Ecotravel brings travelers and conservation together to promote appreciation for fragile wilderness.

“Ecotravel” is not just another buzz word created just to please environmentalists. It is an environmental and economic sustainability practice that has real economic value in numerous ways. Ecotravel generates much needed revenue that supports the operations and maintenance of parks and reserves. To many people, ecotravel plays an increasingly important role as an economic engine for under-developed countries in desperate need of new employment opportunities and the formation of new small businesses that generate income and tax revenues. Ecotravel has proven to be a boon to countries like Mexico, Ecuador, Kenya, Tanzania and Costa Rica by reducing unemployment and giving local communities a way to earn money that promotes, rather than destroys, the environment.

Ecotravel is defined as, “purposeful travel to natural areas to understand the culture and natural history of the environment; taking care not to alter the integrity of the ecosystem; producing economic opportunities that make the conservation of natural resources beneficial to local people.” If that seems like the proverbial mouthful, it is solely due to the fact ecotravel blends three things – conservation, sustainable travel, and communities.

In the current economic climate, the importance of generating jobs takes precedence over everything except human rights. Almost everyone is aware of the fact that the destruction of the Amazon rain forest or the poaching of elephants for their ivory tusks is intricately related to the lack of local people’s financial resources. In under-developed countries, extreme poverty and a dearth of economic opportunities drive people living near the fragile biodiverse areas to commit environmental atrocities.

Boosting Local Economy

Clearly, one of the solutions to the problem is to bring employment opportunities to the areas where impoverished people live. Ecotravel makes that possible in several ways. Local communities can be incorporated into tourism operations, working with overseas travel agencies or as independent businesses. In some cases, local people work in the parks as guides, caretakers, and rescue personnel. In the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve area, in the Selva Lacadona region in the State of Chiapas in southeast Mexico, the Mexican government invested in community-based lodging in Chiapas to serve Biosphere visitors. The lodging is operated by indigenous peoples and visitors are directed to the lodging by local tour operators.

Another success story is the Kapawi Ecolodge & Reserve, located deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest on Achuar people’s land. The lodge is only reached by air. This tourist destination was specifically developed in 1996 as a result of a partnership between the indigenous Achuar and Canodros, an Ecuadorian tourism enterprise. The goal of the partnership was to develop an economically sustainable project that promoted preservation of the Amazon and the Achuar culture. In 2008, the Achuar took over full ownership of the Kapawi Ecolodge. A remarkable success story, the Kapawi Ecolodge demonstrates how ecotravel should work. Originally foreign tourism agencies developed ecotrips for wealthier travelers and invaded remote areas without forming community partnerships.

Opposing Bookends of Development

There are also examples of how not to do ecotravel. The Masai Mara National Park, a large game reserve in south-western Kenya, is an example of early ecotourism development that took a wrong direction. Land was forcibly taken from indigenous people, tourism vehicles began heavily damaging natural resources, and valuable trees were cut to make room for lodges operated by non-local people. The Masai Mara National Park, first developed in 1948, and the Kapawi Ecolodge & Reserve, developed in 1996, are like opposing bookends of ecotourism development.

Lessons were learned from Masai Mara, and now there is an ongoing effort to form partnerships with Maasai tribes and develop employment opportunities with new attractions that include traditional ceremonies and guided nature tours. In North Tanzania, a recent hard fought negotiation process led to the cooperative ownership of land by Maasai tribes and the Manyara Ranch Conservancy. The land, held in trust by the Tanzania Land Conservation Trust (TLCT), is leased to investors, who built a permanent luxury camp on it. The camp generates employment and profits. The local population of Maasai peoples has a say in the business through the TLCT.

A third example of successful ecotourism is the Koija Starbeds Lodge in the Laikipia region of Kenya, a safari camp. An enterprise of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), it is a model for the development of conservation tourism. The Koija Starbeds represents a partnership between the AWF, the community, and a private tourism operator. The Kaija community (1500 people) provided the land and owns the camp. The Kaija also created a 500-acre community conservation area. Local people are employed at the Lodge, meaning employment and profits have raised the economic status of people who would have likely never qualified for commercial development opportunities otherwise. The annual profits from the camp and conservation area support water projects, education and healthcare.

Ecotravel as a Partnership

This discussion focused on partnerships leading to the development of lodges, parks and preserves that have successfully created employment opportunities for largely ignored peoples living in poverty. It could have talked about other ways ecotravel creates jobs. For example, the Costa Rica Carara Biological Reserve employs local people and supports the park with entrance fees paid by tourists. In fact, ecotourists have significantly contributed to Costa Rica’s higher standard of living among developing nations. The tourists paying the fees to enter the Reserve also rode a bus, stayed in a hotel, ate in a restaurant, and bought local products.

Ecotourism can honestly be viewed as a successful economic development strategy, but only when projects partner with local communities. For countries and people, ecotourism brings much needed revenues and employment. It also enables poor countries to protect their greatest national treasure, which is biodiversity.