In addition, the state has neglected the area and have lagged in their efforts to implement policies to help these communities. Although solutions might seem scarce a movement towards the government providing economic support and instating laws against over utilization of land and chemical runoff could help improve the state of these communities.