ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND DEVELOPMENT

Background:

Many hotels are being built in locations near small villages where the nearby land historically has been used either for agriculture or left as open space. Local residents in these locations depend on rainwater harvesting and limited supplies of water from the government. Hotels need a large and dependable supply of high-quality water.

The Issue:

A hotel is being planned, and the hotel owners want to get both a permit for building and an agreement with the municipality to supply them with all of the water they will need.

Dilemma:

A hotel would bring economic growth and needed jobs to the area, but valuable farm land or open space would be lost. The current supply of water may not be adequate to support both the local residents and the hotel. Construction and operation of a hotel in the area may cause serious environmental problems.

Action:

The Mayor wants to have a town meeting to discuss the situation and invited the following people to attend:

1. Mayor
2. Head of the Municipality Water Department
3. Farmers.
4. Hotel owners.
5. Environmentalists (Greens).
6. General public (not a farmer).

Your task is to take part in this meeting as one of the above mentioned representatives and to help the Mayor decide if the hotel should be allowed. Here are a few guidelines to assist you in this project:

1. Each member will take the part of one of the above mentioned participants in the meeting and represent that group's opinion - either in support of or against the decision.
2. If you are against the hotel, you should offer a potential solution(s) to deal with the economic and water problems in the town. That is, what alternatives are there for new jobs that will not use as much water?
3. If you support construction of the hotel, how can the residents be compensated (paid?) for the water that they will lose, if any? How can the local residents deal with possible water shortages?
4. What are the possible environmental problems? You should offer a possible solution(s) for potential environmental problems.