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Ecotourism & The Rural Communities Effect
Ecotourism is tourism that is planned and carried out in a way that protects natural and human resources, promotes conservation by producing economic benefits, protects habitat and generally provides a basis for the protection of biodiversity. Ecotourism, particularly nature-based tourism, is one of the fastest-growing segments of tourism; And it can have both positive and negative impacts on the remaining natural areas. As part of this market, herpetological tourism has grown more than 400% in the last 5 years alone.
Project Overviews
My introductions to ecotourism began along the Cordillera de Talamanca in Costa Rica, fascinated by the prospects of regenerative and sustainable practices within the country. A landscape once mowed down to near nothing, largely as a result of agriculture and timber production— now 40 years later, it boasts one of the highest GDPs in Latin America and about 5% of the world’s biodiversity.
Fast forward a few years and a few more countries- whether the belief took hold walking through coffee plantations and talking with ranch hands in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, or seeing the effects of palm oil farms in the Colombian Amazon, I don’t know. At some point in my ventures, it became evidently clear that when local people are forced to choose between food on their family’s plate and sustainable environmental practices, the latter becomes harder to appreciate. Caring about the preservation of the natural world is an attitude that is taught and embraced, and one much easier to dedicate a life to when all of your needs are met elsewhere.
In starting EcologyByAnderson, I felt it incredibly important to have a positive impact on the landscapes I visited, ensuring to provide communities off the beaten path with further opportunities into regenerative ecotourism, sustainability and long term business development. Efforts are constantly being made in attempts to build new friendships, create public workshops, as well as establish and further positive relationships with both rural and indigenous communities alike.
