TED Case Studies

Asia Golf and Environment

     CASE NUMBER:        249
     CASE MNEMONIC:      ASIAGOLF
     CASE NAME:          Asia Golf Tourism 

I.  IDENTIFICATION

1.  The Issue

     Golf tourism has spreading rapidly across Thailand, Indonesia,
Malaysia and the Phillippines within the past five years. 
Advertising by Southeast Asia's best golf courses points out the
glamour of the game in an effort to gain the tourist's dollar.  The
golf craze is also spreading to the emerging economies of Vietnam,
Laos, Burma as well as India.  What most golfers do not realize or
consider is the damaging environmental impact of the sport. 
According to Chee Yoke Ling and Mohammad Ferhan Ferrari of the
Malaysia-based Asia-Pacific People's Environment Network (APPEN),
"Golf development is becoming one of the most unsustainable and
damaging activities to people and the environment."

2.  Description

     The booming golf trade in Asia creates a haven for golfers and
a nightmare for environmentalists.  Southeast Asiažs golf courses
offer greens carved out of paddy fields or virgin forest,
breathtaking views of the sea or mountains and often have cable
cars to transport golfers from one hole to the next.  This golfers
paradise has become a disaster for environmental activists.  
     APPEN members, Chee Yoke Ling and Mohammad Ferhan Ferrari
said:  "The 25,000 golf courses worldwide cover an area as large as
Belgium and the business of building them is among the fastest-
growing type of land development in the world."  In the 1970s,
Southeast Asia had 45 golf courses.  Today there are over 500
courses due to the fact that the industry has spread beyond Japan. 
Malaysia has 155 golf courses, Thailand has about 160 courses,
Indonesia, 90 and the Philippines, 80.  The beauty found in the
setting of a golf course often hides many of the environmental,
social, and health problems that environmental activists call the
steep price of the game.  
     Developing a golf course entails the clearing of vegetation,
cutting forests and creating artificial landscapes, which lead to
land erosion and block the soilžs ability to retain water.  Golf
courses need 3,000 cubic meters of water per day, which is enough
to meet the needs of 15,000 people.  Golf courses also need large
quantities of pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides, which groups
such as Global Anti-Golf Movement say have caused health problems
among golfers, workers an nearby residents.   Anita Pleumarom, a
Global Anti-Golf Movement Activist in Bangkok, said that golf
course developers in Thailand use a variety of dangerous
herbicides, including some containing toxic compounds found in
Agent Orange.  She has spoken with many golf course workers who
have become sick with headaches and skin irritations as a result of
their working with these chemicals.
     Conflicts often occur between farmers and the golf industry. 
Farmers have been forced to sell their land to golf course
investors.  Also, the fertile land used for farming becomes
obsolete with the development of golf courses.  The environmental
damage varies and is worse in highland areas, where the ecosystem
is fragile.  
     In 1990-91, Thailand built an 18 hole country club in
Springfield.  While business started out slow, it has recently been
picking up with bookings by groups from Spain, Sweden and Canada. 
  Some of the main attractions to golfing in Thailand as opposed to
onežs own country is the less expensive greens fees.  In Thailand,
the average cost of greens fees is $20 to $30 while it would be
$100 anywhere else in the world.  The caddies are women and each
golfer has three or four caddies - one to carry the clubs, one to
tote an umbrella and another to lug a chair and water.  On the
other hand, golf courses have attracted golf critics as well.  In
1993, Ing Kanchanawanit, produced a documentary entitled, "Green
Menace: The Untold Story of Golf," which argued the sport was
endangering Thailandžs environment with pesticides, increasing
drought and creating social elitism. 

3.   Related Cases:


     JPGOLF case
     JUMBO case
     FRANCE case
     HIMALAY case

     Keyword Clusters    
     (1): Forum                    = THAIland
     (2): Bio-geography            = TROPical
     (3): Environmental Problem    = TOURism


4.  Author: Laurie Walsh


II. LEGAL FILTERS

5.  Discourse and Status:  DISagreement and ALLEGEgation

6.  Forum and Scope: THAILand and REGIONal

7.  Decision Breadth:  9 countries

     While more countries are affected by the impact of the
increasing golf industry, this case deals primarily with Thailand,
but also touches on Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan,
Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and India.

8.  Legal Standing:  Non-Governmental Organization [NGO]

     The organizations involved in this case include, The Asia-
     Pacific Peopležs Environmental network [APPEN] and The Global
     Anti-Golf Movement.

III.  GEOGRAPHIC CLUSTERS

9.  Geographic Locations:

          a.  Domain:    ASIA
          b.  Site:      East Asia [EASIA]
          c.  Impact:    THAILand

10.  Sub-National Factors:  YES

11.  Type of Habitat:  Tropical Rainy Forest and Savanna [TROP] 

IV.  TRADE CLUSTERS

12.  Type of Measure:  Regulatory Standard [REGSTD]

13.  Direct vs Indirect Impacts:  INDirect

14.  Relation of Measure to Impact:  

     Directly Related:        Yes  GOLF
     Indirectly Related:      No
     Not Related:             No
     Process:                 Yes  Habitat Loss

15.  Trade Product Identification:  TOURISM

16.  Economic Data

     In the case of Thailand, some golf courses are loosing money. 
While initial property investments for one course equaled $40
million, membership fees and greens fees do not even cover
maintenance costs.  The average greens fees in Thailand are between
$20 and $30, while most fees average $100 in other parts of the
world.

17.  Impact of Trade Restriction:  MEDIUM

18.  Industry Sector:  TOURISM

19.  Exporters:  MANY and THAIland

     Countries who also attract foreign golfers in Asia include: 
Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillippines, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and     
India.

V.  ENVIRONMENT CLUSTERS

20.  Environmental Problem Type:  HABITat Loss

21.  Number of Species: MANY

22.  Resource Impact and Effect:  MEDIUM and Structure [STRUCT]

23.  Urgency of Problem:  LOW

24.  Substitutes:  LIKE Products (VIDEO Golf)

VI.  OTHER FACTORS

25.  Culture:  YES

     Along with the growth of golf courses in these areas, luxury
hotels, condominiums and chalets also continue to grow.  The sport
of golf has turned from a traditional male žget togetherž into a
business with high class stakes.  Golf has created an elitist
society and this social elitism has, in turn, created a new sub-
culture.  

     This case is gender related due, in part, to the fact that the
game of golf was traditionally and still somewhat today seen as a
"man's" sport.  In the case of Malasia, along with the conveniences
of all night golf courses, some courses offer all female caddies. 
In Thailand, all the caddies are women.  Each golfer has three or
four women caddies -- one to carry the clubs, another to tote an
umbrella and a third to carry a chair and water.

26.  Human Rights:  NO

27.  Trans-Boundary Issues:  NO

28.  Relevant Literature

"Golf and Its Impact in the Environment," Economist, September 8,
1990.  Vol. 316N7671, p. 24-25.

John Hail, "Thai Golf Industry out of the Rough," Proprietary to
the United Press International 1994, October 12, 1994.

Fred Pearce, "How Green is your Golf?: Environmental Effects of
Golf Courses," New Scientist, September 25, 1993.

Johanna Son, "Southeast Asia - Environment: How Green are the Golf
Courses?," 1995 Inter Press Service, January 2, 1995.