Origin of the term ecotourism

Though the interview on Planeta.com beteen Hector Ceballos-Lascurain and Ron Mader took place a few years ago, it's worth revisiting, because he explains how he coined ecotourism:

Ron Mader: What led you to coining the term 'ecotourism' and has your definition changed since then?

Hector Ceballos-Lascurain: I have actually been an "ecotourist" since my childhood. In the 1950s and 1960s I began traveling all around Mexico, getting to know and admiring its many natural and cultural heritage features. By the 1970s and 1980s my ecotouristic forays (including as a prime component the activity of birdwatching, but also a great interest in archeology) had extended to five continents.

I coined the term 'ecotourism' in early July 1983, when I was performing the dual role of Director General of Standards and Technology of SEDUE (the Mexican Ministry of Urban Development and Ecology) and founding president of PRONATURA (an influential Mexican conservationist NGO). PRONATURA was lobbying for the conservation of the wetlands in northern Yucatan as breeding and feeding habitats of the American Flamingo.

Among the arguments that I used to dissuade the building of marinas in the Celestún estuary area was the presence of an ever growing number of tourists, especially from the United States. Back in those days I was already convinced that such people could play an important role in boosting the local rural economy, creating new jobs and preserving the 'ecology' of the area, and began using the word "ecotourism" to describe this phenomenon.

I also provided the preliminary definition of ecotourism later that year, at a presentation in Mexico City for PRONATURA: "Ecotourism is that tourism that involves traveling to relatively undisturbed natural areas with the specific object of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural aspects (both past and present) found in these areas. Ecotourism implies a scientific, esthetic or philosophical approach, although the 'ecotourist' is not required to be a professional scientist, artist or philosopher. The main point is that the person who practices ecotourism has the opportunity of immersing him or herself in nature in a way that most people cannot enjoy in their routine, urban existences. This person will eventually acquire a consciousness and knowledge of the natural environment, together with its cultural aspects, that will convert him into somebody keenly involved in conservation issues."

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Ecotourism association members on the Yucatán penninsula

The Mexican Association of Adventure Tourism and Ecotourism lists its member destination and tour operators on the Yucatán penninsula at http://www.amtave.org.

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TIES member: Maya Nature

From the Web site of Maya Nature, a member of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES):

Maya Nature operates custom tailored vacations to exotic places that posses highly charismatic values (flora, fauna, archaeology, ways and customs), rendering high quality services in terms of hosting, lodging, attractions, activities and safety, providing our visitors as well as the local communities a meaningful experience, where learning, respect and discovery are part of an adventure to remember that invites them to come back.

The region where Maya Nature operates is the Yucatan Peninsula, a region with a great diversity of natural as well as cultural attractions and resources, and where many well positioned tourist destinations are located, but also with a great potential for ecotourism and geotourism. As an example, the Yucatan peninsula is home to five UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.

Even being a novel venture, Maya Nature is part of Calakmul Company, whose investors and executives accumulate more than 20 years experience in hotel operation and tourism hosting in the region. All our investors and associates are native to the region, which they know firsthand, and involved in nature conservation and regional development iniciatives.
We invite you to travel around the Yucatan Peninsula with us.

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Nominate a Yucatán individual or organization for recognition

From the newsletter of The International Ecotourism Society:

The National Geographic Society introduces its first Geotourism Challenge collaborative competition to identify and showcase innovators in tourism development, management and marketing. The one-of-a-kind online competition will raise awareness about how tourism can help sustain, enhance and preserve local culture and the environment.

Coordinated in partnership with Ashoka’s Changemakers, the Geotourism Challenge will accept online entries through Wednesday, April 16, 2008. Applicants must demonstrate an innovation that furthers geotourism, defined as “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place - its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents.”

From the Geotourism Challenge Web site:

The goal of the Geotourism Challenge is to identify and showcase innovators-individuals and organizations- that support the approach known as geotourism: tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place-its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.

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Choosing an eco-guide

From an article by Gary Podolsky on Canoe.ca:

Ecotourism is a term that is used very loosely and inaccurately. Ideally it means travel is environmentally friendly, reassuring vacationers that their presence is actually helping the country they are visiting.

Unfortunately, pseudoenvironmentalists have learned to "talk the talk" but rarely walk the green mile of ecotourism. When tour companies and guides pose as something they are not they can actually endanger not only the environment but tourists as well.

Proper guides are formally educated, usually local and have a connection and concern for their country and will not exploit it. By protecting it, they ensure it will be there for others.

Wherever the tourist demand for guides arises, many others will also pretend to be guides. These poachers take away from the efforts of the true guide. . . .

In many countries it takes a full year to become a guide and four years to become a forester (and work in a national park). This amount of commitment requires love and respect for nature. Supporting the right people ensures that those right people remain in control of natural resources.

Travellers also benefit by getting the right facts and keeping safe while viewing nature.

In poor countries there will always be people dong their own tours. You can support local people by using local restaurants, lodgings and businesses but use licensed guides, as they are the one who support the environment.

Finding a good guide may be done through a museum, preserve, or educational institution, whereas hotels and tour operators are more likely to supply outside guides.

When choosing a guided tour consider:

Is the tour destructive to the environment?

What are the guide's qualifications? Are they evasive about training or credentials?

Does their tour support any institution or preserve or is being run by a hotel that has other interests (casino, bar, jet ski rentals)?

Several organizations have formed to also protect the working conditions and fair wages of guides.

The International Porter Protection Group (IPPG) is a volunteer organization that has as its aim the improvement of conditions, particularly in relation to health and safety, of mountain porters in the tourism industry. Check them out at www.ippg.net.

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Hotel Eco Paraiso highlights best practices for eco-destinations

The Web site of Hotel Eco Paraiso, Celestun, Yucatán, explains some of the highlights of the hotel's construction and gardens:

+ Very low construction density. From the 25 hectars (61.8 acres) land that we own, we only have constucted about 3,000m2 (9,842.5ft), that is about 1.2%.

+ We have constructed our hotel from the second dune on, so that the first dune and the beach are intact - pristine. This is very important, as precisely in this first dune, the sea turtles come to hatch. I was told (I do not know if this information is correct) that only 5% of this first dune is intact in the whole world - we try to preserve what little is left of it. Also, the vegetation that you find in this first dune is unique, you won't find it anywhere else.

+ The topography of the land was also kept intact, that is, we didn't level out the land when constructing, we left the dunes as they where.

+ We took great care in the lay out of our resort - all our bungalows (only 15) blend into the surrounding nature. We also tried to use, wherever possible, natural products, e.g. thatched roofs.

+ All our garden has been replanted with plants that grow in the region - we did not introduce exotic flora like grass, for instance.

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Yucatán nature watching

From a Web site called Yucatán Wildlife :

Welcome to the world of nature in the Yucatán peninsula! This area is well known for the beach resorts of Cancun and the Mayan Riviera. But few nature lovers know that there are many exciting opportunities for watching wildlife, which are only hours away from the tourist hotspots of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel.

The Yucatán Penninsula has incredible bio-diversity. It is home to 50% of all the birds living in Mexico, several of them endemic, 25% of Mexican mammals, and 10% of Mexico´s flora.

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Global Trends in Coastal Tourism,

An insightful report titled "Global Trends in Coastal Tourism" by The Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development:

. . . Another reality of coastal residential tourism development is that it is often more about real estate speculation than long term investment. Many investors plan to get in and out of projects within a few years – the life cycle of coastal tourism resorts is typically 25 years, and often properties ´flip´ or change owners much sooner. This serves to drive many decisions. For instance, the growth of golf courses and marinas is not based solely on market demand for these activities but rather is linked to the fact that they increase the value of land and of both the resort and vacation homes located near by. The speculative nature of much coastal development has implications for the social and environmental impacts of this development. The fact that foreign ownership increasingly dominates coastal regions, that ownership both frequently changes hands and involves multiple layers of investors and managers, and that vacation goers and home buyers are only on site for brief periods, makes for a highly unstable situation, with little commitment to the long term well being of the region. It may be said that there are many owners at a mass tourism destination, but not enough of them truly take ownership.

Chapter 12 endorses a number of WWF tourism initiatives already underway, and proposes six types of interventions that WWF might consider. The six interventions are to: (1) work with the growing group of innovators to facilitate uptake of responsible practices in mass tourism; (2) convert broad concern about global warming into action on and a set of best practices related to coastal tourism (3) use research on market demand for green tourism as leverage to encourage governments, the private sector, and development agencies to pursue responsible tourism development; (4) support certification programs and the launching of a global sustainable tourism accreditation body; (5) work with financial institutions and development agencies to facilitate financing for sustainable coastal and marine tourism developments, and (6) at the national and regional level, work with governments, local communities, and private sector players to build and implement a shared vision for healthy tourism development through, for instance, establishing and enforcing the ground rules under which coastal tourism development occurs and promoting more transparent negotiations between governments and cruise lines. In coastal areas where local people are losing control of their land and resources, WWF can play a role in technical training and capacity building, and in helping to form multi-stakeholder coalitions to ensure sustainable developments that bring tangible benefits to the host communities.

The study concludes that WWF’s Marine Program is well positioned to make effective interventions at the global level, and that there is an urgent need to do so given the large and growing threat that tourism poses to coastal and marine ecosystems.

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Six species under threat in Mexico, including jaguar in Yucatan

From an article by Charlie Devereux on CNN.com:

(CNN) -- Home to up to 10 percent of all known species, Mexico is recognized as one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet.

The twin threats of climate change and human encroachment on natural environments are, however, threatening the existence of the country's rich wildlife.

And there is a great deal to lose.

In the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) World Conservation Monitoring Centre's list of megadiverse countries Mexico ranks 11th. The list represents a group of 17 countries that harbor the majority of the Earth's species and are therefore considered extremely biodiverse.

From its coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea to its tropical jungles in Chiapas and the Yucatan peninsula and its deserts and prairies in the north, Mexico boasts an incredibly rich variety of flora and fauna.

Some 574 out of 717 reptile species found in Mexico -- the most in any country -- can only be encountered within its borders. It is home to 502 types of mammals, 290 species of birds, 1,150 varieties of birds and 26,000 classifications of plants.

Pronatura, a non-profit organization that works to promote conservation and sustainable development in Mexico, has selected six species which it says symbolize the problems faced by the destruction of nature.

"These are only some of the species which have some degree of conservation," says Eduardo Cota Corona, Director of Conservation at Pronatura. "However, there is a countless number of species in Mexico which find themselves in danger of extinction."

. . . In Mexico, the jaguar is a threatened species. Its decline is mainly due to the destruction of its natural habitat. For example, in the Ria Lagartos Biosphere reserve in northern Yucatyan state, Pronatura reports that only 20 percent of the original forest cover remains, the rest having been cleared for cattle-herding.

Tourist development also plays its part; El Ocotal Natural Reserve, where cameras placed in the forest have captured images of six individual jaguars and pumas, is close to Mexico's tourism capital, Cancun.

Pronatura estimates that if present conditions persist, the jaguar could become extinct in the northeastern part of the Yucatan within 30 to 40 years.

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Leave plastics behind

An article by Armando Lorences from the newsletter of Centro Ecológico Akumal (CEA):

In recent days there have been reports of hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtle hatchlings appearing on the beaches of Quintana Roo, weak or already dead.

So far the exact causes are unknown. The person in charge of the network of sea turtle stranding in the Riviera Maya, MVZ Ana Negrete, suggests that the turtle hatchlings are suffering from dehydration and weakness. As soon as more information is known it will be announced.

Preliminary results, however, show that plastics have been found in the turtles' stomachs, suggesting they are starving to death. Plastic trash floating in the sea can resemble what the turtles would eat naturally, so they are ingesting the plastic, thinking it's food.

CEA is calling on area residents, businesses, and hotel to assist when they find a baby turtle washed ashore.

More about plastics in the ocean here and here.

See the trash taken from a green turtle's stomach.

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Community Tours Sian Ka'an

Ecotourism destinations nestle among the huge all-inclusive resorts and heavily commercialized destinations in the Yucatán Penninsula. Community Tours Sian Ka'an is one of those ecotourism operators:

Community Tours Sian Ka'an, a local tourism alliance between four Mayan cooperatives, presents to you the Mayan Riviera as it once was and as it should be experienced: untouched by urbanization, undisturbed by mass tourism, and guided by local Mayan community members who know the reserve best. . . .

Our tour itineraries are based on three principles which reflect our local economic impact as well as our commitment to conservation:

+ Ensuring personalized experiences in small groups that minimize ecological impact.
+ Offering tours that provide adventure and education about the challenges to conservation within the reserve.
+ Providing genuine cultural exchanges.

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Tourism sector urged to adopt carbon offsets idea

From an article by Solomon Mburu in the Business Daily (Niarobi, Africa):

March 12, 2008: The tourism industry has been asked to include the concept of carbon offsets in its development plans to measure up to global trends.

Ecotourism Society of Kenya reckons that early adoption of the concept would enable the industry to avoid the looming threat of stagnation as environmental awareness rises in key tourist source markets.

“Businesses should not wait until the market starts to demand that they offset any carbon emissions arising from their operations,” said Ms Judy Gona, Ecotourism Kenya’s executive director.

The carbon footprints concept has been spreading in the tourism industry since the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) linked sector activities to climate change.

Tourism is considered a major contributor to climate change mainly through use of fossil fuels to power aeroplanes that transport millions of tourists every year.

Climatic change brought about by carbon emissions from planes are in turn thought to be destroying the environment that supports key tourist destinations worldwide.

Dick Sisman & Associates, a tourism consulting firm, reckons that air travel has become the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions that the industry must deal with for long term survival.

Virgin Atlantic, a major international carrier, has taken the lead in reducing the industry’s exposure to climate change threat with the invention of biofuel-driven plane engines.

To forestall the climate change threat on the industry’s operations, the Travel Foundation (TF), a tourist destination promotion organisation, is proposing the establishment of a carbon accounting framework for the industry.

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Conversation with Joshua Berman

From an article by Ron Mader on Planeta.com:

Josh, in the world of ecotourism and volunteering abroad, what issues are you paying attention this year? What gets your goat? What's gives you hope?

What am I watching? The increasing number of companies that arrange service and education-oriented experiences abroad. These include non-profits, sister cities, churches, universities, reality tours, leadership trainings -- the list goes on. Inevitably some of these operations will be more successful at creating a fun, meaningful experience for the participant while maintaining a positive, sustainable impact on the host community.

What gets my goat? The continued dilution and bastardization of the 'eco' prefix, at least when it comes to lodges, resorts, adventure, etc. What does it mean today? What does it mean to you? I try to only use it for smallish ventures that are community-based and locally-inspired, though even these guidelines are quite vague. 'Ecotourism' has many warm, fuzzy connotations, but I fear its definition has become as broad as to include any tourism other than cruise ships or Cancún.

What gives me hope? See item one above. More volunteer- work- study- live-abroad programs means there is more demand, more people who recognize the value in spending time beyond their borders.

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