| Joshua
Berman is an award-winning travel author, book editor, and
savvy blogmaster. Author of Moon Belize, Moon Nicaragua, and Living
abroad in Nicarauga, Berman makes Central America fun again for
the eco traveler. He is particularly knowledgeable about studying
and volunteering abroad, and recently returned from a 16-month,
round-the-world, volunteer honeymoon with his wife, Sutay.
Joshua has agreed to participate in a Q&A hosted on the Planeta
Forum: http://forum.planeta.com/viewtopic.php?t=1171
The following is the part of our slow chat.
Josh, in the world of ecotourism and volunteering abroad,
what issues are you paying attention this year? What gets your
goat? What's gives you hope?
What am I watching? The increasing number of companies that arrange
service and education-oriented experiences abroad. These include
non-profits, sister cities, churches, universities, reality tours,
leadership trainings -- the list goes on. Inevitably some of these
operations will be more successful at creating a fun, meaningful
experience for the participant while maintaining a positive, sustainable
impact on the host community.
What gets my goat? The continued dilution and bastardization of
the 'eco' prefix, at least when it comes to lodges, resorts, adventure,
etc. What does it mean today? What does it mean to you? I try
to only use it for smallish ventures that are community-based
and locally-inspired, though even these guidelines are quite vague.
'Ecotourism' has many warm, fuzzy connotations, but I fear its
definition has become as broad as to include any tourism other
than cruise ships or Cancún.
What gives me hope? See item one above. More volunteer- work-
study- live-abroad programs means there is more demand, more people
who recognize the value in spending time beyond their borders.
'd like to point out that I love planeta's dialog on the definitions
page. I particularly like the crappy graph you made with the
overlapping circles which seems to fit my general idea of the
word:
The
conversation continues ...
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