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Destination: Ecotourism A comparison of the many definitions of ecotourism indicate that ecotourism tends to have three main components: nature-based, educational and sustainable management that includes economic, social, cultural and ethical issues.

Definitions
Unlike other travel and tourism terminologies, there is no established conceptual and technical definition of ecotourism.


 * As a guiding conceptual principle, however, ecotourism can be said to be that which occurs in natural settings (protected and non-protected) with an attempt to increase benefits to the economy, society and environment through sustainable educational practices from locals to tourists and vice versa.


 * Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well being of local people	(The International Ecotourism Society, 1990)


 * Ecotourism is travel to fragile, pristine and usually protected areas that strives to be low impact and (usually small scale). It helps educate the traveler; provides funds for conservation; directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of local communities; and fosters respect for different cultures and for human rights. (Martha Honey, 1999)


 * Environmentally responsible travel and visitation to natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and accompanying cultural features, both past and present) that promote conservation, have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local people. (World Conservation Union, 1996)


 * Ecotourism embraces the principles of sustainable tourism… and the following principles which distinguish it from the wider concept of sustainable tourism:
 * contributes actively to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage,
 * includes local and indigenous communities in its planning, development an operation,   contributing to their well-being,
 * interprets the natural and cultural heritage of the destination to visitor, and
 * lends itself better to independent travelers as well as to organized tours for small size groups. (Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism)

History
"Although the origin of this concept dates back to the 1960’s, Hector Ceballos-Lascurain is generally regarded as the one who coined the term ecotourism. Ceballos-Lascurain defined ecotourism as “that segment of tourism that involves travel to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas with the specific objective of admiring, studying and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural features (both past and present) found in these areas." (Cruz, 2000)

Ecotourism activities have been expanding rapidly over the past two decades world-wide and further growth is expected in the future. (WTO-UNEP, 2002)

Born in its current form in the late 1980's, Ecotourism came of age in 2002. The United Nations, recognizing its global importance, designated the year 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism, and its Commission on Sustainable Development requested international agencies, governments and the private sector to undertake supportive activities. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have joined forces in the preparation and co-ordination of some activities to be undertaken at the international level during the Year.

Prominent Examples from Around the World
http://www.ecotour.org/xp/ecotour/destinations/

Important Planning Principles and Values to Emphasize

 * A particular planning concern of this type of tourism is the environmental impact of the tourist activities in natural environments and, in some places, the cultural impact on traditional societies.


 * The basic approach for planning of natural tourist attractions such as national parks is an application of the environmental planning approach, which emphasizes conservation of the natural environment as well as designing visitor facilities and organizing visitor use that will fit well into the environment and do not degrade it. This can also be expressed as achieving a balance between optimum enjoyment and appreciation of the environment by the visitors without the degradation of the environment by tourism and maintaining the conservation objectives.


 * The park or conservation plan is often termed as a management plan because the planning concept is that of continuous management of the natural resource so that it serves both

Guidelines for Ecotourism Development

 * 1) 	The attraction and activities in a particular area must be varied and interesting.
 * 2) 	In case of a single outstanding feature, it must truly be unique and impressive. Inherent activities like diving or trekking may also be possible in the area.
 * 3) 	The size of the area can range from a few hectares to a town, a province, or a region. The number of attractions, however, must be closely associated and connected with one another in terms of accessibility.
 * 4) 	The community, through a dialogue, must be willing to accept the introduction or development of tourism in their area. Community-based ecotourism must be supported by the locals.
 * 5) 	The area or large part of it must be accessible for most parts of the year.
 * 6) 	There must be adequate resources to support the community and visitors.

Planning Process and Techniques
The process of planning natural attractions is generally as follows:
 * determination of the development and conservation objectives within the framework of the parks and conservation policy
 * environmental/ecological analysis, including any special surveys required such as wildlife, flora, and ecological systems, with identification of special environment areas to be preserved, such as wildlife habitat
 * establishment of visitor carrying capacities, based on various assumptions of types of visitor use
 * projection of visitor demand by type of use, such as day tours, hiking and camping and, if necessary, reconciliation made with the carrying capacity analysis to arrive at optimum visitor use levels
 * determination of type of visitor facilities needed and facility space requirements
 * formulation of the plan, including preparation and evaluation of the outline plans based on the plan’s objectives and environmental impacts, and finalization of the selected plan with staging of development indicated
 * preparation of a visitor use

Planning Guides

 * Pacific Business Center Program's Ecotourism Planning Kit
 * Planning for Ecotourism on the Coast of Maine
 * The World Ecotourism Summit

Key institutions
Important organizations involved in or supporting ecotourism development:
 * http://www.wwf.org/
 * http://www.ecotour.org/
 * http://www.ecotourism.org/
 * http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/
 * http://www.nature.org/
 * http://www.rainforestalliance.org/

Case Studies
The following are links to documents that show the planning process, plans, and outcomes of ecotourism.

'''Community- Based Ecotourism Venture: The Case of Sunungukai Camp, Zimbabwe'''

Authors: Kenneth K. Odero and Prisca Huchu

“This case is an example of a community-based ecotourism venture in Sunungkai Camp, Zimbabwe. The project aims to provide income to the surrounding communities and to promote the conservation of natural resources. The principle behind ecotourism is that providing compensation and substitution can lead to change of attitude and practice of resource management by local communities. There were four institutions involved in this process: the Local Community, CAMPFIRE Association, Zimbabwe Trust and the Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe Rural District Council (UMPRDC). CAMPFIRE Association served as the lead institution promoting the project; Zimbabwe Trust provided funding and management training; and UMPRDC served as the link organization.” [Read more at http://srdis.ciesin.org/cases/zimbabwe-004.html]

'''Indigenous Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: The Case of Rio Blanco, Ecuador'''

Author: David T. Schaller

“The indigenous Quichua community of Río Blanco, in the Ecuadorian Amazon (Napo Province), was founded in 1971 by Quichua migrants from the Andean foothills, where, as a result of population growth and inmigration of mestizo agricultural colonists, the supply of land was becoming short. Since 1971, the economy of Río Blanco has shifted from one based almost entirely on subsistence agriculture and hunting to one reliant on cash crops such as coffee, cacao, rice and maize. Río Blanco has experienced high population growth in the past twenty years which, along with a rising cost of living, has driven the people of the community to expand greatly the amount of land under cultivation. As a result, the amount of primary tropical forest has decreased until, in 1995, it accounted for less than half of the community's main block of land. Facing continued population growth, the community has developed an ecotourism project as an alternative economic activity which may protect the forest rather than clear it.” [Read more at http://www.eduweb.com/schaller/RioBlancoSummary.html]

'''Remote Sensing and GIS based Ecotourism Planning: A Case Study for Western Midnapore, West Bengal, India'''

Authors: U. K. Banerjee, Smriti Kumari, S. K. Paul and S. Sudhakar

“Present study is an attempt to identify potential ecotourism sites in eastern India using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques in forest dominated area of western Midnapore, West Bengal. After identifying the potential sites, a demonstrative plan has been made for Ecotourism development based on locally available natural resources.” [Read more at http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/miscellaneous/misc028.htm]

Ecotourism in Uganda: A Case Study of the Mgahinga National Park

Author: Francis Okello

“This is a case study of Mgahinga gorilla national park in Western Uganda. It is an attempt to investigate the importance and relevance of ecotourism and assess the awareness and understanding of ecotourism among the local population. The results show that, despite a low number of respondents employed in the tourism industry, the local population supports the idea of conservation of wildlife. All the respondents interviewed unanimously answered that they support the idea of nature conservation.” [read more at http://www.handels.gu.se/epc/archive/00003698/]

Community Eco-tourism Development in Cockrane Village, Dominica: A Case Study by OECS Environment and Sustainable Development Unit

Author: David T. Popo

“The village is rich with plantation salve history and still contains some old ruins which will form part of the tourist attractions. The village borders the Morne Pitons National Park which is listed as a world heritage site. The conversion of the village into an eco-village will enable historians to continue the documentation of this slave based community and also to afford residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy the ecosystem in its glory. Because of the decline in Bannaa production, turning Cockrane into and eco-village would provide villagers an alternative source of income. The super goal of the Cockrane Ecotourism project is to develop Cockrane as a buffer zone to the Morne Trois Piton world heritage site by enhancing biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods.” [Read more at http://www.oecs.org/esdu/documents/CommResManage/CASE%20STUDY%20COMMUNITY%20ECOTOURISM%20COCKRANE.pdf]

Case Study: Tourism and Biodiversity (Ecotourism – A Sustainable Development Tool, A Case for Belize)

Author: Wiezsman Pat

“This case study highlights the potential of ecotourism as an economic activity that will contribute to the sustainable economic and social development of the country and contribute to environmental and cultural heritage preservation, while ensuring the participation of the local communities and the other stakeholders in the process.” [Read more at http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:a4ma8X2JZeEJ:www.unep.org/bpsp/Tourism/Case%2520Studies%2520(pdf)/Belize(Tourism).pdf+case+study+ecotourism&hl=tl&gl=ph&ct=clnk&cd=6]

'''Community- Based Ecotourism and Community Building: The Case of the Lacandones (Chiapas)'''

Author: Axel Kersten

“A recent "post development" approach within the tourism sector is community based ecotourism. The concept tries to describe a sustainable way of tourism into natural reserves while providing a source of community building or development for local people without destroying natural habitats and cultural systems.” [Read more at http://www.planeta.com/planeta/97/0597lacandon.html]

Community Initiatives in Ecotourism:A Case Study from Sikkim, India

Author: By the staff and participants from The Sikkim Biodiversity and Ecotourism Project

“With over 90,000 domestic and 6,000 international tourists in 1995, tourism is rapidly becoming an important economic activity for the Sikkimese people. Ecotourism, with its focus on environmentally sound practices and generating widespread economic benefits, offers an opportunity for Sikkim to improve the livelihoods of its mountain communities and protect its unique heritage. The Sikkim Biodiversity and Ecotourism Project (SBEP) is a collaborative initiative designed to conserve the biological diversity of key destinations. At the heart of the project are participatory approaches that link enterprise operation with conservation action, while merging traditional cultural practices.” [Read more at http://www.recoftc.org/site/fileadmin/docs/publications/Seminar_Proceeding/Sikkim.doc]

References:


 * Cruz, Reil. Principles of Travel and Tourism. Quezon City: Tourism Research Philippines. 2000.
 * http://www.ecotourism.org/index2.php?ecotourism_associations
 * http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/tour/definitions.html
 * http://www.cabi-publishing.org/bookshop/BookDisplay.asp?SubjectArea=&Subject=&PID=1614
 * http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/ecotourism/home.htm
 * http://www.nature.org/aboutus/travel/ecotourism/
 * http://www.tq.com.au/special-interests/ecotourism/ecotourism_home.cfm
 * http://www.hawaiiecotourism.org/
 * http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4733
 * http://www.ecotourism.org/store/product_info.php?cPath=28_29&products_id=5