Mongabay.com is considered a leading source of information on tropical forests by some of the world's top ecologists and conservationists. TROPICAL RAINFORESTS: Saving What Remains
Mongabay.com is considered a leading source of information on tropical forests by some of the world's top ecologists and conservationists.
Tourists in the Amazon. (Photo by R. Butler)

ECOTOURISM

Ecotourism is rapidly becoming a leading way for developing countries to bring in foreign revenue by preserving their rainforests. Eco-tourists pay to see a country's natural beauty, not the destruction caused by short-run exploitation. Money spent directly in the local economy helps give economic value to forest preservation. The locals, along with the government, can see the importance of keeping the forest intact. Most tourists are willing to pay directly for preservation in the forms of park entrance fees and donations.

Ecotourism can provide local people with economic assistance by offering them employment opportunities as wildlife guides and rangers for parks, and as workers in the service force of hotels and lodges. This employment provides a relatively even flow of income often higher than they would receive from selling their marginal, small-scale agricultural crops at market. With eco-tourism, income is earned from preserving the ecosystem, and forest clearing is discouraged because it is detrimental to income. Similarly, ecotourism can reduce the need for poaching and hunting of forest animals for income. For example, in West Africa, former poachers are hired as park rangers since they have intimate knowledge of local animal wildlife. Ecotourism also provides the opportunity for intellectual advancement for locals educated as wildlife guides. With an education, their children will have a better chance of breaking out of their subsistence lifestyle and improving their livelihood. Finally, local communities can earn supplementary income from the fabrication of handicrafts.

Some hints for successful ecotourism in Madagascar
How to travel ethically
How to be an ethical traveler
Visiting the rainforest - a practical guide
Eco vacationers engage in cutting-edge environmental research

While ecotourism is promising, it must be carefully developed and well planned, because short-term development can doom rainforests just as logging has, with extensive damage to the environment. Several countries, including Costa Rica and Malaysia, are facing adverse effects from tourism (it can no longer be considered "eco"-tourism). Costa Rica is one of the best examples of a tropical country developing its ecotourism potential to its fullest. Every year, hundreds of thousands of foreigners visit Costa Rica's many national parks, making tourism the country's third largest industry behind coffee and bananas. However, some of the parks are being overwhelmed by the mass numbers of tourists and are consequently losing species which seek out areas away from noisy, intrusive humans. Meanwhile, in the Bornean parts of Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak, environmentalists are concerned over extensive new development for tourism. Construction requires locally cut wood, resulting in deforestation, while pollution and sewage are a problem in otherwise pristine environments. A mass inflow of tourists can also be damaging to forest trails and frightening to wildlife.

To be sustainable, ecotourism requires careful planning and strict guidelines; short-term development can doom forests as easily as unsustainable logging. Too many people, inadequate facilities, and poor park management can spell the end for the "eco" in ecotourism. Eco-tourism, when carried out in a sustainable fashion, can be very beneficial to local people, the economy, and the environment. It should not be restricted to legally protected areas, but should also be promoted in natural areas that lack protection. The presence of tourists, when properly managed, protects the area from over-exploitive activities.

Suggested reading
  • Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins
  • Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
  • Consilience : The Unity of Knowledge by Edward O. Wilson
  • Biomimicry : Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine M. Benyus
  • The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits by C. K. Prahalad
  • Medicine Quest by Mark J. Plotkin
  • The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken

  • Review questions:
    • How can ecotourism help the environment?

    [print version | spanish


    Other pages in this section:
    Solutions Introduction
    Sustainable Forest Products
    Large-scale Forest Products
    Medicinal Drugs
    Logging
    Logging (con't)
    Oil
    Conservation Priorities
    Reserve Size & Valuation
    Organization
    Intergovernmental Institutions
    Communication, Education
    Indigenous people
    - - - -
    References (1)
    References (2)
    References (3)
    References (4)
    References (5)
    Eco-tourism
    Foods & Genetic Diversity
    Medicinal Drugs & Pesticides
    Logging (con't)
    Cattle
    Increasing Productivity
    Types of Reserves
    Funding
    Developing nations
    NGOs
    International Organizations
    Conclusion

    - - - -
    Kids version of this section
    - How can we save rainforests?
    - Education
    - Rehabilitation
    - Sustainable development
    - Parks
    - Eco-friendly companies
    - Ecotourism
    - What you can do







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    Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2011

    "Rainforest" is used interchangeably with "rain forest" on this site. "Jungle" is generally not used.