Ecotourism’s Promise and Peril

Abstract

The goal of this book is to empower operators, regulators, and tourists to find the critical balance between possibly damaging consequences of wildlife tourism and the potential benefits to the local human communities, ecosystems, and the wildlife themselves. It is essential to realize that ecotourism is frequently more environmentally friendly than other uses of natural resources. Thus, ecotourism can provide great incentives for nature conservation. Nonetheless, as previous chapters have shown, there are many examples of environmentally unfriendly ecotourism practices. It is imperative to mitigate any negative impacts of ecotourism not only for ecological reasons but also to enhance social and economic sustainability. The objective of this chapter is to provide a list of best practices based on the evidence discussed in previous chapters. Greater awareness of such practices will enable tourism operators and managers to make informed decisions for the benefit of both the wildlife that people wish to see and the human communities that are fortunate enough to share these natural resources.