Is Eco-Tourism a good thing or bad thing?

Question

Should we be encouraging Eco-Tourism?

Do the benefits outweigh the costs to the environment?

Answer 1

ECO TOURISM

I know you will disagree with me ,but to preserve Nature ,one has to be there to do that ,if we left it alone ,others would destroy it in no time .

And to be there and to pay for the fencing ,cost money.

To fence people out and also to fence animals in ,for there own protection ,because if they wandered in to places where there are people ,they will be killed in no time .

In Chiapas is a jungle called Lacandona ,full of exotic animals and plants ,Lemurs ,crocodiles,all kinds of monkeys,parrots ,toucans,anacondas .you name it .

It is Government protected ,there are right now and last year as well campaigns on the TV,radio news papers ,to help and save the jungle ,

There are police and soldiers patrolling the perimeters,there are Environmentalist working all over the place ,

And all of this has not made the slightest difference ,the jungle loses thousands of hectares each year ,to slash and burn farmers ,trophy and exotic pets hunters ,and logging companies .

Eco tourism with public presence ,who incidentally only move around in boats or on controlled guided walks ,brings in the money to pay for the protection and could generate enough political pressure to combat the invasion.

We must solve the local peoples economic situations to stop them from harming the jungle
To make them see it as an asset instead ,to further their own financial situation,if it remains intact.

So more involvement is needed from the local people to work with in the conservation concept ,and this is Eco tourism ,to be guides ,part of a service ,work in the hotels or restaurants etc instead of being destructive farmers or hunters fighting for survival.

This has also become the policy in Africa ,One cannot make a game reserve
police the people who live near it stop them from doing what they have always done ,

Many Police men have been killed as well as poachers ,so one must come up with attractive alternatives which will make the people want Nature intact because it will supplement their income more.

the cost to the Environment is far far greater if NOTHING is done ,it will cease to exist eventually
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a jungle ,a forest ,animals are like supermarkets with out walls ,poor and rich alike and civilization in it natural expanding mode ,will move in to take it .if it is not heavily protected ,both morally,financially ,physically and politically.

The only Places in Africa today that have animals are the Nature reserves both private and National.

And the tourists pay for the up keep ,which means fencing, helping animals in trouble ,for example a pride of albino lions was born alone they would have been killed quickly ,so they were kept aside and are still alive now ,many animals are saved ,and the scientific field has a window into nature as well as the tourists ,

To just close Nature from interference has proved to be impossible ,one cannot fence and guard everything,although Nature is not always defenseless to unarmed intruders ,on the border of Kruger Park,many migrants are eaten by lions as they try to cross into South Africa.
But some intruders come heavily armed with sophisticated modern weapons,They in turn are hunted by soldiers Paid by Eco tourism.

Eco tourism is just about the only chance Nature has got.
Bring people close to nature to ooh and ahh at and they will leave their money behind to further its existence.

You have to understand that in these places the visitors have very limited access to the reserve,The tourists stay mostly in the lodges drinking cocktails and watching the elephants walk by from a safe distance,since the lodges are build in strategic places such as near watering holes,or they go on safari rides ,a fraction of the parks is actually breeched.Such as Serengetti,Kruger,Wankie game reserve and many others.

And yes there will always exist situations of bad management and/or abuse ,this applies to all situations in our civilized societies as well

And in some places people are allowed to get away with abusing the place by littering ,but that has to be under the managements control.

The places i know come down extremely heavy on offenders ,The people who go on hikes in my friends places in South Africa carry their trash out with them ,and if they don`t they can be send back to get it .

This is avoided by not allowing people to go of alone and at all times must be accompanied by guides and they must pay for them.

There are unscrupulous reserve owners who let
rich stupid pseudo hunters kill drugged lions for incredible fees and call it trophy hunting .
But these are hated by every one else and there are not many of them.

Most professional hunters have changed their guns for cameras and are now working on behalf of the Animals they used to hunt .

The world today is a different world ,than 50 years ago

Having said all that there exist situations where nature is protected with out tourism if owned by the government , the very rich ,or a group of people who have clubbed together,where there is no tourism,but that does not mean that people do not go there .
science has access,an undoubtedly so do the rich and maybe poachers.

the Dutch Queen has large swamp areas that are nature reserves and they are out of bounds until the royal duck hunt of course.Many similar situations exist.

A cousin in Florida with about 10 other residents watch over 560 hectares of mangrove swamp,(they do not allow tourists), owned by the county,but their environmental protection permit expires in 2008 so for how long is this place safe???


Human progress is a very strong invasive force

Answer 2

Fantastic big picture answer from Byd above me, which I couldn't hope to better, so I instead Ill take the focus local, where in the Australian countryside and outback it is a very emotive and strongly discussed issue, especially in the region I live in , where the local council has prioritized eco tourism.

The main eco-tourist attractions close to me include the largest surviving rainforest remnant in our state, (link 1), the second highest drop waterfall in NSW (link 2), some of the best coral reef diving in the world (link 3) as well as innumerable Bush walks, country days out "providers" and a large number of farms which have joined the voluntary "willing workers on organic farms" program (link 4)

The main primary industries in our region are cattle farming and slaughter, timber logging, fishing and tourism. The logging practice here is better than most places because it is conducted in state forests, and thus, with at least lip service to sustainable practice. The cattle farming has probably been the single most destructive agent to the environment in our region over the last hundred years, but thanks to council regulations it is improving.

Over the last 5-10 years here there has been a growing focus on eco tourism, as "tree changers" - people fleeing the city for an alternative lifestyle - move into the area and the old hippies who almost seem part of the local fauna - look for sources of income. And the growing awareness of holiday makers who want to put something back in to the places they visit.

The upside of this is that a lot of money (and work) is coming into the area, our economy is becoming more diversified, and farming and logging practices are coming under pressure to respect the environment from locals who depends upon it to provide them with an income.

The downside is that it becomes hard to manage large numbers of tourists, provide them with a fulfilling and worthwhile experience while at the same time minimizing the harm they do to that environment.

In this area at least, I am confident that the benefits are outweighing the costs.

Answer 3

one view of eco-tourism is that tourism in many cases involves visiting exotic places , sometimes inhabited by people sometimes not. if it is inhabited then it is apt to employ locals as guides as they know the importance of the place and also being their own home they would know how to protect and conserve the place better.
in many cases such ppl are very poorly paid and hence they hav no choice but to seek other ways to feed themselves. this leads to the immigration of others who kno little about the place and also leads to decline in indigeneous art forms, loss of culture, extinction of languages etc.
hence if not well managed then tourism can cause much harm

Answer 4

If it is like on the web.

I have noticed a marked increase in the people who are visiting the Ozarks and Ouachita, and although we are very glad to have you, and wish you a pleasant experience.

The only thing I ask is that you have respect for these hills. I am seeing a lot of trash thrown along the side of the road. Aluminum cans are okay, but please....

ATV are meant to ride over the terrain, not erode it, and cut it, and damage beautiful old hardwood trees.

Only when the tourist s are respectful to the land.

Bless

Answer 5

people are natural explorers. travel will always be a part of who we are. i think that knowing we can't stop people from wanting to travel, we should at least be creating and encouraging eco tourism.

you can equate it to teens and sex. most teens want to have sex. it's a natural instinct. if they're going to do it, you might as well encourage them to use protection.

Answer 6

Def a good thing because it raises awareness and encourages protection of more places.

Answer 7

like everything else, it's got to be regulated, but all in all it's better for the environment. it allows to minimally develop the toured area (services, lodgings, trails) and preventing the locals from building factories and overgrazing the area with their goats.

Answer 8

Verging on a contradiction in terms methinks.