Ecocation by Morgan Sterns

Ecocation: a new kind of travel culture is an alert to the need for change in the way we travel. It’s about the search for true ecotourism and offers ideas for the conscientious travelers to contribute to a new kind of travel culture. Tel: + (415) 440-4754 Cel: + (949) 294-9009 E-mail: mjsterns@gmail.com Pictures © 2010 Nick Neubeck & Lonely Planet Images Text © 2008 Martha Honey Book design by Morgan Sterns Created for Graphic Design 600 Visual Communications Lab, Academy of Art University.

part 1 // Introduction to ecotourism

part 2 // The future generation of travel

part 3 // Ecotourist destinations

throughout life, the best travel experiences were

almost always those where I made a connection. Whether being blown away by a landscape so magnificent in its scale and purity that I was humbled and aware of my own place in the natural order or making a personal connection with someone from a world utterly different to my own. Personally, at the end of the day it’s solely about a connection. A connection you make with places of natural beauty and the connection you make with people who lead very different lives than you. It’s also about making these connections in a sustainable way, so that the same opportunities will be there for the future. Many travelers have a story about a magical place they knew 10 or 20 years ago that has succumbed to rampaging development or has been ruined by too many backpackers and package tourists. And if you’ve traveled in the developing world, at some point you’ve had a dose of traveler’s guilt after comparing the poverty you witnessed around you with your relative wealth, and wished that you could do something to make a difference. This book is an alert to the need for change in the way we travel. It’s about the search for true ecotourism and offers ideas for the conscientious travelers to contribute to a new kind of travel culture. One where the place you visit benefits from your presence, whether because of money being directed to the right people, or because you’re visiting to help in some way. It also offers insights into how to make your travel truly unique.

each year 700 million people travel internationally.

By 2020 it’s estimated 1.5 billion will be hitting the road. It’s not hard to imagine how this runway juggernaut will result in wilderness destroyed (made way for ‘tourism infrastructure’ or trampled into oblivion), species extinction and traditional cultures lost or disenfranchised. Tourism—done right—can be a powerful tool for conserving wilderness and heritage areas. For both traveler and local, it increases appreciation of the spiritual and environmental importance of conserving biodiversity. More than that, governments and local people can see that wildlife and wild areas have a monetary value, it’s a pretty strong incentive not to destroy them for short-term gains: you can only kill a gorilla once, but if you can keep it alive, it can earn a country $90,000 every year, through tourism. The same goes for cultural heritage such as buildings and artisan skills. And if you think about it: how far would greater cross-cultural understanding go towards solving problems of our world? Humankind’s innate curiosity fuels our interest in learning about other cultures. Urbanized Westerners are drawn to alternative lifestyles, tribal societies, and different value systems and traditions. Equally, ‘traditional’ cultures take their cues from the West for their own future development. Responsible travel aims to facilitate authentic, meaningful interactions between travelers and local—where each may learn from the other, & the exchange is equal.

around the world, ecotourism has been

hailed as a panacea: a way to fund conservation and scientific research, protect fragile and pristine ecosystems, benefit rural communities, promote development in poor countries, enhance ecological and cultural sensitivity, instill environmental awareness and a social conscience in the travel industry, satisfy and educate the discriminating tourist, and, some claim, build world peace. Although “green” travel is being aggressively marketed as a win-win solution for the Third World, the environment, and the travel industry, close examination shows a much more complex reality. This book is about the search for ecotourism. Although nearly all countries in the world, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, and other developed countries, are now engaged in ecotourism, perhaps its most exciting potential is in its use as a tool for economic development & environmental protection in developing countries. For many economically poor countries with rich, unique, and largely unspoiled national parks and natural wonders, tourism offered a possible means for earning foreign exchange.

But the infrastructure costs of conventional tourism are high, its adverse social effects are often great, and the economic benefits frequently meager, since most of the profits do not stay in the host countries. In looking closely at Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, South Africa, and the United States, to make an assessment of whether ecotourism endeavors are failing or succeeding, it is necessary to examine the growth of ecotourism within each country’s tourism strategy, its political system, and its changing economic policies. Tourism and ecotourism must be placed within a country’s overall development strategy, as well as within the context of a global economy that is systematically eliminating trade barriers & facilitating foreign capital. Today, ecotourism is taking off, informed both by lessons and experiences from abroad and by our own history, most importantly our tradition of environmentalism and our well-developed national park system.

In the U.s., regularly organized nature

tourism most likely began with Sierra Club Outing program in 1901, which involved about 100 hikers who trekked to the back country wilderness of the Sierra Nevada. Although the purpose was to take club members into the Sierra and show the natural wonders so that those persons could become active workers for the â&#x20AC;&#x153;preservation of forests and other natural features of the Sierra Nevada Mountains,â&#x20AC;? these enormous caravans were anything but eco in terms of their effects on the environment01. These trips continued until 1972 when growing environmental concern about the human impact on the High Sierra landscape led the Sierra Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Outing Committee to stop conducting High Trip and shift to smaller trips, usually of 12-15 people. The rapid growth of nature tourism within the United States and overseas has been facilitated in recent years by the same ease and accessibility of modern transport that has fueled the rise in conventional tourism. The increasing number of people to whom these formerly remote natural areas are now available has resulted in serious damage to some of the most popular destinations.

The Grand Canyon, the second most visited U.S. national park, attracts 4.4 million tourists per year 02, and the sheer number of visitors is having a negative effect on the canyon’s ecosystem. Turned off by overcrowded, unpleasant conditions and spurred by relatively affordable and plentiful airline routes, increasing numbers of nature lovers began seeking serenity and pristine beauty. Between the 1970s and 1980s, the field of ecotourism gradually started to take shape although the definition was vague. By 2000, new terms such as “pro-poor tourism” and “geotourism” were complicating the picture and confusing the public. The confusion of the definition of ecotourism is partly due to its historical roots, which, broadly stated, can be traced back to four sources: 1. scientific, conservation, & NGOs 2. multilateral aid institutions 3. developing countries 4. the travel industry & public Almost simultaneously but for different reasons, the principles and practices of ecotourism began taking shape within these four areas, and by the early 1990s, the concept had coalesced into a hot new genre of environmentally and socially responsible travel.

In 2002, The United Nations’ International Year of Ecotourism marked the first time that ecotourism was elevated to global significance. But without a uniform definition, clear standards, and globally recognized certification programs, ecotourism, writes tour operator Kurt Kutay, “is used indiscriminately to describe anything related to nature or unrelated to conventional tourism.” 03 In 2005, TIES organized the first national conference focusing on ecotourism. The First Conference on Ecotourism in the U.S. was held in Bar Harbor, Maine and attracted attendees representing a wide range of industry segments & professional fields: park managers, lodge owners, tour operators, government agencies, non-profit organizations, & many others. The outcome of the conference was summarized in the Bar Harbor Declaration on Ecotourism in the United States. In 2007, calls increased for ecotourism standards across the mainstream travel industry. Topics on ecotourism and indigenous communities were among the main focuses of the discussions during the NAEC 2007. The NAEC 2007 reinforced the important roles Indigenous communities play as the key environmental stewards.

6 20 7

8 14 5 16

15 18

17 2

1. Australia 2. Brazil 3. China 4. Cook Islands

5. Costa Rica 6. Cuba 7. Dominican Republic 8. El Salvador

9. Indonesia 10. Israel 11. Laos 12. Madagascar

3 13 21 11

10 19 12 9 1

13. Myanmar 14. Nicaragua 15. Nigeria 16. Panama

17. Peru 18. South Africa 19. Tanzania 20. Turks & Caicos Islands

21. Vietnam

the International Ecotourism Society

(TIES), the worlds first ecotourism organization, coined what has become the most popular and succinct, yet encompassing, definition of ecotourism: “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” Ecotourism is often claimed to be the most rapidly expanding sector of the tourism industry 04, but when its growth is measured, ecotourism is often lumped together with nature wildlife, and adventure tourism. However, ecotourism should be defined in its own separate category. Nature tourism involves travel to unspoiled places to experience and enjoy nature and moderate and safe forms of exercise such as hiking, camping, and biking. Wildlife tourism involves travel to observe animals, birds, and fish in their natural habitats. Adventure tourism is nature tourism but with a kick: it requires physical skill and endurance and involves a degree of risk-taking, often in little charted terrain. Whereas nature, wildlife, and adventure tourism are defined solely by recreational activities of the tourist, ecotourism is defined as well by a set of principles that include its benefits to both conservation and people in the host country.

“Real ecotourism,” writes tour operator Kurt Kutay, “is more than travel to enjoy or appreciate nature.” It also includes minimization of cultural and environmental consequences, contributions to conservation and community projects in developing countries, and environmental education and political consciousness-raising, such as the establishment of codes of conduct for travelers as well as a wide variety of certification programs for components of the travel industry. In May 2002, over a thousand delegates from 132 countries gathered in Quebec City for the World Ecotourism Summit. The event culminated in the drafting of the Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism, a comprehensive proclamation on behalf of all involved parties that “ecotourism embraces the principles of sustainable tourism, concerning the economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism.” The declaration focused on the establishment of small and locally run enterprises, emphasized the use of local materials and products, encouraged the establishment of legal mechanisms to promote such activities, and encouraged international finance institutions to direct their resources towards promoting small and medium sized ecotourism firms 05.

Conventional, standard, large scale tourism

Defined by a set of principles that include benefits to both conservation and people in the host country. Includes the minimization of environmental and cultural consequences, contributes to conservation and community projects in developing countries, and environmental education and political consciousness raising, such as the establishment of codes and conducts for travelers as well as a wide variety of certification programs for components of the travel industry Travel to unspoiled places to experience and enjoy nature (usually involves moderate safe forms of exercise such as hiking, biking, sailing, camping)

Travel to observe animals, birds, fish in their natural habitat

Nature, wildlife, and adventure tourism are defined solely by the recreational activities of the tourist and do not always contribute to conservation, community projects, and education as well as political consciousness-raising.

Nature tourism but requiring physical skill and endurance (i.e. rope climbing, deep sea diving, kayaking) Involves a degree of risktaking often in little charted terrain)

Over the last few years, other terms

have been added to the ecotourism vernacular, and added to the confusion. They include pro-poor tourism, geotourism, responsible tourism, sustainable tourism, and the list goes on. Competing terms & lack of precise definition, combined with ecotourism’s diverse roots and multiple actors, have helped with what are today two conflicting crosscurrents within ecotourism: 1. genuine ecotourism-putting into practice the multiple principles of ecotourism, often with a single accommodation, park, or destination 2. ecotourism lite- adopting only a façade and not making changes to mass tourism practices Ultimately, the goal must be to move ecotourism beyond simply a new niche within nature travel. It must become a vehicle for significantly transforming the way tourism itself is carried out, for “greening,”, not merely “greenwashing,” the entire industry. Ecotourism is a relative fledgling, but it has unleashed a great deal of experimentation and creativity among tour operators, travel agencies, hotel builders and owners, park and tourism officials, scientists, environmentalists, NGOs, & community activists.

It has led to experimentation, to a pushing of the parameters of the concept through, for instance, environmentally sensitive lodge construction, well-trained nature guides, and a variety of ownership schemes between local communities and NGOs or the private sector. It has also generated, in the wake of the Rio Earth Summit, dozens of “green” certification programs designed to measure the environmental and social impact of tourism businesses. Building on these sound initiatives, it is possible to expand TIES’s definition and broaden it into a multi-layered definition that forms the backdrop for this book. Real ecotourism defined has seven characteristics: (1) involves travel to natural destinations, (2) minimizes impact, (3) builds environmental awareness, (4) provides direct financial benefits for conservation, (5) provides financial benefits and empowerment for local people, (6) supports human rights and movements, and (7) respects local culture.

These destinations are often remote areas, whether inhabited or uninhabited, and are usually under some kind of environmental protection at the national, international, communal, or private level. Ecotourism involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. One of the goals of ecotourism is to offer tourists insight into the impact of human beings on the environment, and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats. It discourage mass tourism, mass constructions of hotels, tourism resorts and mass activities in fragile areas.

Tourism causes damage. Ecotourism strives to minimize the adverse effects of hotels, trails, and other infrastructure by using either recycled or plentifully available local building materials, renewable sources of energy, recycling and safe disposal of waste and garbage, and environmentally & culturally sensitive architectural design. Minimization of impact also requires that the numbers & mode of behavior of tourists be regulated to ensure limited damage to the ecosystem. Ecotourism operations usually fail to live up to conservation ideals. It is sometimes overlooked that ecotourism is a highly consumer-centered activity, and that environmental conservation is a means to further economic growth. Although ecotourism is intended for small groups, even a modest increase in population, however temporary, puts extra pressure on the environment and necessitates the development of additional infrastructure and amenities. The construction of water treatment plants, sanitation facilities, and lodges come with the exploitation of non-renewable energy sources and the utilization of already limited local resources.

Ecotourism means education, for both tourists and residents of nearby communities. Well before the tour begins, tour operators should supply travelers with reading material about the country, environment, and local people, as well as a code of conduct for both the traveler and the industry itself. This information helps prepare the tourist and to minimize their negative impacts while visiting sensitive environments and cultures. Essential to good ecotourism are well-trained, multilingual naturalist guides with skills in natural and cultural history, environmental interpretation, ethical principles, and effective communication. These projects should also help educate members of surrounding communities, schoolchildren, and other broader public in the host country. To do so, they must offer greatly reduced entrance and lodge fees for nationals and free educational trips for local students and those living near the tourist attraction.

Ecotourism helps raise funds for environmental protection, research, and education through a variety of mechanisms, including park entrance fees; tour company, hotel, airline, and airport taxes; and voluntary contributions. Many national park systems were first created to protect the land, facilitate scientific research, and in Africa, promote sport hunting. Only later did parks open access to the public, and only recently have they begun to be viewed as potential sources of funding for scientific investigation as well as conservation.

Ecotourism holds that national parks and other conservation areas will survive only if, as Costa Rica-based ecologist Daniel Janzen puts it, there are “happy people” around the perimeters. The local community must be involved with and receive income and other tangible benefits (potable water, roads, health clinics, etc) from the conservation area and its tourist facilities. Campsites, lodges, guide services, restaurants, and other concessions should be run by or in partnership with communities surrounding national parks or other tourist destinations. Ecotourism further promotes the use of tour and car rental agencies, hotels, airlines, and other related businesses owned by host country nationals, so that profits are more likely to stay within the host country. More important, if ecotourism is to be viewed as a tool for rural development, it must also help to shift economic and political controls to the local community, village, cooperative, or entrepreneur. However, this is the most difficult and time-consuming principle in the ecotourism equation. Foreign operators and partners most often let this aspect fall through the cracks and only partially abide by them.

The United Nations-sponsored World Tourism Organization proclaims that tourism contributes to “international understanding, peace, prosperity, and universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.”121 Such sentiments, however, are little reflected in conventional mass tourism. Although tourism is often hailed as a tool for building international understanding and world peace, this does not happen automatically; frequently, in fact, tourism bolsters the economies of repressive and undemocratic states. Mass tourism typically pays little attention to the political system of the host country or struggles within it, unless civil unrest spills over into attacks on tourists. Ultimately, the goal is that entire tourism industry follow the sound principles of environmental and social sustainability that have been honed and ground tested through ecotourism. There are many challenges to achieving this goal. Ecotourism as inherently a ‘revolutionary’ concept that, properly done, holds out the possibility of transforming the way the travel industry operates and the way we travel. Ecotourism is an effort to build healthier, happier, more equitable, just and peaceful societies.

Ecotourism is not only “greener” but also less culturally intrusive and exploitative than conventional tourism. Whereas prostitution, black markets, and drugs are often byproducts of mass tourism, ecotourism strives to be culturally respectful and have a minimal effect on both the natural environment and the human population of the host country. This is not easy, especially since ecotourism often involves travel to remote areas where small and isolated communities have little experience in interacting with foreigners. And like conventional tourism, ecotourism involves an unequal relationship of power between the visitor and the host and a commodification of the relationship through exchange of money. Part of being a responsible ecotourist is learning beforehand about the local customs, respecting dress codes and other social norms, and not intruding on the community unless invited, either individually or as part of well-organized tours.

The long-term challenge is to find ways to maintain the rigor and multidimensional qualities of ecotourism while widening it beyond individual projects and making it integral to the concept of tourism in general. In many instances, the opposite trend is emerging & rules underlying ecotourism are being “greenwashed” by superficial, feel good rhetoric and minor cost saving modifications that do not transform tourism into a tool that protects the environment, and educates the tourist. Although ecotourism is indeed rare, often misdefined, and frequently imperfect, it is still in its adolescence, not on its deathbed. One step towards ensuring ecotourism’s survival is helping to build a more informed traveling public. Ecotourism travelers, practitioners, professionals, educators, & proponents need to understand the major problems and challenges confronting ecotourism, as well as how ecotourism fits within the tourism industry and within a country’s development strategy.

One step towards ensuring ecotourismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s survival is

helping to build a more informed traveling public. Ecotourism travelers, practitioners, professionals, educators, & proponents need to understand the major problems and challenges confronting ecotourism, as well as how ecotourism fits within the tourism industry and within a countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development strategy. At best, ecotourism offers a set of principles and practices that have the potential to fundamentally transform the way the tourism industry operates. At worst, when poorly practiced, ecotourism threatens the very ecosystems on which it depends. There are various amounts and combinations of solutions that can be offered to alleviate the problems that plague the ecotourism plight. As a socially and environmentally responsible graphic designer, I have come up with five opportunity gaps where I can use my skills and knowledge to find solutions to the ecotourism dilemma: (1) The Travelerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Philanthropy Initiative (2) The Standardized Green Certification Program (3) The Ecotourism Awareness Campaign (4) The Employee Internship Program (5) Ecotourism Education for Community Youth

format: Brand for a philanthropy group audience: Ecotourism industry & the individual traveler problem: Many â&#x20AC;&#x153;greenwashedâ&#x20AC;? ecotourism ventures are

doing very little to give back to host communities where ecotourism takes places. While these companies are making huge profits in the tourism industry, little of this is being given to support community-based projects in and around the ecotourist destination.06

opportunity: In the last decade there has been a growth

of corporate social responsibility initiatives within the tourism industry, spearheaded in many instances by ecotourism companies. A growing number of civic-minded ecotourism businesses and tourists are now becoming apart of projects that are providing tangible financial and material contributions to development and conservation projects in host communities where ecotourism occurs. These voluntary donations come from corporate earnings, visitor donations, or a combination of both. The giving of time, talent, or treasure can grow from the ground up, with individual lodges and tour operators working on their own to provide resources for urgent health care, educational, & environmental needs in communities around the globe. A Travelerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Philanthropy program would constitute a new, important, and growing-but largely unrecorded-development tool that will put hundreds of millions of tourism dollars into community projects in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

format: Certified resource for ecotourism companies audience: International Ecotourism companies problem: The current crop of ecotourism certification

programs are spread unevenly around the world, with some areas like Europe having too many programs while other countries like Asia and Africa having no ecotourism certification programs. Many ecotourism companies are claiming that their practices are “sustainable” and “giving back to communities” while in truth, large parts of their practice are not adhering to the formal prerequisites of true ecotourism. Many of these companies are simply jumping on the “green” bandwagon in hopes to makes profits from uninformed travelers booking trips with these ecotourism groups. The problem stems back to a lack of internationally recognized standardized certification programs. It is widely recognized that if ecotourism is going to move from a good concept to good practices, it must be measured against clear standards.

opportunity: A toolkit would set environmental standards

through voluntary compliance, governmental regulation, and international agreements and treaties. Companies that reform and follow regulations will earn certification. The 2002 Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism acknowledged the importance of certification, calling on governments to “use internationally approved and reviewed guidelines in order to develop certification schemes, eco-labels, and other voluntary initiatives geared towards sustainability in ecotourism07”. As long as certification programs are internationally recognized or comply with generally accepted international criteria, there are unlikely to be serious problems. These certification programs should allow the international traveler to move from one country to the next while being assure that eco-labels conform to common standards.

format: Awareness campaign audience: Future generation of ecotourists problem: In the last decade, large amounts of travelers

are making the transition from mass tourism to a sustainable form of travel. However, many of these tourists are largely uninformed about the companies they are booking trips with and the places and cultures they are planning to visit. Many “greenwashed” ecotourism ventures are taking advantage of the lack of education travelers possess when it comes to what constitutes ecotourism. If travelers were better educated on how to travel conscientiously and what tours to book, I believe that true ecotourism companies would receive more business and ultimately help take one giant step in the direction towards true ecotourism travel.

opportunity: The Ecotourism Awareness campaign would

serve as a tool for travelers who are actively seeking a leaning experience that inspires awareness for the environment and the culture of the community. The campaign material would include various inspiring responsible travel experiences from across the planet, ranging from independent travel to small group tours; grass-roots community organizations to large-scale international operators. These travel experiences would be selected on the basis that they are striving to observe the principles of responsible travel, & they recognize their shortcomings and are working hard to shrink the gap between practice and perfection. There would also be tips on how to help the traveler make responsible travel choices: how to distinguish the good travel operators from the bad; true ecotourism from ecotourism lite and how to develop a ‘greenwash’ radar. These travel experiences would hopefully give a traveler the tools and inspiration they needed to try a new way of traveling.

format: Resource for potential ecotourist interns audience: The traveler problem: When speaking to a large number of young

travelers, the reoccurring issue with ecotourism had to do with the costs and time associated with this type of travel. Many of these destinations are in remote areas that have high transportation costs and therefore discourage a young person who may not necessarily have the funds or time for this type of trip. When polled, almost all travelers said that if they could receive time off from work or school or there were scholarships offered, then they would go in a heartbeat. For young students not earning salary and still paying off student loans and/or currently taking out student loans, this type of travel is completely unfeasible for them. Businesses in this generation should be socially responsible, inspire solutions to the economic crisis, and offer paid ecotourism internships for their employees.

opportunity: Through the program, employees can leave

their jobs for up to one month to work for the environmental group of their choice. Their companies will continue to pay their salaries and benefits while theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re gone, and environmental groups worldwide get them for free. Over the years, a handful of employees may leave their companies permanently to devote all of their time to environmental work. The internship program will provide employees with great opportunities and environmental groups with free service. It will also benefit the larger company culture. Volunteers will return with a powerful sense of purpose and accomplishment that inspires their colleagues and encourages other employees to work on behalf of the natural world.

format: Awareness education for local youth audience: Youth (ages 5â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18) in ecotourist destinations problem: Over the past several decades, economic global-

ization, free trade, and structural adjustment policies have undercut the capacity of governments in developing countries to provide basic social services or implement sound governmental guidelines. None have fully embraced the practices of community-owned ecotourism as a national development strategy.

opportunity: In order to begin embracing community

owned ecotourism, education must begin with the youth of the community. Education, workshops, and nature tours should be provided to the youth so that it may instill the principles of conservation, entrepreneurship, & active community-based participation in the management and distribution of revenues that gives local residents the will power and skills to improve their standard of living through the wise use of wildlife and natural resources. In reality, many communities are relational-based rather than participatory, aligning themselves with organizations and ngoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to strengthen alliances and ties with power. By providing nature education and employment opportunities to the local youth, it will hopefully bring about the harmonious existence of humans with nature and better prepare local communitites to educate to foreigners and future generations of ecotourists. This will hopefully also establish professional hospitality education for the local youth & increase IT literacy so that these indigenous people can someday be able to take over ecotourism ventures and be able to run them properly so that all revenues and profits stay within their community.

In a nutshell, ecotourism is about traveling in a way

that minimizes your impact and maximizes connections. It’s about making a difference and giving something back. Ecotourism is the antithesis of watching the world blur by through the bus windows. It’s about paving new trails in a sustainable way; about getting under the skin of a country; engaging—equitably and respectfully—with local people and immersing yourself in the culture; about fair trade; about getting involved in local communities; perhaps as a volunteer; and about having the best travel experiences of your life. The following section includes various inspiring responsible ecotourism experiences from across the planet, ranging from independent travel to small group tours; grass-roots community organizations to large-scale international operators. These travel experiences have been selected on the basis that they are striving to observe the principles of responsible travel, and they recognize their shortcomings and are working hard to shrink the gap between practice and perfection. These experiences also have some natural ‘limiting force’ places that can benefit from some increased business but, whether through enforced park entry quotas, potential sustainable expansion, or other means, are in less danger of over-exploitation.

You won’t see vast hordes of migrating wildebeest

or encounter many members of the Big Five when you stay at Damaraland Camp in Namibia. Rather, the fascination is in the detail and in the stark, humbling stillness of the desert. Located 90km inland from Torra Bay on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, Damaraland is the country’s—and one of Africa’s—most successful community tourism ventures. Until a decade ago, the local wildlife was diminishing at a rapid rate and virtually no one in the local community had a job. Safari camp operator Wilderness Safaris joined forces with the local Riemvasmaker people and a number of concerned aid ad conservation organizations to establish Damaraland Camp as a blueprint for community tourism projects. Around 350,000 hectares are now under protection, wildlife numbers are thriving and the local people have training, income, and are actively engaged in land and wildlife management. Ten luxury tents squat rather insignificantly amid a landscape of vast views and enormous plains edging up to huge mountains. Morning mists creep inland from the coast, providing just enough moisture to sustain well-adapted desert life. Most famous of the local inhabitants is the rare desert elephant, which is smaller than its more generic brethren and able to regularly stroll 70km between drinks. Daily camp routine usually involves game drives and nature walks where the Damaraland guides breath life into the arid landscape, explaining the intricate adaptations of desert dwellers, from the tiniest insect to the black rhinoceros, oryx, kudu, and other species that have made a tenuous contract with life in the desert.

Many of the animal populations have doubled since 1996, since the project was established. Both animals and endemic arid-zone plants are now under protection. Damaraland Camp won the 2005 Tourism for Tomorrow Conservation award. The camp is staffed by people from the local community—training and mentoring is provided to locals. Inspired by the success of Damaraland, the neighboring Doro Dawas has established its own 400,000-hectare conservancy. 10% of room revenues are returned to the community & have been used to fund the local school, stock loss compensation programs & other uplift projects.

There are ten large, comfortable permanent tents, all within a suite, verdana and valley views. Each also has a flush toilet and hot shower. There is a separate communal living area with a big rock pool. Activities include four wheel drive and walking safaris, and mountain bikes are available. Prices start at $323 per person, twin share, fully inclusive.

The rainy season is from November to April, and it’s also very hot at this time. From May to August nights can be very cold, but days pleasant, up to about 30 degrees celsius. Best game viewing is from about June to October.

Daramaland Camp is accessible by two wheel drive vehicles, of the C39 from Windhoek about 110km before Torra Bay. There is also an airstrip under construction 14km from the camp; staff with collect you upon arrival. You can link with other Wilderness Safaris camps in Southern Africa.

Where wildlife was once seen as a threat, it’s regarded as an important economic asset.

Tour guides and a team of Samburu and Ndorobo

tribesmen lead walking safaris that follow beat-forged trails through lush forests and sunny glades, periodically spitting forth trekkers onto the very edge of the Great Rift. From distinctive natural lookouts such as Nabolo Rock, plateaus and peaks extend to the north. To the west, vertiginous kilometer-deep drops meet broad savannah, stretching to blue haze ranged on the far side of one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest tectonic dividers. Taking time to smells the flowers-and to learn a little of their botanical peculiarities-and to forgo right of way to the odd large herbivore such as buffalo or elephant, the walks involve around four to six hours of hiking per day. Lekermogo heads up the team of ten Samburu warriors who, along with the Faulls, run the logistical side of the expedition, as well as imparting tracking tips, legend and lore and an insight into the modern-day challenges faced by the traditional tribesmen of Kenya. This is one of the most remote and rarely visited areas of Kenya, so meeting the Samburu villagers in a traditional manyatta (a cluster of dwellings under one chief ) along the way is a curious encounter for everyone. The Samburu share customs of the Maasai-including a culture centered around their livestock, and a penchant for exquisitely colorful beadwork. This trek blends that Samburu/Ndorobo and European history of Kenya. The rugged mountains are inaccessible to motorized transport and the pencil cedar and podocarpus forests remain pristine. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a taste of old Africa in one of East Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last true wildernesses.

The trails are ancient routes followed by animals and tribespeople. Low-impact camps are set every evening. Peter Faull, his wife, and their UK office team established the Leroghi Mountains Conservation Fund in 2002, which has developed a series of simple, community-based projects aimed at educating school children in traditions of forest management and land care. It also provides funding for reforestation and livestock protection for locals. A proportion of revenue from each client is directed towards these projects.

The classical El Bogoi Route trek operates year-round. Tropical temperatures are tempered by the altitude (trekking at 1800m-2400m). Daytime temperatures range between 20 degrees celsius and 25 degrees celsius and fall at night to 12 degrees celsius to 15 degrees celsius.

Samburu Treks is headed up by Peter and Rosalie Faull. Peter leads the treks, while Rosalie is head chef and botanist. The trek is supported by a team of packdonkeys-the traditional mode of transport in the mountains. The six day Classic El Bogoi Route is suitable for anyone of moderate fitness. Longer, shorter and more challenging treks are also available. Campsites are comfortable but not luxurious-this is wilderness camping, where everything has to be carried. But there are hot bucket showers and gourmet meals featuring local game and produce. The tour costs $1,060 per person, twin share, including all meals, fees, guide services and transport. The trek starts near Maralal in northern Kenya. Road or air transfers can be arranged from Nairobi.

at 10 pm, the day’s final milking of the horses done,

Narun Zetsig is busy in the kitchen churning churds from whey to make cheese and cream and distilling tsaganach, an alcoholic spirit made from fermented milk. Apart from travelling each day on horse, on yak cart or by foot in the company of nomads through a very beautiful area of Mongolia that relatively few tourists visit, the expedition allows you to be truly involved with nomadic life. This can be rough going: try riding a Mongolian saddle for any length of time and you’ll how your rear end feels at the end of the day. One day two Bat Ochir leads steeds across a broad grassy valley towards the second night’s camp. The route passes shady forests hugging the shallow meandering river, a centuries-old burial site and an equally aged stone totem carved in the shape of a man. This pristine landscape, dotted by gers and wandering livestock, is a timeless Mongolia eons removed from the modern-day craziness of Ulaanbaatar. However, the Nomadic culture is not entirely stuck in the past. In the evening, nomads might relax in front of the television and DVD player, powered my electricity generated by solar panels. They also love to have photos taken and are thrilled to be able to see the instant results on digital camera screens. Undoubtedly, a herder’s life is hard and demanding, with summer being a time of comfort compared to the long harsh winters. The trip here makes one appreciate the comforts of their own life while opening up their eyes to what herders such as Bat Ochir get out of theirs.

Tour groups are kept small, generally no more than four or five people, and minimum environmental impact principles are followed. While participants learn about nomadic life, the herders, whose livelihoods have been threatened by natural disasters, are receiving much needed alternative sources of income. An extra incentive is also created for the nomads to preserve their culture, and historical sites that many visitors come to Mongolia to see in the first place. Financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation, Ger to Ger is a non-profit enterprise. Since some 65% of the cost of a trip goes back to the herders and community projects.

From June to September. As mentioned before, the summers are a much needed relief from the harsh winter seasons.

Tour participants need to get to Ikh Tamir, roughly 500 km west of Ulaanbaatar, either by public or self-arranged transport. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an uncomfortable trip, along roads that are often little more than rubble strewn tracks snaking across the landscape, taking anything up to and beyond nine hours. Bring a tent and sleeping bag to camp beside the gers, and enough food for a weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth of lunches and to supplement the very bland nomadic dietâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;mainly milk products such as cheese, dried curds and sour yogurt with some noodles & dried mutton thrown in for dinner. Seven-day trips cost $150.

new zealnd’s tallest kauri tree has managed to put 51.5m between sky and earth, which, in the beginning, according to Maori legend, were joined in a coital embrace. Maori guide Koro Carman tells the story of how Mother Earth and Father Sky were parted, allowing light and life to populate the earth, as he plays a solitary spotlight along the length of Tane Mahuta’s grey ghost trunk. As you stand before his lordship, lapped by the darkness of the forest and the noises of the night, his limbs do indeed seem to scrabble the stars. Koro Carman and fellow Maori local Joe Wynyard started Footprints Waipoua to add value to the usual tourist experience of visiting world’s oldest and tallest kauri trees in the Waipoua Forest in New Zealand’s Northland. They take guided walks interwoven with ecological interpretation and Maori songs and legends. And they take them at night, when the forest’s shyest inhabitants get about their nightly business and the trees’ majesty is at its most mesmerizing. Tane Mahuta’s mighty 13m girth is a testament to the strength required to rend the Sky-Earth lovers asunder. It takes eight people to give the lord of the forest a circumferential hung. But on the four-hour Footprints walks, you’ll also meet the Father of the Forest, Te Matua Ngahere. While shorter at around 35m, Te Matua Ngahere is even stouter, measuring up to 20m around his middle.

Waipoua is the largest kauri forest, protecting three quarters of New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remaining kauri trees, which are remnants of ancient subtropical rainforests.Footprints Waipoua is the only company to have a Department of Conservation (DOC) permit to operate both day and night time guided walks through the forest. It is owned and operated by Maoris and aims to educate local and international visitors

Waipoua is a year-round destination due to the temperate weather.

Waipoua is one hour from the Bay of Islands ad around four hours from Aukland, on the west coast of New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s North Island. Forest paths make the walking easy-suitable for just about anyone. Minimum recommended age is five. Footprints Waipoua operates in cooperation with the Copthorne Hotel & Resort in Hokianga. Bookings can be made direct with Footprints. The Twighlight encounter runs for four hours (and 6km) and costs NZ$65 for adults and NZ$48 for kids & departs at twilight.

the national cycle network has reinvigorated

England’s lost areas—from disused railways lines to forgotten back roads and canal towpaths. Set up by Sustrans, it is a part of ongoing efforts to open up traffic-free routes for cyclists an walkers all over the UK. And you owe them an organicallybrewed print of foaming ale or two, because the very best of the English countryside is now easier than every to discover— without a car in sight. Despite the huge choices of routes, few journey’s in England offer the unique sense of achievement as the coast to coast cycle ride. The best known of the national routes, it’s a 225 km challenge through England’s most breathtaking scenery an beautiful, off the beaten path spots. The ride has attracted praise from far and wide, and has been showered prizes from the Smithsonian, Gulbenkian, and Tourism for Tomorrow awards. Planning a coast to coast ride is easy, There’s lots of B&B’s, hostels, and campsites. The route passes through high and wild country where there are also easy lunch and dinner stops. An ordinary hybrid bicycle can handle anything the route with throw at you. While the very fit will do the journey in two days, the ascents and wonderful countryside merit taking three or four days over the journey.

The route is designed to show off the history as much as the scenery of the area in a sensitive way. Coast to Coast riders come away with a sense of how the north of England has evolved, which you can’t learn in a museum. Coast to Coast passes through former fishing ports, mining villages and farming communities that bear the scars of tough times. The steady stream of hungry, thirsty cyclists brings much needed funds to local businesses.

While winter isn’t out of bounds, you’ll get the best weather and lowest crowds during late spring and summer. Ultimately though, this part of the world is wonderfully green for a reason—come prepared for rain and getting cold on higher passes.

Coach (nationalexpress.co.uk) or train (nationalrail.co.uk) are the best ways to get to the start of the route, and then home again. With notice, most passenger services will carry bikes for free, no matter how dirty they get on your long and scenic trek. Everyone is pretty friendly here.

by taking a volunteer holiday with the sierra club, you can dare to take the epic American hike you’ve always dreamed of, at the same time, save it for future travelers. Sierra Club trips often let you access places that the general public can’t go, which lets you experience, the rare tranquility of untouched American park lands.

With the Sierra Club, you can maintain alpine trails in Glacier National Park, replant forests along the north rim of the Grand Canyon or wander in the sand-dune habitats of Cape Cod National Seashore. Even if you’re not a landlubber, some volunteer holidays combine hiking with kayak or canoe trails, such as rafting through the canyons of the Green River at Utah’s Dinosaur National Monument. For beginners, these trips are perfect for practicing wilderness skills, with the safety net of an experiences group leader to guide you. Sierra Club outings are often accompanied by local field experts, so you’ll get more out of your trip into the great outdoors than you would by yourself or while being herded around on an expensive, large-group organized tour. If you’ve got a passion for hiking, you’ll know that each step you take along a trail brings it that much closer to crumbling. Millions of footsteps across the Americas each year, from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, wear away the very paths that bring hikers into all of the natural grandeur.

Sierra Club holidays help preserve trails and restore valuable ecosystems. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll meet small groups of like-minded folks who enjoy the same activities, plus get a unique opportunity to learn in situ with scientists, naturalists, and other field educators. Each year Sierra Club volunteers donate about 27,000 hours (worth nearly half a million dollars) to federal and state parks, preserves, and wilderness and wildlife refuges.

The Sierra Club offers volunteer holidays year-round, with many opportunities in the summer. Sign up as far in advance as possible, as trips can fill quickly.

Sierra Club volunteer holidays usually cost from $395 for a one week trip. Annual membership costs from $25. Being fairly fit is essential; prior outdoor experience is helpful, but not necessary. To sign up for a trip youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need to fill out a questionnaire for approval by the group leader, sign a liability release form, and buy your own travel insurance. Participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation to the meeting point, from where shared transportation is provided to the volunteer work site.

nijiamanch is the most important food/drink of the Achuar people who live in the upper Amazon rainforest bordering Ecuador and Peru. Visit an Achuar village and a bowl of nijiamanch will be thrust into your hands, and it is considered a great insult not to partake. It is made from pre-chewed manioc, which is spat into a vat and left to ferment. Up until the 1970s, these incredible people were essentially unknown to the Western world. Unlike many of the Amazonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s indigenous groups, the Achuar have since been able to grow & thrive, while maintaining the bulk of their traditions. They are also part owners of Kapawi Ecolodge and Reserve, tucked away in the Ecuadorian Amazon, close to the Peruvian border. The lodge was built using Achuar concepts of architecture (not a single nail was used in the construction), and offers guests a range of activities. Walks in the forest with the Achuar tribesmen reveal an intimacy and understanding that most Westerners cannot begin to comprehend. Other activities include birdwatching, canoe trips, fishing trips, and visits to the local village. What separates Kapawi from many of the Amazonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s other ecolodges is the unique nature of the partnership between the Achuar and the local tour company Canodros. Canodros pays the Achuar a significant annual rental and a share of the profits. It is also training the Achuar with the aim of handing over the entire operation by 2011.

Kapawi Ecolodge was developed in part to show indigenous communities that they do have economic options other than oil exploration, lodging, and cattle ranching. Guests leave Kapawi with a much greater understanding of the Achuar people as well as the Amazon. All interactions with the Achuar are authentic & on their terms. The Achuar see direct financial benefits through their shares in the company and the rental paid to them by Canodros. Kapawi also buys products and services for the lodge in the nearby communities. The Achuar will take over management by 2011.

It can rain at any time in the Amazon. The wettest of months are February through to May. However, these are also the best months for wildlife viewing.

Kapawi is incredibly remote & can only be accessed by plane. From the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, a 30 minute flight takes you to the village of Coca where passengers board a smaller plane for an hour long flight to Kapawi airstrip. From the airstrip itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a short hike and a boat ride to the lodge. Flights to Kapawi depart on Monday and Friday, so guests have the option to stay for three, four, or seven nights. Flights in and out are weather dependent and cost is $200 per person.

01.

H. Stewart Kimball, History of the Sierra Club Outting Committee, 1901-1972 (San Francisco: Sierra Club, 1990), 7-20; Charles Hardy, interview, 1996.

02.

National Park Service Visitation Statistics, see www2.nature.nps.gov/ stats.htm

03.

Kutay, Kurt. “Brave New Role,” 40

04.

Thanh-Dam Truong, Sex, Money, & Morality: Prostitution and Tourism in Southeast Asia (London: Zed Books, 1990).

05.

ASTA, “Agency Profile,” see astanet.com/about.agenc.asp

06.

Travel Industry of Association of American (TIA) and National Geographic Traveler (NGT). “Geotourism: The New Trend in Travel,” press release, October 8, 2003. This refers to the second part of a twoportion survey.

07.

“Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism,” Quebec City, Canada, May 22, 2002, see world-tourism.org/sustainable/IYE/quebec/anglais/declaration.html.

08.

Michael E. Conroy, Branded! How the ‘Certification Revolusion’ is Transforming Global Corporations (Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2007), 287. This book was printed on 30% recycled Aspen Neenah Environment Paper® which is entirely FSC® Certified, Green Seal Certified, Carbon Neutral Plus and made with 100% renewable green energy.

A special thanks to the lovely staff at Alexander Books for helping me track down a very valuable resource from New Zealand, Chamindri from Chumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Design and Print, and Alec, my supportive boyfriend and travel partner.