How Not to Save the Environment: Environmental Damage Caused by Bad Ecotourism
The environment is precious to all forms of life, because without the environment, nothing would survive. Over the years more and more damage has been done to the environment by humanity. For example, gas emissions from cars and trucks have damaged the ozone layers. So, various groups have decided to educate people about the environment by creating ecotourism events. However, are these groups aware of the environmental damage that is caused by bad ecotourism?
How Environmental Damage is Caused by Bad Ecotourism
Perhaps the idea of ecotourism was formed with good intentions, but the fact is that there is much environmental damage that is caused by bad ecotourism. Sometimes, getting up-close with nature is something that really does not benefit the situation.
A very common example of how environmental damage is caused by bad ecotourism is camping. National parks often allow people to camp in tents in certain areas, but some of these people do not respect their surroundings. A family might have gone camping and littered, having not found a wastebasket anywhere nearby. This litter might be ingested by an animal and cause harm, not to mention damaging the delicate ecosystem of the forest.
Something else that many people like to do while they are camping is carve their names into trees. These people think that the tree does not feel any of it, but in fact the tree can. Unless the tree is visibly dead, it is very much alive, and this action scars the tree. This is not to mention people, while camping, cutting branches for firewood.
Another example of environmental damage caused by bad ecotourism is what happens at many beaches. While private beaches that charge a fee require people to be clean and considerate of their surroundings, public beaches have no private funding, so people often end up littering. An unfortunate example of this is when people bring drinks that come in plastic rings. Animals such as seagulls try to eat the left over plastic, and end up choking to death. Thus, if you decide to go to a public beach, do not litter!
Something that is also considered an example of environmental damage caused by bad ecotourism is when tourists decide they want to bring home a natural souvenir. Perhaps it is a plant, or some other example of flora and fauna. Regardless, this is a bad idea, because the plant is only accustomed to a specific climate. Also, the plant might be a source of food for animals. If tourists started taking things like this, it would cause a chainlike effect in the environment. So, the next time you decide to participate in an ecotourism effect, be sure that you respect the environment!
Sustainable Eco Tourism
There is ecotourism projects such as Kenyas well known Greenbelt movement begun by Nobel laureate Pro.
If you would like to find out what the impact of ecotourism on your local economy is, you have a variety of options. And, entertainment is not about nightlife and other manmade experiences; rather, you get to see the exciting as well as sometimes surprising animals in the wild in their natural settings. As an ecotourism example, Costa Rica too has ranked high as that country had a scale of compliance that ensures that it is not just a vacation center in the middle of a cloud forest, but was actually run on lines that were conducive to conserving the environment with means such as solar power.
Moreover, a perfect ecotourism example is to visit such destinations as well as photograph and learn about orangutans that are found in other ecotourism destinations such as in Borneo.
Economic benefits are the most direct and are seen in better employment and more income. Also, represented at the global ecotourism conference 2007 were member associations from many different parts of the world that only goes to show how seriously ecotourism is being considered by diverse nations that are concerned about the worlds diverse environments and natural resources. Thus, there is much research being conducted on whether nature tourism and ecotourism are indeed effective enough tools to sustain development in communities that lie close to protected tourist destinations. Far off communities have taken the heart of ecotourism by the roots and found ways to open up lands for conservation and exploration that had previously been unattainable. This is not because there is a feeling of condescension towards the subject but because it seems like an odd subject to teach. This litter might be ingested by an animal and cause harm, not to mention damaging the delicate ecosystem of the forest.
However, making ecotourism a positive economic and environmental tool will require policies that foster truly responsible nature tourism development, as well as broad-based and active local participation.
Since ecotourism means traveling responsibly there are many potential benefits of ecotourism that one can get and there will also be many improvements to the environment as also to the local economy. The Rufford Small Grants is available to anyone that hopes to get funded for his or her project subject to a limit of about ten thousand dollars. It may require a critical study of management practices and also problems as well as challenges that the ecotourism industry faces. However overall, even after a thorough consideration of what the problems are with ecotourism, it is still one of the best ideas to emerge in global travel in a long time, and basically, as long as people are willing to pay to see where they live, and need food, guides and accommodations to do so, then locals will have every incentive necessary to protect and nurture their resources. In addition, such a case study of tourism must also delve into finding out whether people that are more educated have better understanding of ecotourism. These countries may even need to devise their own national plans to provide guidelines that will help the country tap into the huge ecotourism potentials that are available now as well as be available in the future as well. |
