University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...

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Ecotourism as a sustainable way to protect nature The Ecotourism Society produced the earliest and still commonly used definition of ecotourism in 1991: "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people". Ten years after the introduction of this first definition, lots of things have changed and the term ecotourism is getting a more precise meaning. According to the UNEP definition, the term ecotourism has two dimensions: • Ecotourism is a sustainable development tool. • Ecotourism is a form of alternative (nature based) tourism. (UNEP, 2002) 2.2.1. Ecotourism as a sustainable development concept It is generally supposed that well planned and managed ecotourism could be an effective tool for ensuring long-term conservation of biodiversity. As a development tool, ecotourism can serve to advance three of the basic goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity: • To conserve biological and cultural diversity • To promote the sustainable use of biodiversity, by generating income, job and business opportunities… • To share the benefits of ecotourism developments with local communities and indigenous people (UNEP and Convention on Biological Diversity, 2002). The recent development towards clear guidelines, principles and finally ecotourism certification (see the following chapter) has created a general consensus on the basic elements of ecotourism: • Contributes to the conservation of biodiversity. 12
Ecotourism as a sustainable way to protect nature • Sustains the well being of local people. • Includes an interpretation/learning experience. • Involves responsible action on the part of tourists and the tourism industry. • Is delivered primarily to small groups by small-scale businesses. • Requires the lowest possible consumption of non-renewable resources. • Stresses local participation, ownership and business opportunities, particularly for rural people (UNEP, 2002). The figure 3 shows the role played by ecotourism in the field of sustainable tourism 5 . Figure 3: Ecotourism as a sustainable development concept 5 Sustainable tourism - this term means the broader theoretical view on the sustainability of tourism, includes all aspects of development (UNEP, 2002). In our opinion, ecotourism is the form of tourism that could fulfil those aims in reality. Ecotourism is mostly focused on "local" (host) areas not on the tourism as whole. 13
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University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...

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