Eco-tourism Causes Damage to the Environment Instead of Conserving It

1518 Words4 Pages

Eco-tourism causes damage to the environment instead of conserving it. Eco-tourism is considered by most if not all as traveling to natural areas with responsibility in mind which the environment is conserved and the well being of the local people are taken care of as well as being sustainable on an ecological scale with a sole purpose of experiencing natural areas that builds environmental and cultural understanding, positive reception and upkeep (Brown 2011). However, tourism in natural areas cannot be considered and be defined as sustainable ecotourism unless it possesses the basic qualities. First of all, a sustainable ecotourism area must be able create thoughtful and attentiveness towards local environments and cultures. Conservation initiatives must be supported financially as well as empowerment and contribution of locals as a concerted project (Davis 2007). Simply put it, both the environment and the local community benefits from this simple concept. Protection and conservation of the natural landscape is the main goal of ecotourism as well as attracting tourists. It also represents the flow of tourism and economy status of a community (Tory 2010). Even though eco-tourism itself is based on an ideal concept and potentially able to help the environment, it is still highly controversial as in whether it is worth sacrificing all the natural resources which we take for granted and make room just for the sake of tourism. After all, putting the environment before profit is an impossible feat as it is part of a human’s nature to take care of their own interest before others. Although eco-tourism does have benefits for the environment, it is considered as a double-edged sword as it still causes more damage to the environment du... ... middle of paper ... ... to avoid environment damage in eco-tourism, eHow, viewed on 4th November 2011, http://www.basearticles.com/Art/193186/290/How-to-Avoid-Environment-Damage-in-Eco-tourism.html. • Davis, C 2007, Experts question environmental sustainability of ecotourism, World Resources Institute, viewed on 4th November 2011, http://earthtrends.wri.org/updates/node/200. • Merg, M 1999, Eco-tourism or eco-terrorism?, UntamedPath, viewed on 4th November 2011, http://www.untamedpath.com/Ecotourism/ecoterrorism.html. • How Not to Save the Environment: Environmental Damage Caused by Bad Ecotourism, 2011, RefreshArticles.com, viewed on 4th November, http://www.refresharticles.com/articles/environmental/environmental_damage_caused_by_bad_ecotourism.txt. • Ecotourism-Direct Environmental Impacts, 2011, Wikipedia, viewed on 4th November, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotourism#Criticism.

Open Document