An important global efforts to protect important scientific, cultural or natural
locations begins with identifying these areas. The World Heritage Convention and Biosphere
Reserve designations attempt to encourage countries to identify and preserve these sites.
The United Nations has recognized forty-seven U.S. biosphere reserves (324 in 84
countries) through its "Man and the
Biosphere" (MAB) education and research program. The program, along with the U.N's
World Heritage Convention
initiative, was created three decades ago and conveys "world-class" status on
premiere ecological sites.
World Heritage Sites
The World Heritage Convention, (WHC), issued by the Intergovernmental Committee for the
Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, of the United Nations, Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization. (WHC-97/2, February 1997).
The World Heritage Convention concerns the protection of the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage namely the irreplaceable
testimonies of past civilizations and natural landscapes. Protecting natural and cultural
properties of outstanding
universal value against the threat of damage in a rapidly developing world.
The primary aim is to define the world-wide sites of exceptional interest and such
universal value that their protection is
considered to be the responsibility of all mankind and not just the country within whose
boundaries they lie.
Biosphere Reserve
A biosphere reserve is a unique category of protected area dedicated to solving problems
associated with human impacts on
natural ecosystems (See Model
Biosphere Reserve).
Cultural and Spiritual values are now being accommodated in identifying protected areas. This includes recognizing the pre-existing claims of indigenous peoples to extractive and subsistence use of resources.
Principles of Visitor Management
1) Appropriate management requires explicitly stated objectives.
2) Diversity of resource, social and managerial, conditions in and among protected areas is inevitable and may be desirable.
3) Management is directed at influencing human-induced change.
4) Impacts on resource and social conditions are inevitable consequences of human use.
5) Impacts can be temporarily or spatially discontinuous.
6) The use/impact relationship is nonlinear and influenced by many variables.
7) Many management problems are not use-density dependent.
8) Limiting use is only one of many options.
9) Monitoring is essential to professional management
10) The decision making process should separate technical decisions from value judgements.
11) Consensus among affected groups about proposed actions is needed for successful implementation of protected area management Strategies.
The Use of Carrying Capacity
One popular approach to visitor management is carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is an attempt at determining the maximum number of visitors that is sustainable in ecological and social conditions.
Conditions necessary for the application of carrying capacities:
1) There Must Be Agreement On The Type Of Desired Social And Resource Conditions, Including The Type Of Recreation Opportunity.
2) The Recreation Activities And/Or Experiences to Be Provided Must Be Density Dependent.
3) There Must Be Agreement on The Acceptable Level Of Impact.
4) A Clear, Specific And Known Relationship Must Exist Between Use Levels And Social And Resource Conditions.
5) Use Level Must Be More Important Than Visitor Behavior In Determining The Amount Of Impact.
6) The Protected Area Management Authority Must Control Access In The Area.
7) The Protected Area Management Authority Must Have The Resources (Personnel, Financial, Information, etc.) To Administer The Carrying Capacity Limit.
8) There Must Be Agreement On The Objectives OF A Rationing System In Implementing Carrying Capacity.
9) There Must Be Agreement That The Carrying Capacity Limit Represents Either The Maximum Or The Optimum Number Of People Visiting An Area.
Limits of Acceptable Change
This system focuses on identifying acceptable and achievable resource and social conditions. The LAC recognizes the value judgements involved in identifying appropriate levels of impact and use intensity.
Nine Step LAC Planning System
1) Identify Areas' Special Values, Issues, And Concerns.
2) Identify And Describe Recreation Opportunity (ROS) Classes.
3) Select Indicators Of Resources And Social Conditions.
4) Inventory Existing Resources And Social Conditions.
5) Specify Standards For Resource And Social Conditions For Each Opportunity Class.
6) Identify Alternative Opportunity Class Allocations.
7) Identify Management Actions For Each Alternative.
8) Evaluate And Select Preferred Alternative.
9) Implement Actions And Monitor Conditions.
Ecotourism Costs:
 | environmental degradation; |
| economic inequity and instability; and |
| negative sociocultural changes (See New glimpse of and old world) |
Ecotourism Benefits
| generation of revenue for protected areas; |
| creation of jobs for local communities; |
| promotion of environmental education; and |
| conservation awareness |
Interrelationship Between Ecotourism and Conservation
As the number of tourists to ecologically sensitive areas increases, the opportunities for ecotourism to support conservation efforts grow.
| protected area management |
| sustainable development in buffer zone areas; |
| environmental education for tourists; and |
| influencing legislative policy decisions. |
The conservation and sustainable development values of ecotourism has yet to be determined. However, without planning and management only the negative impacts of ecotourism will be realized.
Ecotourism Diagnostic and Planning Guidelines Summary
The rapid growth of tourists to natural and primitive areas is overwhelming the resources of the park and local communities to deal with the influx of visitors. This planning document is meant to help protected area managers prepare and respond to the rising ecotourism trend. ecotourism will only be a thriving industry if natural resources are protected for current and future visitors.
Ecotourism Diagnostic and Planning Guideline Objective: to create an ecotourism strategy for protected areas that want to better manage tourists. Better management may involve either promoting or limiting tourism in the area (Ecotourism Society, 1993).
Three Phases
1) To assess the current tourism situation and potential.
2) To determine a desirable tourism situation and identify steps to reach it.
3) To write an ecotourism strategy document.
For more information see Tourism, biodiverstiy, and Culture: Toward a Sustainable Ecotourism Strategy
Monkey Mia. Eco or Economical tourism? On-line reading assignment.
"Wise Use" vs Ecotourism and the Preservation/Conservation Issue
In any plan to identify an ecotourism site or to expand an existing site one must realize there is always a controversy over the best or "wise use" of any area containing natural resources. Including wise use groups in the planning process may decrease the level of conflict over any preservation or conservation issues (See Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research).
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1998 Northern Arizona University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED