PLANETA

Year Number 5 for El Planeta Platica! Excuse the boosterism, but I wasn't quite sure we would make it this far. Please accept this journal as a gift of chance - I just thought it up one day five years ago and decided to make it happen. While it's not particularly well-funded (and I insist on giving it away for free on the Internet), it is making waves - allowing writers and readers to share experiences on environmental travel and conservation.

PLANETA FORUM

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Previous issues have looked at geographic areas or topics, but this one cuts to the chase at looks at the tourism industry itself. How do international travel agents interact with their Latin American counterparts? How can ecotourism create enough revenues to support both conservation and the necessary tourism infrastructure? Should international institutions invest more in high-end tourism or in developing grassroots efforts?

FEATURES

Supporting Grassroots Ecotourism Efforts in Central Mexico - Sandra Skrei
Travelers interested in supporting nature tourism can visit Central Mexico where visits combine natural history, culture and interaction with local conservation activists.

Tourism and Biodiversity Preservation in Honduras - Eric Greenquist
Can rural tourism assist conservation in the Mosquitia?

Monarchs, Mountains and Michoacán - Gerardo Osornio
Camping in rural Mexico supports the community of Contepec. You can even hike to see the hemisphere-trotting butterflies.

Community Museums of Oaxaca - Teresa Morales
Villages with several thousands years of history put their traditions on display in Oaxaca.

Maya Ik - Victor Sumohano
Tourism can assist the Maya, but especially when indigenous groups have more control.

Ecotourism at the Guandera Reserve in Northern Ecuador - Larry M. Frolich, Esmeralda Guevara, and Marianne Fry
At the Guandera Reserve and Biological Station, an integrated ecotourism and community extension project attempts to conserve the remaining forest while strengthening the economic base of the nearby population.

Argentina Journal - Arthur Oyola-Yemaiel and Jennifer Wilson
Miami researchers travel to Argentina: "During this trip we did not want to think environmentally or observe the ecology. But we had no choice because the pollution was all around us."

Rainforest Lessons - Carol Berkower
For 14 high school sophomores and juniors from West Lake High School in Waldorf, Maryland, each day they spent exploring the Central American rainforest was an adventure.

Environmental Features

Biodiversity in the Amazon: Promoting Indigenous Stewardship as Policy - Jordan E. Erdos
It is not only biodiversity that is lost with the destruction of the Amazon forests, but cultural diversity as well.

Legal Declaration of Patuca National Park in Honduras - Alexis Aguilar
The establishment of the Patuca National Park is extremely important for conservation in Honduras and Central America since its location in a regional biological corridor.

Conservation and Deforestation in Costa Rican Parks - John Burnett
Visitors awed by the natural beauty of Manuel Antonio National Park and Costa Rica's other spectacular wilderness areas don't understand how much trouble they're in. But Ricardo Rodriguez does.

Rain Forest Journeys in Latin America - Megan Epler Wood
This column will recount a series of personal journeys to be taken by the author in Central and South America in 1998 and early 1999. Many argue that ecotourism began in Latin America, and it roots are in the jungles of the New World.

ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB

Kudos to the fine webmasters and hosts of other content-rich websites focusing on tourism.

BRIDGES AND BORDERS

Gurus Getting in the Way? - Ron Mader
Considering the relative novelty of "ecotourism," expertise is found in cooperative relationships, not in any one "guru."

All stories copyrighted. Contact authors directly if you want permission to reprint an article.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to the following eclectic group for their encouragement and correspondence that provided direct or indirect inspiration in the creation of this and recent issues of El Planeta Platica: Margo and Ian Baldwin, David Bray, Carol Cespedes, Norma Chavez, Jim Coupal, Deborah Jakubs, Marcus Endicott, Rona Fried, Elizabeth Halfpenny, Bob Healy, Karen Killebrew, Brian Larkin, Larry Lee, David McLaughlin, Chip Mitchell, Nicole Otte, Audrey Patterson, Mark Stevenson, Margie Scanlon, Bill Talbot, Jadir Marciano Vieira, Andrew Wheat

Music That Helped Put This Issue Together: Music from the Coffeelands, Lo mejor de Mike Laure, Jorge Reyes - El Costumbre, La Caifanes - La Historia, Austin Lounge Lizards - Employee of the Week, Butch Hancock - You Coulda Walked Around the World

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