A critical look at ecotourism
As we spend ever more time navigating freeways, texts and tweets, and takeout menus, many of us, when we come up for air, crave a dose of nature. And since we’ve all got busy lives, we want to go big when we finally have some time for an adventure. We swim with dolphins and whale sharks (I’ve blogged about this), schmooze with alligators and snorkel with sea lions.
With one of these amazing experiences with the animal-kind, we get to learn a little something while having fun. No harm, no foul, right?
Not exactly, according to Robin Andersen, a Fordham University professor who is studying aspects of the fast-growing ecotourism industry, which, it turns out, isn’t always as green as it may seem. In an article on the university’s website for which she is interviewed, she states the need for tourists to become more involved in wildlife conservation, rather than just going and having fun in animal habitat.
Tourists don’t realize that their adventures can leave a substantial impact on the natural world, and the ecotourism sector is full of unregulated and unmonitored tour operators, according to the article. Published earlier this month, the piece further explains the situation:
“Take, for instance, an experience that allows travelers to swim with dolphins, an attraction that is popular at many vacation destinations around the world. Tourists are boated to an area of ocean where food is used to lure the marine mammals to the surface. This regular feeding by humans changes natural behaviors and leads to habituation, leaving the animals more vulnerable to other human activities such as fishing and boating.”
But some tourism groups and sites are doing it right. One such good example, according to Anderson in the article, is the Belize conservation group Community Baboon Sanctuary, whose aim is to educate visitors while involving the local community.
– Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times
Photo: Near Midway Atoll, spinner dolphins play. Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times
4 Comments on “A critical look at ecotourism”
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July 17th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Please.
The air travel to these destinations swamps any “green” pretentions that any tourist has.
Get real.
It’s green when someone else has to give up their preference, not when you have to give up yours.
July 17th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I agree that Ecotourism is not all is branded to be. When I was in the Peruvian Amazon on a so-called ecotour our guides chopped down a tree so those in our group could get a photo with a sloth resting in it. Also, they created excessive noise with the engine on our boat so we could spot the pink river dolphins.
Unless the tour is conducted by or endorsed by a reputable wildlife organization I will never do another ecotour.
July 21st, 2009 at 6:39 am
I wholeheartedly agree that a traveler should be eco-aware when traveling. Educating oneself on the green amenities a hotel has to offer is a great way to travel without the eco-guilt that comes from trampling on our precious resources. http://www.EnvironementallyFriendlyHotels.com is a MUST-USE resource as they list not only reviews but the green amenities of a hotel, all the way down to if they compost or hire locals! Thanks for the article and look forward to more people educating themselves on eco-friendly travel!
August 4th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
The trouble is that there is no one global certification process that consumers can rely upon no matter where they choose to travel. I hope that eventually there is one such organization that is non-profit and that awards points to businesses based on agreed-upon standards applied by an unbiased committee of experts or peers. Businesses would participate voluntarily, and if they didn’t they wouldn’t have any green credibility to consumers.
I work for a green resort company, and it it difficult to be striving to do everything right, while watching competitors slap a green label on their website because they recycle. Or they buy a couple of solar panels and display them prominently when the real problem in the area is waste water treatment.
Until we know how to rate business’s sustainability efforts, it’s almost impossible to choose wisely.