Ecotourism: Difference between revisions

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Understanding the economic impacts of ecotourism can give us insight into the incentives for compliance or non-compliance with environmental standards of practice. These impacts can also be important in determine the long-run economic sustainability of ecotourism practices and even their likelihood of success.  
Understanding the economic impacts of ecotourism can give us insight into the incentives for compliance or non-compliance with environmental standards of practice. These impacts can also be important in determine the long-run economic sustainability of ecotourism practices and even their likelihood of success.  
====Positive Economic Impacts====
====Positive Economic Impacts====
*[[EconomicValuation|Economic value:]] Economic stimulation: tourism can be a major source of income for both home and host economies and can help generate  income and monetary velocity in the areas in which it occurs (see graphic on shark ecotourism) <ref name="Encyclopedia" /> [[File:shark-ecotourism.jpg]]
*[[EconomicValuation|Economic value:]] Economic stimulation: tourism can be a major source of income for both home and host economies and can help generate  income and monetary velocity in the areas in which it occurs (see graphic on shark ecotourism) <ref name="Encyclopedia" />
* Generation of funds and financial incentives for conservation work, increasing the chances of creating long-term profitability
* Generation of funds and financial incentives for conservation work, increasing the chances of creating long-term profitability
* Job creation <ref name="ecotourism management" />
* Job creation <ref name="ecotourism management" />
*Sustainable development: ecotourism can help drive investment in infrastructure and other improvements in local communities as governments and investors have incentive to make areas more livable for tourists, thus also supporting the development of living improvements for local residents <ref name="linking"> Carribean Foresters. '''Linking Conservation, Tourism, and Sustainable Development in the Caribbean.''' Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico: USDA Forest Service Institute of Tropical Forestry, 2008. Print. </ref>
*Sustainable development: ecotourism can help drive investment in infrastructure and other improvements in local communities as governments and investors have incentive to make areas more livable for tourists, thus also supporting the development of living improvements for local residents <ref name="linking"> Carribean Foresters. '''Linking Conservation, Tourism, and Sustainable Development in the Caribbean.''' Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico: USDA Forest Service Institute of Tropical Forestry, 2008. Print. </ref>


====Negative Economic Impacts====
====Negative Economic Impacts====

Revision as of 14:19, 16 April 2014

Ecotourism

Overview

Ecotourism is an emerging form of tourism that focuses on environmentally sustainable tourism practices.[1] The Ecotourism Association of Australia defines ecotourism as "ecologically sustainable tourism that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation, and conservation." [1] [2] While the focus of ecotourism is on environmental sustainability, a need for cultural sustainability and responsibility is widely recognized by proponents of ecotourism.


Ecotourism, as the name implies, is a combination of the tourism industry and the environmental movement. Tourism is an industry borne of the relatively recent process of globalization, especially modern travel technologies, information technologies, and mass media. These factors of globalization have helped to create a world in which most people experience spatial boundaries that extend far beyond their local areas. [3] The "eco" part of ecotourism comes from increasing global attentiveness to human impacts on the natural environment and a desire to minimize and hopefully reverse those impacts. Thus "ecotourism" is meant to bridge the divide between the economic profitability and lifestyle-oriented ideas of tourism and long-run environmental sustainability. [4]


Criteria/Qualifications

Guidelines

Ecotourism practices are expected to follow certain principles in order to be considered "eco". While there is no global law dictating these principles, it is generally believed that the following are the main requirements for good ecotourism practices. [5] [6][2]

  1. Protection of natural and cultural resources
  2. Generation of economic benefits to local communities
  3. Provision of direct financial benefits for conservation efforts
  4. Includes environmental education component
  5. Includes local community participation and stakeholder collaboration in destination planning and tourism management
  6. Provision of a high quality tourism experience
  7. Supports human rights and international labor agreements


Certification and Accreditation

It is important for consumers, industry members, investors, and governments to be able to identify groups that adhere to the standards of ecotourism for many reasons. Certification programs, if done well, can allow for all actors to make informed decisions, and can increase incentives (financial and otherwise) for companies and groups to comply with environmental standards. [7]

Some countries and NGOs offer certification programs. Cost Rica, for example, has a government-run program called the Certification of Sustainable Tourism program. The CST program in Costa Rica assigns all firms in the travel and tourism industry scores from 1-5 based on their adherence to the program's sustainability standards, based on things such as carbon footprints, waste creation and management, and other such environmental considerations. Such programs are especially common, and crucial, in countries where tourism is one of the main industries, such as Costa Rica and Botswana, which has the Botswana Ecotourism Certification System. Non-governmental and/or non-profit organizations also run certification programs around the world. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council is one such organization.

While certification programs like these certainly help to set standards for and give credit to ecotourism practices, there is not yet a global system of certification or accreditation. The Green Globe agreement is currently the closest thing to an international standard that exists. Signed by 182 countries in 1992 at the UN Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro, The Green Globe is meant to establish international regulation of and certification for firms in the ecotourism industry. The Green Globe faces the usual problems of international agreements, though; it is difficult to monitor practices, enforce standards, and ensure communication and cooperation between countries with the current system. The Green Globe is also limited by the fact that many countries have not signed it. It is an important step towards international standards for ecotourism, though. The nature of tourism means that it pervades and defies the spatial boundaries of national borders, making international cooperation crucial to its success. [8] [2]


Effects of Ecotourism

Ecotourism, like general tourism, can have many effects of the natural environments and communities where it is practiced. These effects are best understood in the categories of economic, environmental, and socio-cultural.

Economic

Understanding the economic impacts of ecotourism can give us insight into the incentives for compliance or non-compliance with environmental standards of practice. These impacts can also be important in determine the long-run economic sustainability of ecotourism practices and even their likelihood of success.

Positive Economic Impacts

  • Economic value: Economic stimulation: tourism can be a major source of income for both home and host economies and can help generate income and monetary velocity in the areas in which it occurs (see graphic on shark ecotourism) [2]
  • Generation of funds and financial incentives for conservation work, increasing the chances of creating long-term profitability
  • Job creation [5]
  • Sustainable development: ecotourism can help drive investment in infrastructure and other improvements in local communities as governments and investors have incentive to make areas more livable for tourists, thus also supporting the development of living improvements for local residents [9]

Negative Economic Impacts

  • Ecotourism can create the problem of enclave tourism, when ecotourism excursions are sold as a package in the home country and the destination country then sees little to no economic benefit from tourist activity
  • Import leakage: tourists can create demand for new goods in a local economy, putting pressure on local businesses to import in the items the tourists demand, such as things that suit their own cultural tastes; as locals import goods to keep tourists happy, much of the revenue of tourism is funneled back to foreign economies
  • Pressure on local resource, natural and otherwise, potentially creating shortages, unfair competition, and inflation for local communities
  • Corruption: as with areas of natural resource wealth such as oil and diamonds, countries that are popular tourist destinations may face increased governmental or corporate corruption as leaders attempt to distribute the wealth generated by tourism in their own favor (typically, this means happens at the expense of the general population) [10]


Environmental

  • Positive Environmental Impacts [11]
    • Awareness/public attention and appreciation of natural areas inspiring activism, change
    • Education as a long-term benefit to the environment
    • Revenue diverted (in part) to restoration and preservation efforts [12]
    • Preservation, increased protection efforts
      • Case Studies [8]
  • Negative Environmental Impacts [13]
    • Tragedy of the commons (related to the rest of the list)
    • Dangers of consumer-driven practices and commercialization of natural areas [14]
    • Air, water, other pollution caused by increased human activity/proximity to reefs [13]
    • Trampling/other destruction of reef organisms
    • Frequent disturbances to reef environment
    • Local additions to commercial activity and infrastructure impacting larger ecosystems of coral reefs

Social/Cultural

  • Positive Social/Cultural Impacts [16]
    • Education, cultural exposure and growth
    • Protection of local areas, people as part of natural resource [17]
    • Economic positives
  • Negative Social/Cultural Impacts: Similar to final point in economic effect section above [10]
    • Damage to communities
    • Displacement of locals; threats to indigenous populations
    • Loss of common or public areas (privatization/commercialization of a people's home)

See also/further reading

  • A place for links to other interesting resources and information (may or may not be on final page)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cater, Carl and Erlet. Marine Ecotourism: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Cambridge, MA: CABI Publications, 2007. Print. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "marine eco" defined multiple times with different content
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Weaver, David. "The Encyclopedia of Ecotourism." Oxon, UK: CABI Publishing, 2001. Print.
  3. ↑ Aronsson, Lars. "The Development of Sustainable Tourism." London, UK: Bath House, 2000. Print.
  4. ↑ Weaver, David. Ecotourism. Milton, Qld.: John Wiley & Sons, 2001. Print.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Diamantis, Dimitrios. Ecotourism: Management and Assessment. London: Thomson, 2004. Print.
  6. ↑ Honey, Martha. Ecotourism & Certification: Setting Standards in Practice. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2002. Print.
  7. ↑ Fennell, D. and Dowling, R.K. Ecotourism policy and planning. New York, NY: CABI Publications, 2003. Print.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Luck, Michael and Kirstges, Torsten. Global Ecotourism Policies and Case Studies: Perspectives and Constraints. Clevedon: Channel View Publications, 2003. Print.
  9. ↑ Carribean Foresters. Linking Conservation, Tourism, and Sustainable Development in the Caribbean. Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico: USDA Forest Service Institute of Tropical Forestry, 2008. Print.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Duffy, Rosaleen. A trip too far: ecotourism, politics, and exploitation. Sterling, VA: Earthscan Publications, 2002. Print.
  11. ↑ Singh, Sagar. Shades of Green: Ecotourism for Sustainability. New Delhi: The Energy and Resources Institute, 2004. Print.
  12. ↑ Cote, Isabelle M. and Reynolds, John D. Coral reef conservation. Cambridge, MA; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Liddie, M.J. Recreation Ecology: The ecological impact of outdoor recreation and ecotourism. New York, NY: Chapman & Hall, 1997. Print.
  14. ↑ Duffy, Rosaleen. Nature Crime: How We're Getting Conservation Wrong. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2010. Print.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named case
  16. ↑ The World Tourism Summit, Quebec City, May 2002, Final Report. Madrid: World Tourism Organization, 2002. Print.
  17. ↑ Cock, Peter. Australian Ecotourism: Contributing to Ecological and Community Sustainability. Melbourne, Vic.: School of Geography and Environmental Science, Montash University, 2002. Print.
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