Benefits of Ecotourism: Who Benefits, Exactly?

Ecotourism is a huge catchword these days - but the benefits of ecotourism aren't obvious to everyone.

Lets start with a definition of ecotourism, if there is such a thing.

For some people, it means travel that is environmentally friendly.
For others, it is a synonym for ethical or responsible travel.

It's a new field and definitions are still evolving.

My definition of ecotourism falls somewhere in-between: tourism that has as little impact on the environment as possible, that respects local culture and that helps promote livelihoods.

Ecotourism is possible anywhere: travel across Africa, and you can't help but be an ecotourist. You're surrounded by a breathtaking environment, and the rural nature of much of the continent means you'll rarely be far from village traditions. It's then up to you to delve into your surroundings.

I crossed more than a dozen countries overland in Africa and nature, or the environment, was the greatest attraction in every single one, whether the national parks in South Africa, the coastal marine life in Eritrea, the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia, or the shores of Lake Malawi. Along the way, I stopped in villages and often stayed in local homes rather than hotels or hostels, providing some income for villagers and living close to the land. I would like to think that my carbon footprint on that trip was minimal.

So how can you, as a backpacker, reap the benefits of ecotourism?

Here are just a few examples of activities that would involve nature in some way, not endanger the environment, and help respect local cultures:

• sleep in a local village rather than an international resort - you'll be helping the economy and connecting with local people; ask one of the women in the house to show you how to cook a traditional dish (and make sure you buy the food!)


• visit a national park or protected area: your fees help support park maintenance, and trails are often well marked; make sure you report to the warden before starting your hike, so he'll know where you're headed (and when you're due back)


• buy something made by a local craftswoman; better yet, buy something she's making in front of you


• go birdwatching (one of my favorites, but it means getting up at the crack of dawn - not too many birds under the hot midday sun)


• visit a rural area rather than a city - cities get plenty of tourists but towns and villages are often bypassed by the big operators


• walk from one town to the next through a forest or over a mountain (the Quetzal Trail linking two towns in Panama is one of my most memorable hikes) instead of driving, or take public transportation rather than a car

Sound like fun?

It can be even more than that. The benefits of ecotourism activities can:

• be educational by teaching about local plants and animals
• give you a deeper understanding of a local culture
• be spiritually uplifting and bring you closer to nature
• open you up to new ideas
• take you off the beaten path
• help you lose weight! (by getting you on your feet and on your bicycle!)

The idea is to reduce your impact as much as you can, even if you can't eliminate it altogether. By simply getting to our destination, we damage the environment. Flying is not the most environmentally friendly way to travel, but for long distances most of us have little choice.

What to do?

We can offset our carbon footprint, as it's called, by buying carbon credits. In other words, we can pay for the damage we do, and that money goes to projects that repair the environment. First, we calculate how much carbon we've emitted and second, we pay for those emissions. The money is then spent on environmental projects that promote energy renewal, forest conservation and similar environmental activities.

As for the benefits of ecotourism for everyone else...

As we travel ecotourism offers us ways to see places we'd never see, in ways we'd never think. But what about the host communities themselves?

If your dollars are spent wisely, here are some of the benefits of ecotourism they will reap:

• money will go back into the community
• endangered habitats and biodiversity will be conserved
• people, both local and visitors, will become more aware of the surrounding environmental wealth
• providing employment will ensure fewer people leave for the cities
• poor countries often sell their primary resources to survive - water, trees, minerals, wildlife... so ecotourism provides them with a decent alternative source of income
• provide financial incentives that encourage local people to protect their environment

Benefits of ecotourism: make sure business plays by the rules

Ecotourism is travel's fastest growing sector and it's no wonder, with environmental awareness climbing and climate change finally on the world agenda. Of course business is trying to cash in on the bonanza.

There are plenty of valid ecotourism businesses, but to qualify, they have to provide long-term benefits to a community and fulfil the following conditions, at the very least. They should:

• have little or no adverse impact on the environment
• provide local employment
• generate as little waste as possible and take away what is created
• center around natural attractions such as animals, plants, water, forests
• provide an educational or enlightening experience for you
• in the best of all worlds, an ecotourism business will train local people with new skills so they become less dependent on tourism

Beware, though, the benefits of ecotourism are touted by plenty of commercial firms that have no business using the word: plunk a hotel near an animal watering hole and you have an ecotourism lodge. Forget it that the animals are being pushed out of their habitat by excessive tourism. That's just a detail.

These 'less honest' businesses, by claiming to be involved in ecotourism, would be guilty of 'greenwashing', pretending to practice ecotourism but focused only on profits.

When the benefits of ecotourism become liabilities, here's what can happen:

• people may be displaced to build resorts, like the Masai in Kenya
• population increases may put too much pressure on land, reducing opportunities for local people to make a living off the land
• the same can happen if water is diverted from rivers to service tourist resorts
• overcrowding in tourist venues may actually endanger protected areas, as in the Galapagos Islands, where too many tourists are visiting; in Tibet, the number of tourists visiting Tibet is higher than the number of Tibetans who actually live in their country
• rare species can be endangered - unusual plants can be picked or trampled, vehicles and planes can and do pollute
• energy sources can be depleted to accommodate tourist hordes
• habitat may be destroyed to make way for tourist facilities - just drive through northern Laos to see how tree cutting for timber has razed the land
• excessive viewing of wildlife can disturb animals' feeding and breeding: in Oman, the Arabian Oryx was threatened with extinction. They would run until exhaustion, chased across desert sands by tourists in 4WD vehicles
• unemployment in local communities, if most staff is brought in from overseas
• demand for rare birds or animals or for souvenirs can promote trafficking in endangered species: on my recent trip to Panama, wildlife rescue workers told me they'd found young toucans for sale for $30 along the roadside, being sold in plastic bags!
• local people's land may be expropriated at unfair prices because of a deal struck between a multinational and the government

The more businesses apply honest ecotourism principles, the better the chances that the benefits of ecotourism will be shared by all - backpacker, local people, the environment.

Ultimately, market forces will ensure businesses give us what we ask for. If we refuse to pay for environmentally destructive tours or energy-wasting hotels or facilities, we'll be voting with our wallets, and business will listen.

Meantime, our money will be better spent on local people, offering us everyday pleasures, in surroundings that haven't yet been despoiled by excessive development. It's your call.

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