RP221 Saving the World by Seeing the World

 RP221 Saving the World by Seeing the World

Have you ever found a place that was so beautiful you didn't want to share it? Did you want to keep it hidden from other people who wouldn't appreciate it? Did you try to protect it by keeping it a secret, by preventing other people from walking all over it, changing it, ruining it?

Ecotourism tries to protect special natural places by doing the opposite: opening them up to visitors. However, instead of just building hotels, arranging transportation, and waiting for tourists to come, ecotourism controls how many and how tourists interact with their surroundings. We've discovered that unregulated tourism can bring in money, but it also brings environmental damage, disruption to local ways of life, the loss of old traditions, and other negative effects. Cruise ships, for example, bring tourists with money but also kill coral and fish, leak waste into the ocean, and contaminate beaches and shellfish beds. Many people would argue that these long-term damages outweigh the short-term cash.

Ecotourism focuses on the long term. It's designed to be sustainable to the environment and to local communities. Ecotourism ventures are usually small-scale and low impact, meaning they don't cause many changes to their surroundings. The point is to share the landscape without altering it. Ecotourism ventures promote recycling, energy efficiency, and land and water conservation. Accommodations are often built using local materials and with the help of local laborers. As much as possible, food and other goods are bought locally, and staff are often local as well.

Countries worldwide are exploring ecotourism. Costa Rica was one of the first to do so and is still a top destination for pristine jungles and beaches. Brazil has started to protect its natural areas rather than farm them and now has internationally recognized eco-lodges. Other developing nations, like Laos and Gabon, are limiting destructive mass tourism in favor of ecotourism, and saving their ancient landscapes and traditions.