Category Archives: Eco tourism

“We work on tourism in natural spaces such as forests, coasts, and hills and mountains. These natural spaces, are primarily home to people who have an interdependent relationship with their environment, and these natural resources support innumerable livelihoods in such regions. With this perspective, we critically examine the effects of tourism and related policies on the environment and the local communities.” – Ecosystems by Equitable Tourism Options (EQUATIONS)
https://beta.equitabletourism.org/focus-area/ecosystems
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=14529

“Under the pressure to address the problems of conventional tourism, a great number of ‘new tourisms’ were introduced in the 1980s and 90s – ecotourism, sustainable, community-based, fair-traded, responsible and others. […] Evaluations of pro-poor tourism projects that take a holistic and grassroots-oriented approach are very rare.” – Anita Pleumarom in “The Politics of Tourism, Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development” (Third World Network, Penang, Malaysia 2012)
https://www.twn.my/title/end/pdf/end17.pdf
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=14554

“There is very little evidence that ecotourism in its present form is sustainable […] Tourism is inherently an exploitative industry, both ecologically and socially and we need to accept that. But the ill-effects of tourism on biodiversity conservation can be contained. What conservation needs today is a robust model, which restricts ecological and carbon footprint through a much more nuanced policy. We need participation and governance by the local communities in order to legitimise their local knowledge while empowering them economically. And we need wider discussion and debate about this among the general public.” – Smrity Ramavarapu in “Ecotourism-a yay or a nay for conservation?” (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bengaluru)
https://www.atree.org/news/ecotourism-yay-or-nay-conservation
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=33299

“Tourism is one of the few sectors where Kerala has clear competitive advantages given its diverse geography in a short space ranging from the Western Ghats covered with dense forests to the backwaters to the Arabian sea. […] Ecotourism, can place a greater focus on the conservation of natural resources by ensuring financial or in-kind support by the government, in recognition of their importance to visitor experiences. But, the benefits of tourism are not unequivocal. It is often seasonal and mainly generates part-time and unskilled jobs for local people. Further, if not planned carefully, tourism can be destructive of culture and local traditions.”
http://kerala.gov.in/docs/reports/vision2030/11.pdf
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=14554