Ecotourism and Natural Resources Management

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Ecotourism and Natural Resources Management

• International Seminar on Forest Administration
  and Management
• October 10-11, 2007

Dr. Denver Hospodarsky Dr. Marty Lee School of
Forestry
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• Ecotourism
• purposeful travel to natural areas to understand
  the culture and the natural history of the
  environment taking care not to alter the
  integrity of the ecosystem producing economic
  opportunities that make the conservation of the
  natural resources beneficial to the local
  people. Ecotourism Society
• environmentally responsible travel and
  visitation to relatively undisturbed natural
  areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature
  (and any accompanying cultural featuresboth past
  and present) that promotes conservation, has low
  visitor impact, and provides for beneficially
  active socio-economic involvement of local
  populations. IUCN Commission on National Parks
  Protected Areas
• responsible travel to natural areas that
  conserves the environment and improves the
  welfare of local people. The International
  Ecotourism Society

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Ecotourism Fact Sheet(Source The International
Ecotourism Society www.ecotourism.org)

• Size Largest business sector in the world
  economy employs 200 million people, generates
  3.6 trillion in economic activity, accounts for
  8 of jobs worldwide. If tourism were a country,
  it would have the 2nd largest economy, surpassed
  only by U.S.
• Growth 1950 25 million tourism arrivals 2004
  760 million tourism arrivals 2020 forecast
  to reach 1.56 billion international arrivals.
• Importance to developing countries Tourism is a
  principal export for 83 of developing
  countries. For the worlds poorest countries,
  tourism is 2nd most important source of foreign
  exchange, after oil.

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Tourism Typology
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Tourism Typology, cont.
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ECOTOURISM
PROTECTION OF NATURAL AREAS
GENERATIONOF REVENUE
LOCAL INVOLVEMENT
ENVIRONMENTALEDUCATION
DEVELOPMENT
CONSERVATION
biological diversity and natural resources
economic/infrastructural growth
STEWARDSHIP
LOCAL CONTROL
SUSTAINABILITY
Ross Wall 1999
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• Finding Balance Between Conservation and
• Tourism is Challenging!
• High expectations about what ecotourism can
  produce as well as concerns about the challenges
  it can create. Ecotourism has both costs and
  benefits. What are they?
• Ecological
• Aesthetic
• Economic
• Social

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Ecotourism Planning(From Boo, E. 1993.
Ecotourism planning for protected areassee
attached article)

• Ecotourism Diagnostic and Planning Guidelines
• Designed to help parks and protected areas
  determine their relationship with tourism
• Can be used
• to help protected area managers evaluate the
  issues of ecotourism
• as a tool for a more formal planning process that
  would result in an official ecotourism strategy
  for an area
• as a framework for a planning process but does
  not detail how to implement these strategies

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... having an ecotourism development and
management strategy will allow protected area
managers to either encourage or discourage
ecotourism as appropriate, both in terms of
numbers and activities. (p. 17)
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Ecotourism Strategy

• Phase One Assess the current tourism situation
  and potential
• Phase Two Determine a desirable tourism
  situation and identify steps to reach this
  situation
• Phase Three Write an ecotourism strategy
  document

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Phase One Assess the Current Situation
Sources original research, interviews,
secondary data

• A series of questions to guide assessment of
  current situation
• Within the Park Boundaries
• Natural Resources
• Why was the park established?
• Describe the natural resources in the park.
  Intact? Threatened (tourism, logging, mining,
  poaching)?
• Inventories of areas flora and fauna available?
  Needed?
• Which sites and/or wildlife are biggest current
  and potential tourist attractions?

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• Visitor Information and Use Levels
• How many people visit the park each year?
  Estimate?
• Ratio of foreigners to nationals?
• Any other demographic information available about
  visitors?
• What do visitors do? Activities, popular areas,
  money spent (how much and where)
• Existing, potential markets?
• Park Infrastructure
• List all infrastructure in the park (visitor
  center, trails, restrooms, etc). Are these being
  used? Condition?
• Educational materials available? Source?
  Audience?

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• Which facilities contribute financially to the
  park? To the surrounding residents? How?
• Park Personnel
• How many park personnel are directly involved
  with tourists? Jobs? Volunteers or salaried?
  Funding source?
• Type of training received
• Number of park personnel needed to adequately
  protect natural resources?

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• Bridges Outside Park Boundaries
• Interactions With Local Communities
• Identify local individuals, communities, and NGOs
  involved with/affected by tourism to the park
• Costs/benefits of tourism for these people?
• Types of tourism businesses, other products,
  services that involve the local population
• Regional (Within Country) Infrastructure
• Accessibility of the park?
• How do foreigners get there? Nationals?
• Road conditions?

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• Other Regional Attractions
• Other tourist attractions in the region?
• Existing tour packages that include the park?
• What population centers are within 150 kilometers
  of the park?
• National Perspective (Legal, Policy, Budgetary)
• Rules and regulations, legal documents that
  regulate tourism activities in the park?
• Who is responsible for establishing and
  monitoring tourism policies? (e.g., park service,
  tourism officials)
• Is there a system for collecting entrance fees?
  Where does the income go?
• Source of funding for a national park service?
  Adequate?

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• Private Sector Involvement
• How is the private sector involved with tourism
  in the park?
• How does the park select tour operators/companies?
  Foreign or national?
• Involvement in conservation?
• Does the park/government have policies,
  regulations regarding private sector involvement
  in the park?

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Class Exercise Phase One Assess Current
Conditions

• We are going to work together on this first
  phase developing the beginnings of an
  ecotourism strategy or plan
• Think about a park or protected area in your
  country it could be a national park, a
  private reserve, a biosphere reserve
• Write down the name of that area and keep it in
  mind as we assess the current conditions. We
  will share as a group as we go. Sections to
  complete and discuss
• Natural Resources
• Visitor Information
• Interactions with Local Communities
• National Perspective
• Private Sector Involvement

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Phase Two Determine Desirable Tourism Level and
Create a Plan

• Workshop(s)
• Objectives
• Bring together representatives from many sectors
  (park representatives, local community, tourism
  industry, ministry of the environment/tourism,
  conservation community)
• Build a coalition form an ecotourism committee
• Identify preferred ecotourism development
  scenario
• Determine a strategy for pursuing scenario

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Phase Two Determine Desirable Tourism Level and
Create a Plan

• Ecotourism Strategy
• List of activities needed to develop ecotourism
  in the park
• Include a monitoring system a dynamic process

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• Strategy Elements
• Park Natural Resources
• Set up ecological impact monitoring mechanisms
• Conduct inventories for wildland sites,
  ecosystems, species
• Visitor Information and Use Levels
• Create a system to record visitor statistics
• Plan a series of visitor surveys
• Park Infrastructure
• Create a master plan
• List priority activities, implement (use local
  products, services)

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• Human Resources
• Decide skills needed, hire necessary personnel
• Implement necessary training
• Park and Local Community Interactions
• Continue interactions with local communities
  what role do they want to play
• Community representatives on ecotourism
  committee regular meetings with communities
• Regional Infrastructure and Interactions
• Needed regional developments (roads, clinics,
  accommodations, etc).

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• Lobby appropriate groups (government, private
  sector) to develop needed infrastructure.
• Coordinate with other nearby tourism attractions
  regional tourism
• National Perspective
• Name party (individual, agency, consortium) in
  charge of tourism management in the park
• Determine an entrance fee (different for
  foreigners and nationals)
• Determine budget allocations within the park

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• Private Sector Interactions
• Decide which tour operator is best to collaborate
  with role of the tour operators.
• Enlist tour operators to learn more about tourism
  demand (demographics, etc. of visitors)
• Decide how to promote and market the park.
• Your assignment Who would you include as
  representatives in forming an ecotourism
  committee for your park or protected area and
  why?

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Phase Three Write an Ecotourism Strategy
Document

• Record, publish, and distribute the strategy
  document
• Potential funding sources, donors, investors
• Becomes the official ecotourism plan for the area
• Changes must be approved by the ecotourism
  committee
• Incorporated into the overall management plan for
  the protected area
• May be useful to hire a consultant for this phase

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• Ecotourism will be a successful industry only if
  natural resources are protected. And natural
  resources will be best protected if there is a
  management strategy in place, and park managers
  and local communities take a lead role in the
  process. (Boo, 1993, p. 31)

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References and Sources of Information

• Boo, E. 1993. Ecotourism planning for protected
  areas. Pp. 15-31 in, Lindberg and Hawkins (eds)
  Ecotourism A guide for planners and managers,
  vol. 1. North Bennington, VT The Ecotourism
  Society.
• Lane, M. C. 2000. Affirming new directions in
  planning theory Comanagement of protected areas.
  Society and Natural Resources 14657-671.
• Lindberg, K. and D. E. Hawkins. 1993.
  Ecotourism A guide for planners and managers,
  vol. 1. North Bennington, VT The Ecotourism
  Society.
• Lindberg, K. M. E. Wood and D. Engeldrum.
  1998. Ecotourism A guide for planners and
  managers, vol. 2. North Bennington, VT The
  Ecotourism Society.
• McNeely, J. A. 1994. Protected areas for the
  21st century working to provide benefits to
  society. Biodiversity and Conservation
  3390-405.
• Ross, S. and G. Wall. 1999. Ecotourism Toward
  congruence between theory and practice. Tourism
  Management 20123-132.