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So, in practice, can ecotourism contribute to
conservation?
Or is it simply a marketing ploy, a case of environmental opportunism, a buzzword?
Eco-Tourism defined as:“Environmentally responsible travel and visitation to
relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features – both past and present) that promotes
conservation, has low visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local
populations. “
–World Conservation Union’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Area—
Ecotourism Paradigm
Generation of RevenuePotential Direct Value:
Tourism earned approx. $188, 518 million for developed countries , 4-22% brought in by nature tourism (1995)
Potential Indirect Value:Soil conservation of tree cover in India $100-240/haCarbon Sequestration: $2000-4000/ha
Costs to manage w/o eco-tourism$1-3/ha/year recurrently, up to $18.5/ha/year
Environmental Damage costs w/eco-tourism$0.1-1.9/ha/year (in Costa Rica and Ecuador)
Environmental EducationSome eco-tourism definitions require the philosophy of
preservation, (intrinsic vs. extrinsic values) and a biocentric rather than homocentric philosophy.
Eco-tourism functions as a means to make people more aware of the natural world with or without such ethics.
Eco-tourism promotes the adoption of an environmental ethic through passive and active learning
Local InvolvementIncreased employment opportunitiesLocal distribution of tourism revenuesImproved local infrastructure
Proximity to marketsTransportationHealth careCommunications
Local capacity building, local empowermentImproved intercultural relations and appreciation
Biodiversity loss and Eco-tourism
Protection: How Much and Where?At least 12% of terrestrial surface representing all kinds
of biomes needs to be conserved according to the World Commission on Environment and Development.
Currently 5.2% of the earths surface is protectedEco/nature-tourism accounts for 15% of all tourism60-70 % of the world’s biodiversity is located in Brazil,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Congo, Madagascar, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Austraila
Negative Impacts of ProtectionHigh opportunity costs due to lost development
alternatives and loss of traditional activitiesLocal activities in protected areas are often illegalConserving extensive tracts of habitat politically difficult
in the absence of sustainable revenue generation.Boundaries, alone, may suggest that surrounding areas
are free for exploitation
GrowthEcotourism is outpacing conventional tourism by 15%
per year.Developing Countries are become more popular
destinationsDemand for undegraded nature will increase
(will either pressure ecosystems or increase value)Costa Rica parks raised admission fees by a factor 0f 10Visitor numbers plummeted by 44%Total revenues increased substantially
The Role of Ecotourism in Conservation
Panacea or Pandora’s BoxOliver Kruger
Meta Analysis of 188 Case StudiesHow are ecotourism case studies distributed over
continents and habitats?What variables are correlated with a study being
classified as sustainable by the author? What is the relative importance of these in a multi factor analysis?
What are the main (+) and (–) effects reported in case studies? Can these be linked to the main reasons for sustainability?
Criteria for CasesCases had to be specific to an area and focus on the
natural resources of the areaReport original observations or dataPublished in natural or social science journalsPurely theoretical studies omittedCases from 1981 to 2001Evaluated on ecological criteria alone*
To sustain or not sustain…
Ecological sustainability: the current practice does not pose a risk to the area or species in foreseeable future
Essentially, does the project meet the minimum requirements to be ecological sustainable?
Variables ConsideredYear, Author Type (social or natural scientist) Author
Affiliation with Institution of Country (yes or no)Continent/Region and Habitat Type (dummy variables = 1
or 0)Type of flagship species (7 categories)
None Fish Reptile Bird
Charismatic BirdMammalChar. MammalWorldwide Flagship
Variables ContinuedLocal Community Involved (yes or no) based on:
Revenue Sharing OccursDecision PowerLocal Employmenturs
Investigation method (Purely observational or repeatable method , 0 or 1)
All of these into Multivariate Regression Analysis to evaluate relative importance
Distribution of Cases by Country, Type
Distribution by Flagship Species
ResultsOf 188 studies, 118 (62.8%) classified as sustainableSignificantly higher than % expected by chance, R2 = .65Dichotomous Dependent Variable (Sustainable or not)Best model had 4 significant predictor variables4 Variables: Flagship Species Type, Local Community
Involvement, Habitat Type, Type of StudyTo check for model robustness, multiple discriminate
analysis done, same variables as predictors, 85% of cases classified correctly
Contribution to ConservationLocal community involvement positively correlatedAfrica, Asia, Central America, and coastline negatively
correlated Flagship species had very low explanatory power in this
model
Differences in Unsustainable Cases
Limitations of this StudyPublisher bias (more likely to publish + reports)Authors of reports might be biasDefinition of sustainable uncertainObviously limited to ecological sustainability, little
indication of economic or cultural sustainability, which could undermine ecological stability in long run
ConclusionsMany factors determine the success of ecotourism
projects, thus third party groups are needed to audit specific eco-tourism packages for sustainability.
Difficult to attain a balance for all stakeholders, all stakeholders must have equal say.
Ecotourism, if implemented correctly, can be successful and sustainable in very specific situations
Preservation through Ecotourism is specifically viable in Temperate Forests, Tropical Forests, and Savannah
Ecotourism and Conservation are Compatible if….Local communities are involved in planning and executing
conservation programs, they must support the project for success
Detailed strategic plans are developed before the project, and monitored throughout (how to market, how many visitors, how resources distributed)
Limit the tourist #’s (economically, this will increase demand, high inelasticity, consumers willing to pay)
Have a larger plan supported by nation- need for consistency of laws and policies
References CitedKruger, Oliver, 2005. The Role of Ecotourism in Conservation: Panacea or Pandora’s Box? Biodiversity and Conservation 14:579-600.
Ross, Sheryl, and G. Wall, 1999. Ecotourism: Towards Congruence between Theory and Practice. Tourism Management 20:123-132.
Stem, Caroline and J. Lassole, D. Lee, and D. Deshler, 2003. How ‘Eco’ is Ecotourism? A Comparative Case Study of Ecotourism in Costa Rica. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 11: 322-346.
Wight, Pamela, 1993. Ecotourism: Ethics or Eco-sell? Journal of Travel Research 5: 3-9.