Ecotourism

The ecotourism consists of a ecological Tourisme from which the main aim is to benefit from nature, the landscapes or particular species (e.g. lions or elephants in Kenya, observation of whales), while respecting the ecosystems. The activity must comprise a share of education and interpretation, and help to make become aware of the need for preserving the Capital naturalness and the cultural Capital. The ecotourism must have weak environmental consequences and must contribute to the wellbeing of the local populations.

The Tourism being one of the sectors which knows the strongest rate of development in the world, the ecotourism represents a very powerful means to develop the Biodiversité, contrary to the Tourisme of mass which degrades the natural environments.

The association of the ecotourism with the requirements of the Sustainable development and the Nature conservation meets the favors of many international agencies. It must satisfy several criteria, such as:

  • conservation, as well as the justification of the conservation, the Biodiversity and the Cultural diversity, through the protection of the ecosystem S.
  • the encouragement of the Sustainable development, by providing employment to the local populations and autochtones.
  • the division of the socio-economic benefit with the local communities, by obtaining their agreement and participation in the management of the activity.

For many countries, the ecotourism is not recommended so much like a marginal activity intended to finance the protection of the Environnement but rather like a driving sector of an nation's economy, and a means of generating incomes. For example, in countries such as the Kenya, the Ecuador, the Nepal, the Costa Rica and Madagascar, the ecotourism constitutes the independent source of currencies.

Some are not convinced by the rather flexible definition of the ecotourism. They estimate that the ecotourism often consists in placing a hotel at the right in the middle of a splendid landscape, with the detriment of the local ecosystem. According to them, the ecotourism must above all sensitize people with the beauty and the brittleness of the Nature. Thus, certain operators do not hesitate to use the courses in 4x4, the swimming pools and the air conditioning more than fauna and the flora. This kind of activities is called green Lavage by the professionals of the sector, and hides conventional tourism of mass presented like “green”.

The the United States constitute the principal tank of ecotourists (more than 5 million people each year). The majority of the other ecotourists comes from Europe and the elite of certain countries of the South.

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