Aspects of Quality Ecotourism Tourism

• Involves travel to natural destinations.

• Minimizes the impact of tourism on the environment and local culture.
• Builds environmental awareness.
• Provides direct financial benefits for conservation.
• Provides direct financial benefits and empowerment for the locals.
• Respects local culture Supports human rights.
• Specialized locale-specific plans

An example of conservation and sustainable tourism in an MEDC.

Malham, Pennines, England

• Malham is in the English Pennines, on the Pennine Trail, a long-distance

footpath from Derbyshire to the Scottish border, opened in 1965.
• The trail has 75,000 to 100,000 walkers a year, with up to 4,000 a day
in Malham (population about 100!)
• Malham has some of the best scenery on the route, with Malham Cove,
a huge cliff and limestone valleys such as Goredale Scar.
• The visitors are either honeypotters, enjoying only a short walk away
from their transport, or walkers out for a longer excursion.
• Malham itself has many attractions, such as pubs and cafes, and gift
shops!
• Malham is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and has a National Park
Centre, in the village, providing visitor information, and also a pay-
and-display car park.
• Footpaths around Malham are heavily signposted, well-maintained by
various bodies and, in placers, of high capacity.
• Increasing numbers of road-borne tourists stretch the car park’s
capacity (of 106 cars and 8 coaches) and cause congestion on the
narrow country roads,
• Rural services, such as shops, have been skewed to cater for tourists,
at the expense of traditional services, such as groceries. Without
tourist demand, however, they may well have closed anyway, and
tourism has provided jobs for those in an area experiencing agricultural
job losses.
• The local flavour of the area has been drained away by providing bland
services for visitors .. such as “themed” pubs.
• Footpaths suffer from accelerated erosion, farmers suffer trespass and
commercial signposting has become a problem.
• Environmental damage has sometimes been severe, from surface
trampling, loss of habitat for wildlife, litter and vandalism.
• Farmers have gained benefit from renting out barns for accommodation
and camping.
• Incomers have, like most other National Park areas, outbid locals for
affordable housing- in 1991 55% of houses in Malham were second
homes.
• A steering group was set up in 1977 to address the problems of the
area, and since then footpaths have been improved, tree planting in
sensitive areas has begun
• An example of conservation and sustainable tourism in an
LEDC. Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean
• The Madives are a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, to the SW of
India, and astride the equator.
• Of nearly 1200 coral islands and 26 atolls the highest point is only 2.4
metres. 280 islands are inhabited and 80 are tourist resorts.
• The climate is tropical, with temperatures from 26-30 deg.C and rainfall
of 1900mm a year.
• Tourism began in 1972, and grew to 430,000 in 1999, but has been
planned as being sustainable.
• Local people were fully consulted on tourism plans- and environmental
impact surveyed.
• Resorts built only on uninhabited islands, with strict building codes ..
low and only 20% of island covered.
• New regulations insist of waste incinerators, recycling water for
gardens, solar water heaters, sewage processed in septic tanks and
some desalination plants.
• Maldives have received considerable aid (still one of the 29 least
developed countries) – from the United Nations, World Bank, and EU,
for projects in tourism, fishing, etc. Japan has given $14m for
breakwaters to combat rising sea levels.
• Norway funded incinerators, part aid and part loans.
• The Maldive islands have problems with coral being blasted for access
to the shore, which then erodes.
• Breakwaters and beach nourishment have been used to combat sand
loss.
• Corals reefs have not yet been affected, but are threatened by nutrient
pollution.
• Tourists not allowed to come into contact with locals except on show
islands.
• Only half 10,000 tourist jobs done by locals, who prefer to live on the
settled islands.
• Souvenirs need to be made locally, not imported from Sri Lanka &
India.
• Tourist Development Master Plan 1996-2005 aims to keep the Maldives
environmentally sustainable and preserve its unique character.

• An example of conservation and sustainable tourism in an

LEDC. KIGO CONSERVANCY Kenya
An example of ECOTOURISM.

Kigio Conservancy was set up in 1997 on an old beef / dairy ranch with
the aim of providing a wildlife sanctuary and a sustainable eco-tourism
destination.
The accommodation at Kigio is in "cottages" built of mud, timber and
thatch, using local and reclaimed materials and methods. The furniture is
built from re-claimed timber from the ground and there is no electricity,
oil lamps are instead used.

Kigio has a number of ecotourism activities it is involved in:

• - partnerships with local communities - helping to fund and work on
community projects
• - provides links with local schools with schools in the UK, raising
money for new classrooms and other projects (e.g. water tanks)
• - partnerships with conservation organisations such as the Tusk Trust
- which has involved setting up conservation centre for use by local
schools and providing sustainable development education for local
communities
• - employees local people - e.g. guides and other workers
• - conservation activities - e.g. looking after orphaned wildlife - e.g.
2003 relocation of giraffe into the area - including a baby giraffe
from the Karen Blixen Giraffe Orphange in Nairobi.

Travellers’ Code

To enjoy your visit abroad whilst reducing the environmental and social
pressures that tourism can bring.

When buying souvenirs – buy local crafts to support local community.

Avoid buying exotic souvenirs like ivory & coral to protect endangered
species.

Buy local clothing and eat local food.

Avoid breeding areas and respect wildlife and marine reserves.

Leave NO litter