Sustainable development has been a key concern not only to world leaders but also to the citizens. This is because the recent projections show that if development is not controlled, then there is a risk of catastrophic events occurring in various places around the world. The receding of the polar ice caps has been an example of what uncontrolled development can result in. The main agenda that has been adapted to ensure that developmental activities and the environment co-exist harmoniously has been to guide stakeholders in each sector to emphasize sustainable development values. The tourism sector has hence been tasked with the role of ensuring that its operations and growth do not in any way harm the environment. Tourism scholars and professionals have come up with various strategies to ensure this co-existence between their industry and the environment; one key strategy that has become a buzzword not only in the industry but also globally is eco-tourism.
Most authors define eco-tourism as a form of tourism which involves travelling to protected and fragile eco-systems with an aim to have a low impact on the environment (Weaver, 2007, p. 9). However this definition has been debated and refuted on the basis that by considering eco-tourism as a ‘form of tourism’, the industry is leaving a gap for people to practice forms of tourism that are not environmental friendly (Campbell & Ortiz, 2012, p. 188). This argument is fast been adapted by most tourism organizations and eco-tourism is now been considered as a way of tourism that can be integrated with other forms of tourism. Nonetheless, despite the debate on the definition of eco-tourism and its implementation, this way of tourism gives the industry the much needed potential path to sustainable development.
Before starting the analysis on eco-tourism it is important to also understand sustainable development to get a framework against which eco-tourism will be rated. Sustainable development is a form of economic growth through which economic activities are meant to satisfy human needs while still ensuring environmental preservation. This is meant to ensure that human needs are not only satisfied in the present but also in future.
Positive Aspects of Eco-tourism
It is important to note that eco-tourism has been under threat from rogue entrepreneurs who establish hotels near natural landscapes and refer to their product as a form of eco-tourism. However, it should be noted that eco-tourism is not just about having beautiful natural scenery in the horizon; it is also about promoting conservational efforts and sustainable development. With this in mind, it will be easier to identify the actual positive aspects of eco-tourism.
Eco-tourism helps in improving the living standards of the people within the area it is practiced. This is because as a form of sustainable tourism it is not only concerned with ecological conservation but also with improving the lives of local communities. The local people are employed, for example as guides, in eco-tourism sites (Tisdell, 1996, p. 14). With the income they earn from their jobs, the people are then able to increase their disposable income consequently raising their living standards.
As a result of the conservational efforts of eco-tourism, the local communities get to live in a clean environment. Eco-tourism seeks to do away with activities such as littering which pollute the environment making it unfriendly to live in.
Sustainability is not achievable as long as growth of capitalism results in widening of the gap between the rich and the poor by impeding on the latter’s access to resources required for basic survival. It is hence time capitalism shifts to pushing for increased employment from increasing the unemployment rate on the premise of development. One major limitation of capitalism globally is that it generates so many excesses which reduce the growth of the regions it is practiced. Sadly, one of the excesses is human resource which is the reason for the continued increase in unemployment rates in countries that practice capitalism. Most economists and development stakeholders agree that new strategies need to be formulated to ensure that the excesses and limitations of capitalism do not impede development both in the present times and in future. Eco-tourism has provided the required framework to curb these excesses in the tourism industry. This is because it creates a dual structure which promotes rebuilding of rural societies while ensuring efficient stewardship of the environment.
Studies show that when the poor are given the opportunity and access to the necessary resources, they have the highest likelihood amongst other groups to conserve and protect the environment (Leslie, 2009, p. 241). This is why eco-tourism has been successfully adapted in rural areas as it seeks to create jobs to increase the income of the communities living here. As a result of this, the rural communities work hard to conserve the environment as they see it as a source of their livelihood.
Negative Aspects of Eco-tourism
As much as eco-tourism contributes positively to sustainability, there are critical social and economic problems associated with this way of tourism. One of these limitations is evident in the Monarch Butterfly eco-tourism site found in Mexico; some of the conservation measures interfere with the local people’s way of life. In this area most of the residents relied on forestry as their main economic activity, the marking of the region as an eco-tourism site has however reduced access to the forested areas (Barkin, 2003, p. 374). This is a good step towards environmental conservation; however, the problem arises since the local communities have not been given alternative economic activities to replace the revenue they gained from forestry.
A major challenge that tourism scholars are yet to identify a solution to is the fact that when eco-tourism fosters improved quality of life for the local communities, there is bound to be an increase in population which means increasing the infrastructure; this increases pressure on the environment and also uses limited resources (Campbell & Ortiz, 2012, p. 116). There have been calls to control population growth in such areas but as has been noted in past cases, such moves will only result in reduced manpower during later years.
As stated earlier, eco-tourism has been a buzzword in tourism circles globally. Though this has been positive in most ways, it has led to the commercialization of this practice. Investors are now opening up tourism sites in fragile areas under the idea that they want to promote eco-tourism while in real sense they are out to exploit the environment to gain as much profits as possible. What this means is that, there may be several eco-tourism sites in an area but unless frequently monitored, the environment may still be degraded. This beats the essence why this way of tourism was first developed.
A Critique: Can Eco-tourism really ensure Sustainable Development?
The discussion in the previous section has highlighted weakness in the eco-tourism model. This hence brings up the question on whether eco-tourism is really as effective practically as it is idealistically expected.
One thing that most people have not understood is that there can never be a model of tourism that is 100% foolproof in terms of environmental conservation (Arts & Gudden, 2002). Tourists will sill need to travel to their tourism destinations using non-renewable energy fuelled transport, tourists will need to eat which is in itself involves using limited resources, and population growth will always occur when living standards improve hence resulting in increased pressure on the environment. What needs to be identified in analyzing the effectiveness of conservational tourism models is how much they help protect the environment. To get the practical details involving eco-tourism and its effectiveness in promoting sustainable development, this critique will use among other examples a case study of Costa Rica; a country whose main tourism product is based on eco-tourism principles.
Costa Rica has been making an average of 1.2 billion dollars in revenue generated from tourism activities (Honey, 2008). This has led the government to seek to develop the industry to further increase the sales while ensuring sustenance of the environment. However it has been noted that development not only brings positive impacts but also negative implications. As the country seeks to attain more tourists to come see its eco-tourism product, the increased number of visitors has led to increased production of waste which in turn affects the environment. Also, the increased travel in the eco-tourism areas have affected the bio-diversity of the region as wild animals change some of their activities such as mating to avoid the increasing number of visitors coming to see them. But even with these negative impacts, the eco-tourism product is still generating income not only for the government but also for the local community. So does this mean eco-tourism is fostering sustainable development of the country? Yes, it is; the problems been experienced are just areas where the tourism industry should streamline to reduce environmental degradation.
Conservational and sustainable development models look very workable on paper; however, people need to understand that the situation changes the moment they are practically used. Some of the flawless conservational measures outlined become irrelevant or hard to apply; this does not however mean that the models are flawed and should be done away with. It is just a call to more research on the specific areas to improve efficiency of the models.
Eco-tourism has higher chances of success than most previous models in creating a balance between economic development and environmental conservation. One of the reasons for this is that the model draws on various social issues that act as its ‘unseen’ pillars. For example, the model draws on authenticity amongst local communities by asking them to maintain their environment and ways of life as their unique identities. This hence promotes conservation as the communities hold on to the biodiversity of their area as been unique to them and hence do not want it tampered with. Another social issue that eco-tourism draws on is acculturation which is the assimilation of cultural characteristics of another groups. One of the key aspects of acculturation used is the emphasis of eco-tourism activities by major tourism organizations and companies. Since smaller companies seek to emulate the behavior of bigger companies as a result of acculturation, they have adapted eco-tourism (Weaver, 2007, p. 150). Acculturation argues that a group of people copies the behavior of groups above it in the social, economic or political order as it seeks to be like the latter.
This model of tourism however needs to be improved on through research to ensure its effectiveness. Currently, most eco-tourism sites in third world countries rely on old strategies of the model as they do not have access to emerging ways of doing things. Also, the argument that there can never be a foolproof conservational model should not be used to allow for inefficiency in eco-tourism.
Something else that needs improvement is the definition of local communities to ensure that the developmental efforts are focused on the right people and not commercial investors who come in to an area and end up taking even the economic benefits meant for the local people. This is necessary since eco-tourism as form of sustainable development is not only concerned with generating revenue but making sure this revenue goes to the right people to create the harmonious balance between environmental conservation, developmental efforts and sustenance of local communities.
Conclusion
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Leslie, D. (2009). Tourism Enterprises and Sustainable Development: International Perspectives on Responses to the Sustainability Agenda. New Jersey: Wiley
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Weaver, D. (2007). Ecotourism. New Jersey: Wiley
