SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS
Throughout the four-week conference there was a thoughtful
dialogue about the complexities of ecotourism. Several participants
indicated that the process leading up to the World Ecotourism
Summit and the Summit itself present a major opportunity to
promote mutually reinforcing relationships that exist among
tourism operations, conservation, and local community development.
As ecotourism has dramatically captured the attention of people
around the world, there are many expectations of what ecotourism
can offer for a particular locality, as well for larger regions
and in the global environmental movement. There was a plethora
of discussion about definitions that should be used in this
field.
There was also a healthy dialogue about the type of ecotourism
that can and should be promoted. Discussions drew from the complexities
of ecotourism regulation, certification, product development
and marketing. Of note were repeated comments and dialogue about
positive and negative impacts of tourism on communities and
local people.
There is a growing concern that ecotourism is such a powerful
force driven by the world's largest industry and participants
stressed that it is essential that the ecotourism sector remains
a low impact niche
Several participants questioned whether travel could be considered
a sustainable activity, because of basic environmental impacts
associated with the use of motor vehicles and aircrafts. These
questions led participants into a productive dialogue about
available information resources as well as the need for continued
study and development of action plans.
FORMAT
The conference was organized around the four themes defined
for the IYE process.
1. Ecotourism Policy and Planning: The
Sustainability Challenge
2. Regulation of Ecotourism: Institutional Responsibilities
and Frameworks
3. Product Development, Marketing and Promotion of Ecotourism:
Fostering Sustainable Products and Consumers
4. Monitoring Costs and Benefits of Ecotourism: Ensuring
Equitable Distribution among all Stakeholders
Two cross-cutting issues were discussed throughout
the dialogue:
The sustainability of ecotourism from the environmental, economic
and socio-cultural points of view.
Involvement and empowerment of local communities and indigenous
people in the ecotourism development process, in management
and monitoring of ecotourism activities, and in the sharing
of benefits resulting from it.
CALENDAR
April 1 - 5: Ecotourism Policy and Planning
April 8 - 12: Regulation of Ecotourism
April 15-19: Product Development, Marketing and Promotion
of Ecotourism
April 22-26: Monitoring Costs and Benefits of Ecotourism
April 26-May 1: Preparation of Final
Report
May 19, 2002: Presentation of the Report
at the World Ecotourism Summit |
