Ecotourism

Ecotourism is usually defined as travel to natural or cultural sites which informs the visitor, conserves the site, and benefits the local economy. Ecotourism is a niche segment of the total world tourism market, and has been growing steadily over the past two decades. Several international organizations see ecotourism as a tool for poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation especially in developing nations.

The United Nations General Assembly designated 2002 the International Year of Ecotourism. Eighteen regional meetings were held culminating in the World Ecotourism Summit, held in May in Quebec City, Canada, sponsored by the UN Environmental Program, The World Tourism Organization, the Canadian Tourism Commission, and Tourisme Quebec. Just over 1100 participants attended with various interests especially in ecotourism planning and development, regulation, marketing, and benefits sharing. The principle product of the meeting was the Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism used to inform the discussions at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa September 2002. ( Excerpts from the WSSD Plan of Implementation )

While the Department of Commerce sets U.S. policy for tourism and ecotourism, several U.S. federal agencies, including the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management promote ecotourism in the U.S. The State Department tracks current international ecotourism activities related to biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and eco-certification schemes.

As a large continental country with vast and diverse natural resources, the United States has a long tradition of ecotourism on public and private lands and waters from coast to coast. As America's population, disposable income and leisure time have increased so has the demand for tourism. While there are no consolidated data on all ecotourism activities taking place in the U.S., it is estimated that Americans spend billions of dollars annually on tourism. On federal lands alone, there are an estimated 900 million visits a year to national forests, parks, monuments, historic sites, recreation areas, protected areas and wildlife refuges, reserves and management areas -- most of these ecotourism visits include sightseeing, hiking, wildlife observation, swimming, snorkeling or more. The ecotourism industry in the U.S. is predominantly privately owned and locally managed. However, the U.S. government (USG) has several major land and water management agencies that support and promote ecotourism, including the National Park Service (NPS), National Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). (See Annex 1 for a description of activities of several agencies). A number of destinations are also managed by state and local levels of government. In addition, a 1997 National Private Landowners Survey indicates that 47% of rural land owners permit recreational use and ecotourism of their land by non-family members on the nearly 60% of U.S. privately owned land.

One specific example of ecotourism is Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is a horseshoe-shaped fringing reef that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to the southeastern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. With such large crowds at the bay, the marine environment began to suffer from over tourism,. To alleviate the problem, Hawaii Sea Grant and state and county administrators developed a ecotourism recreation management plan, which includes management strategies for education, regulation, access controls, and economic measures.

For example, the Hanauma Bay Education Program was established with an educational kiosk on site. Program volunteers conduct tours and provide visitors with information about stewardship and appropriate ecotourism activities at the bay. Smoking is banned at the bay in an effort to reduce cigarette butt litter, and tour buses are prohibited from dropping off people at the bay for longer than a 15-minute sightseeing stop in an effort to curtail the number of visitors in a given time period. To reduce the number of ecotourism visitors, the entrance to the bay is closed to car traffic after the 300 parking spaces are filled. To discourage some ecotourism visitors and to generate revenue for operations, improvements, education programs and a carrying-capacity study, a $3 admission fee (for nonresidents) and a $1 parking fee were instituted. After these management strategies were implemented, visitation decreased by over 50%, litter was reduced by 70%, sunscreen slicks in the bay were eliminated and near shore reefs are experiencing coral growth. Proper implementation of ecotourism guidelines really can help the environment.