Travelling to Sustain - and Degrade - Nature

by Wendy Vanasselt

As Dave Williams dips his kayak paddle into the languid waters of Khao Sok National Park in southern Thailand, he states the obvious: "Most people who work 9-to-5 jobs for their entire life will never experience the beauty of a place like this."

Williams, owner and founder of Paddle Asia, moved to southern Thailand from the United States in 1992 and has become a part of the burgeoning global ecotourism industry. From African wildlife safaris, to diving tours in the Caribbean's emerald waters and coral reefs, to guided treks in Brazil's rainforests, nature-based tourism is booming.

According to latest available statistics from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), in 1999 there were more than 663 million international travelers who spent more than US$453 billion. This figure is expected to grow by 4.1 percent annually over the next two decades, with 1.6 billion international travelers projected for 2020. More than 200 million jobs, or 10 percent of all jobs globally, are generated by tourism.

Ecotourism and nature-related forms of tourism account for more than 20 percent of total international travel, the WTO claims.

This burgeoning interest in traveling to wild or untrammeled places offers a way for developing countries to finance preservation of unique ecosystems with tourist and private-sector dollars and to provide economic opportunities for communities living near parks and protected areas.

For Costa Rica, tourism generated $654 million in 1996, and for Kenya $502 million in 1997, much of it from nature and wildlife tourism. Tourism has been influential in helping to protect Rwanda's mountain gorillas and their habitat in Volcanoes National Park. Prior to the outbreak of civil war, tourist visits provided $1.02 million in direct annual revenues, enabling the government to create antipoaching patrols and employ local residents.

But nature-based travel can both sustain ecosystems and degrade them. Much nature-based tourism falls short of the social responsibility ideals of "ecotourism," defined by the Ecotourism Society as "travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people."

Destinations and trips marketed as ecotourism opportunities may focus more on environmentally friendly lodge design than local community development, conservation, or tourist education. Even some ecosystems that are managed carefully with ecotourism principles are showing signs of degradation.

"The term 'ecotourism' is misleading," said Williams. "It is nearly impossible to visit and learn from an area without leaving footprints, but some tour operators do a better job than others."

At first glance, Ecuador's Galápagos Islands epitomize the promise of ecotourism. Each year the archipelago draws more than 62,000 people who pay to dive, tour, and cruise amidst the 120 volcanic islands and the ecosystem's rare tropical birds, iguanas, penguins, and tortoises. Tourism raises as much as $60 million annually, and provides income for an estimated 80 percent of the islands' residents.

The tenfold increase in visitors since 1970 has expanded the resources for Ecuador's park service. Tour operators, naturalist guides, park officials, and scientists have worked together to create a model for low-impact, high-quality ecotourism.

But closer examination reveals trade-offs: a flood of migrants seeking jobs in the islands' new tourist economy nearly tripled the area's permanent population over a 15-year period, turned the towns into sources of pollution, and added pressure to fishery resources. Only 15 percent of tourist income directly enters the Galápagos economy; most of the profits go to foreign-owned airlines and luxury tour boats or floating hotels-accommodations that may lessen tourists' environmental impacts, but provide little benefit to local residents.

This pattern has unfortunately been repeated in many eco-tourism hot-spots around the world. By investing in park management, protection, and planning, these impacts can be minimized. Developing countries, however, often lack the resources to monitor, evaluate, and prevent visitor impacts, and infrastructure and facilities may be rudimentary or nonexistent.

With well-established guidelines, involvement of local communities, and a long-term vision for ecosystem protection rather than short-term profit by developers, ecotourism can provide breathtaking experiences for tourists and important revenues for cash-strapped developing economies.

"One could argue that just visiting natural areas, to some degree, has a negative impact," said Williams. "But by showing our guests the wonders and beauty of these destinations, we are generating awareness. This awareness will hopefully, in turn, spawn a desire among our guest to help preserve these few remaining natural wonders." (WRI Features, 719 words).