A Tourism No-No: Why Ecotourism is Bad
If you love the environment, perhaps an idea of yours is to spend a vacation in the wilderness, or a place with natural wonders, such as the Grand Canyon. You are not alone in this, because more and more people like the idea of spending time in an environment free from cars, traffic, and tall buildings. However, while ecotourism was initially invented to help preserve the environment, there are actually a number of reasons why ecotourism is bad.
Reason #1 Why Ecotourism is Bad
The first reason why ecotourism is bad, specifically in woodland areas and areas where animals live, is the element of surprise to the animals. Animals that have lived their entire lives in the forest are not tame, and pose a problem to humans, especially if those humans are carrying food. The presence of humans alternately causes stress to wild animals.
Reason #2 Why Ecotourism is Bad
If you have ever visited a National Park, no doubt you have seen at least a few pieces of litter in different places. No matter how diligent the park rangers can be, sometimes the forest is too big to find every single piece of litter. Not only does litter make the environment look messy, but it also can be hazardous to the animals in the environment. Remember, plastic especially is very hard to destroy and is not biodegradable. It really all has to do with how diligent the tourists themselves are about not littering.
Reason #3 Why Ecotourism is Bad
One of the most prevalent reasons why ecotourism is bad has to do with the structures that are built for various ecotourism events. For example, if a park decides to have a nature walk aspect to it, paths will be cleared and some trees cut down to make way for the paths. Also, in parks, lookout towers are sometimes built in trees. While these structures have a purpose, they cannot help but damage the delicate environment.
For More Information
There are a variety of different ways in which ecotourism can be bad for the environment, and if you want more information there are a variety of different options. First of all, if you have environmentalist groups in your area that are know to oppose ecotourism, be sure to talk to them and see what information they can offer. You can also search the internet for more information, just be aware that opinions differ on this subject. You are sure to find interesting information with the proper research.
Ecotravel
On the other hand, even indigenous people have begun to realize that prosperity lies in tapping ecotourism potentials and their focus is thus shifting in selling their cultures to foreigners though keeping in mind that such culture and natural biodiversity is to be conserved rather than pandered and wasted irresponsibly.
It focuses on a number of factors such as regional plants and their wildlife, as well as cultures that are native to these places. Besides, you can also hope to get the grant if your project is pragmatic and will make significant and long lasting impact on the issues in question. No matter how diligent the park rangers can be, sometimes the forest is too big to find every single piece of litter. Sustainability is another aspect to ecotourism and very often it has been seen that there are some places where there are people hell bent on exploiting these sensitive areas, which require giving jobs and putting money into the local economy to prevent such from happening. Ecotourism, if we are to go by the World Tourism Organizations information is the fastest growing market within the growing global tourism space, and ecotravel is being opted for as an alternative to mass tourism by more and more people worldwide. Also, cited as other impacts of eco and mass tourism is the fact that such destinations may often lack for proper infrastructure which means that local governments are not able to properly control influx of people and goods.
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.
And, of late ecotourism is being promoted as an alternative to mass tourism, and thus there is a case for nature tourism and ecotourism to be viewed as a means of protecting, conserving and developing natural environments and also a way to provide economic benefits to local peoples and communities. In other words, there will be a significant reduction of the common misconceptions associated with ecotourism will be dispelled. In the end, the heart of ecotourism is what you feel it is. This can include backpacking instead of driving, camping instead of staying in a hotel and eating naturally and not in restaurants.
There, people can walk the trails and see natural wonders such as geysers.
Mostly, ecotourism grants such Rufford Small Grants do not accept applications from first world applicants, and are also not given for pure research, or expeditions and conferences or seminars. Animals that have lived their entire lives in the forest are not tame, and pose a problem to humans, especially if those humans are carrying food. As well this is one of the types of ecotourism which truly maintains and respects the local culture and heritage. A part of the world that is most closely associated with nature tourism and ecotourism is the continent of Africa where such concepts are best exemplified with the amount of tourism taking place in game parks and reserves where one can take in the exciting wildlife and birds and also marvel at the wonders of nature that can be found in different parts of the continent. The present day represents everyone who looks to the future in trying to preserve our world and its resources. 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. |
