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THE ORIGINS OF ECOTOURISM, By
Robert Keith Reid
Meet the High Priest of Ecotourism, Hector Ceballos-Lascurian How high? He
actually coined the term back in 1983. Ceballos-Lascurian, an engaging
enthusiast is one of Mexico's top architects, Director-General cf the
International Consultancy on Ecotourism, and special advisor to the World
Conservation Union.
He's carried the ecotourism gospel to more than 60 countries and has just
completed his first mission to the Pacific Islands. "I am tremendously impressed
by the South Pacific's ecotourism potential," was his reaction. "You have very
good forests, endangered birds, and lots of cultural alternatives. It is very
important for the South Pacific to encourage this new type of tourism."
"So what precisely is ecotourism? Before Hector (it's easier to call him that)
invented it there were travellers who travelled in pursuit of nature and culture
more or less as back-packers. They were willing to rough it for the sake of
being at one with Mother Nature, preferably alone, far from the beaten track of
mass tourism.
Well, ecotourism is still that, but a trifle more complicated. This is because
it's getting to be big business, bigger and bigger business but still, insists
Hector, only a niche in the overall tourism picture.
Yet it is growing at a rate of 15 percent annually compared with global tourism
growth of 3-5 percent. Indeed, nature oriented tourism is the largest foreign
exchange earner for South Africa. Kenya and Costa Rica.
Ecotourism is already established In parts of the Pacific Islands. You'll find
it in Vanuatu, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Fiji's Turtle
Island Resort has just landed two of the world's top ecotourism awards - the
International Hotel and Restaurant Association's Green Hotelier of the Year for
1999 and the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow 1999 award. So. what Is
ecotourism?
"Sometimes it is easier to explain what ecotourism is not," Hector replies.
"It's not casino tourism, it's not riding around at 70 kph on a jet ski in a
mangrove swamp. It's not downhill skiing with lots of facilities. Too many
contraptions is not ecotourism."
There is now an internationally accepted definition of ecotourism, forged mostly
by Hector. Here it is:
"Environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed
natural areas In order to enjoy, study and appreciate nature and any
accompanying cultural features that promote conservation, has a negative
visitation impact and provides for substantial beneficial active socio-economic
involvement of local populations."
Since that is just a bit heavy, back to Hector for lighter, nitty-gritty
illustration.
"Rainforests are becoming very interesting as an attraction around the world,"
he says. In Arizona people go to see 2000-year old cactus other people will cut
down in five minutes. The more unique and interesting, the more ecotourism is
attracted.
"Ecotourists are (usually) older people who like to move around in a low impact
way In canoes and kayaks and down side roads. Biking is great. Sometimes having
air strips in an ecotourism area has less Impact than roads which attract
settlement.
Ecotourists aren't necessarily self-condemned to nights under the stars only to
be dumped on by a cloudburst or assailed by mosquitoes, ants or the odd passing
person-consuming tiger.
Some do like to rough it that way, or else under the shelter of a tent. Many
more now book into an eco-lodge. What is an eco-lodge?
Well, says Hector, take a conventional lodge. It's liable to have patios,
terraces, lawns, gardens, swimming pools, golf, tennis, windsurfing, gymnasiums
and posh cutlery and plates, not to mention silk sheeted beds.
An eco-lodge is basic. Comfortable, clean, with some of the usual conveniences
and with simple but hearty meals of mainly local stuff to eat. Some of Hector's
eco- lodge rules are:
an eco-lodge has to be at least a thousand metres from a village so as not to
interfere with village life.
avoid air conditioning. Design for cross ventilation. Eco tourists don't like
air conditioning all the time.
the customers want to be completely surrounded by nature; design to merge with
the landscape; solar energy for light and hot water is ok.
Ok?
What's a great eco-lodge? There are quite a few now. Hector says there's one 250
kilometres up the Amazon; stilts, mosquito nets, no electricity, more birds in
the area than anywhere else in the world; the only approach is by boat. Perfect.
But the most important thing about an eco-lodge is the It is not the most
Important thing." he says "It is the quality of the surroundings that counts
most, the nearby natural and cultural attractions and the way ecotourism
circuits are set up, operated and marketed and also the way in which local
populations are actively involved in the process."
Ecotourism sounds simple, says Hector, but it isn't. It now has rules. Break
those rules and say goodbye to ecotourism and hello to the tramp of millions of
heavy feet in mass tourism.
Here are some more commandments from Hector's ecotourism bible:
Governments should allocate funds for environmental education at national, state
and local levels;
Private industry, like hotels and tour operators, need to work with local
communities. Get them round a table for joint decisions.
For any ecotourism area you need to specify a physical master plan and a zoning
scheme to specify areas for agriculture, mining, fishing and different
categories of tourism. Some zones may be off limits to tourists.
Very intensive training is needed for government officials, tour operators,
local people and hotel owners. If you don't have local people involved, it just
won't happen.
Eco tourists must involve government, the private sector, local communities,
non-government organizations, journalists, development agencies and eco
tourists.
Eco tourists business."
"I am not trying to sell ecotourism as the only means of tourism in the South-
Pacific," Hector says. "It is just a new niche. It is happening in a lot of
parts of the world and it is bringing a lot of benefits. It's a tool for
conservation, an instrument for sustainable development and its a good business.
"Ecotourism is not a panacea. People live in rural areas and continue doing
their usual activities. It is just additional income for them plus additional
pride."
There are different eco-tourism market segments. There are:
Bird watchers, divers, nature lovers, archaeologists, speleologists, trekkers,
people in search of spiritual enlightenment, mountaineers, environmentalists.
The list is almost endless.
s want to know what kind of experiences to expect so an inventory of
eco-attractions is needed.
Nature trails are important and information posts; sometimes just a post with a
number and details explained in a pamphlet.
Local guides are vital, some with a Western scientific perspective and other
expert on local culture. It's a good idea to have both.
Handcrafts are very important; a tourist goes direct to the site where they are
made; no 80-90 percent mark-up middle people. And sell local food and drink.
Training; "we need a lot of training of people in this new and complicate
Individually they add up to lucrative business if they are catered for the way
they want to be catered for. Take bird watchers. In the United States and Canada
alone there are an estimated 60 million of them. Each year 25 million of them
make trips to watch birds and the figure is increasing. They will go to immense
lengths to spot rare birds to add to their score list. There are about 10000
species of birds.
Hector is a bird watcher. "I have seen 3100." he told the recent South Pacific
Tourism Conference in Samoa. "In Samoa I've added 14 more to my list, some to be
seen nowhere else on Earth."
Now that Hector Ceballos-Lascurian has blazed the trail. Samoa can expect more
arriving bird watchers.
This article was printed in the "Air Pacific Islands" Volume 1, 2000, magazine
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