Ecotourism damage Can Be Caused By Air Travel And Subsequent Emission Of Greenhouse Gases
The whole concept of ecotourism revolves around the need to remain friendly to your environment and even travel to far-off destinations should not do the kind of damage that it is doing such as producing greenhouse gases that is a result of air travel, especially when it is to remote and untouched parts of the world. Thus, in spite of our best efforts and lofty ideals there is a certain amount of ecotourism damage taking place and such damage has been the subject of debate at the Global Ecotourism Conference in Oslo in 2007.
Make Plans To Guide The Future Of Ecotourism
There is need to make suitable plans that will help guide the future of ecotourism, and when successful, will ensure that natures biodiversity is protected and conserved failing which it can lead to the undoing of all of the benefits of ecotourism.
To undo and even prevent ecotourism damage, there are even airlines that have been formed such as Nature Air that is based in Costa Rica which claims to be a zero net emitter of carbon dioxide thanks to investments that it made in reforestation projects that are going a long way in keeping the air clean.
Even though ecotourism is gaining in popularity; so much so, that it is growing at three times the rate of traditional tourism, there are yet concerns that this very growing popularity and consequent increased air traffic will be the cause of ecotourism damage through the emission of greenhouse gases.
Such ecotourism damage can lead to harming the national parks, as also the tiny and exciting islands that are attracting eco-tourists who are very enamored by the unspoiled nature of these places. Thus, the conference held in Oslo came up with a statement that stated that there was a need for responsible travel so that the environment is conserved and the welfare of local people kept uppermost in mind.
Furthermore, it is easy to see that the long distances one travels by air to reach these ecotourism destinations may in it be the cause of ecotourism damage albeit indirectly. The flip side is that if such ecotourism were to be denied, it would harm the economic well-being of such ecotourism hotspots and make the poor countries even poorer for lack of tourism.
So, it is easy to see that ecotourism can lead to its own undoing and that there is certainly a lot more that is needed to be done to ensure that we can come up with adequate solutions that will help negate the ecotourism damage that is at the present time taking place thanks to the increasing popularity of ecotourism itself.
Guatemala Ecotourism
As a development tool, ecotourism is able to advance the three basic goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which are as follows: to conserve biological diversity by strengthening protected area management systems, to promote the sustainable use of biodiversity, and to share the benefits of ecotourism developments equitably with local communities and indigenous people by obtaining their informed consent and full participation in the planning and management of ecotourism businesses.
Alarmism never works and will more than likely backfire if employed. ecotourism. There are many different ways that you can help the environment, and it is unfortunate that more people do not think about these ways.
There are various organizations that governments fund, but with the world situation currently what it is, the environment is not taking precedence over other happenings.
It is also possible to generate revenue from the sale of ecotourism environmental education products such as multimedia promotional material including brochures, TV as well as radio advertisements that are used to promote tours, and also materials for imparting instructions and supplies for ecotourism environmental education activities as exemplified by interactive games that can be sold to ecotourists. Furthermore, you can glean much more information from studying ecotourism statistics as can be seen in the case of Kenya where it is estimated that a single lion is worth seven thousand dollars per year in income generated from tourism, and an elephant herd can bring in an estimated six hundred ten thousand dollars per year. Even though countries such as Australia and Costa Rica are good ecotourism examples, there are still many destinations that do not have, as yet, the green certification that promise to keep the environment from being harmed and thus there is need for more work to be done to make these destinations good ecotourism examples.
Though a lot of money that is earned from ecotourism is finding its way into paying for more schools, cultural improvement, temple maintenance and such like, there is the negative effects of ecotourism in that much money is also being spent on importing goods that usually are not beneficial to the local economy.
If there was no ecotourism, there would not be enough interest generated to preserve as much of the world as we do now. Nevertheless, there are certain differences between mass tourism and eco-tourism and we need to explore these to arrive at an informed decision about which one is better and also to learn how to improve both forms of tourism. This is not because there is a feeling of condescension towards the subject but because it seems like an odd subject to teach. It means formulating policies and planning ahead and ensuring that the culture of the place and also its politics are well understood without which the project may not get off the ground and accountability and transparency in ecotourism is another major factor that must be incorporated in the scheme of things if there is to be sustainable ecotourism. For people who like to scuba dive, they find themselves condemned by many ecotourists as theyre being urged not to scuba dive in order to keep the ocean life safe from human harm. |
