From id21, a report that questions some of the assumptions about ecotourism, and asks whether it really is an innovative conservation and development strategy or merely a celebration, by those who can afford it, of poverty?
Ecotourism projects tell communities they can generate revenue by protecting biodiversity, but also that they should never hope to achieve much beyond this role. This ties the development prospects of rural communities to local, natural limits in a way that is completely alien to economic development in richer societies.
Given that the author, Jim Butcher, takes a pretty dim view of the whole scene, I suppose I should be glad that he does not seem to recognize agricultural ecotourism at all. But there are strong suggestions that this can help communities not only to gain an income but also to preserve their traditional knowledge at the same time as making the modern development steps needed to connect to the wider world. (There is a method for commenting on the id21 site, but it seems awfully cumbersome, and I can’t actually see whether anyone has commented on Butcher’s piece.)