Ecotourism

Ecotourism is the practice of visiting natural habitats while trying to minimise ecological impact. It doesn’t mean luxuries, such as flushing toilets, have to be abandoned. Eco tours can benefit the environment in several effective ways: they can provide a sustainable way to source income from biodiversity, enable sustainable use of reserve resources, and promote conservation by reducing threats to biodiversity. Ecotourism provides work for local inhabitants who would otherwise source income from destructive activity. This creates an incentive for conservation of the area and to establish more parks and reserves. An ecotourism venture also seeks to minimise the harm caused by nature tourists.

The ecotourism definition from the Nature Conservancy is, “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.”

Apparent negative impacts from eco tourists, such as degradation of plant life along a trail, need to be compared to the overall benefit of providing money to the park for employment of more rangers, which might be more important to the overall conservation of the area. When ecotourism takes place in less formal areas that aren’t classified as national parks etc. ecotourism can help biodiversity by promoting establishment of a protected area and providing incentive to put formal protection in place.

Continued – Ecotours: How It Works