African Conference on Sustainable Tourism (ACoST)
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The African Conference on Sustainable Tourism brings together leaders in academia, government and industry to:
- facilitate dialogue concerning pertinent issues facing the industry
- encourage research on various topics in tourism and
- provide concrete and implementable solutions to emerging issues
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Browsing African Conference on Sustainable Tourism (ACoST) by Subject "Ecotourism"
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- ItemChallenges of biodiversity conservation through ecotourism(Strathmore University, 2014) Pramod, RamtekeOver the past few decades ecotourism has emerged as one of India's fastest growing industries, thanks to its rich biological and cultural diversity and heritage. Historically, the increase of nature based and ecotourism is largely a result of the increase in awareness of the plight of the planet's diminishing biological diversity and a reaction against mass tourism and its demonstrative lack of care of conservation issues. In India integration of biodiversity conservation and tourism development has emerged as an important national objective, with strong support by government, industry and the community. Ecotourism has a potentially vital role to play in conservation by generating economic incentives for nature conservation, and a stimulus for an environmental ethic that goes beyond ecotourism. However, the central challenge of ecotourism is to develop and manage the tourism in a way which conserves its natural resource and built heritage base, and minimizes any negative environmental, societal, and cultural impacts. The greening of tourism is essential for the ecological and sociological advancement and sustainability of the industry. The applicability of tourism as a tool for biodiversity conservation and improving economic status of indigenous communities in India is discussed here.
- ItemCommunity and ecotourism entrepreneurship in Kenya : sustaining tourism through valuation of ecosystem services(Strathmore University, 2014) Ndung’u, James MutimuTourism is a major driver for economic growth for developing countries. In Kenya Tourism contributes for about 12 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The main tourist attractions in Kenya are nature based ranging from the unique biodiversity and wildlife coupled with local traditional cultures. Some of the lands where these occur are owned by local communities whose livelihoods also depend. There have been conflicts over management of nature based Ecotourism products and proceeds between communities and other stakeholders in the past. This has resulted into loss of biodiversity and other tourist attractions. This may be addressed by determination of tourism values through valuation of ecosystem services to inform tourism pricing and negotiations for Ecotourism concession agreements. At the ecosystem level, other communities may benefit from concession fees even though not be directly involved in hosting the tourism attraction but who indirectly may devalue the attractions. This is achieved through Payment of Ecosystem Services (PES) and Corporate Social Responsibility programs. Valuation and Payment of Ecosystem services not only brings equity amongst the actors in the tourism value chain but also maximises the output from the land potential and reduces the social and visitor footprints. They form a basis for differential Ecotourism pricing resulting to product segmentation in the tourism market. This will result into a triple bottom line where the cumulative social, ecological and economic costs of tourism are paid for in a given unit visit thus sustaining tourism nature based tourist destinations.
- ItemCommunity participation towards ecotourism initiative in Binsar Wildlife sanctuary, India(Strathmore University, 2014) Bhalla, Priya; Prodyut, BhattacharyaThe community based ecotourism destination of Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the temperate broadleaved forest of the Middle Himalayas, the hill state of Uttarakhand, India. Ecotourism concept has been accepted by the governments of mountain states of India for its potential to provide livelihood opportunities in remote forest areas where otherwise industrial development has limited scope. The contribution of local communities in various ecotourism products – guided nature treks, birdwatching, Himalayan view and home-stays encourages their local guardianship for existing natural resources as heritage. The paper follows the premise that successful community based ecotourism initiatives in Binsar WLS are supported by the partnerships of communities with government, non-government and private sector like the Village Ways Company, forming crucial ecotourism stakeholders. More than a decade has passed since village level community based ecotourism began within and outside Binsar WLS. This study reviews and analyses its experiences in such six villages within the sanctuary. Analysis reveals that direct involvement of local community in day to day management and planning activities not only improves their skills and abilities but also assists in policy and decision making process, adding incentive to conserve its biodiverse rich Himalayan Landscape. Participating communities of Binsar enjoy decentralized system of power and responsibilities by active involvement in ecotourism product designing, developing benefits sharing model, identifying groups and establishing linkages with multi stakeholders. The study concludes that equitable benefit sharing, good governance, positive international relations and policy implementation are necessary in determining the overall practicality and sustainability of the ecotourism enterprise.
- ItemEco-tourism as a strategy for biodiversity conservation in Rwanda(Strathmore University, 2014) Wanyera, FrancisBiological diversity or biodiversity is a term used to describe the variety of life on Earth. It includes plants, animals and other organisms. On the other hand ecotourism has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors of the tourism market, influenced primarily by public demand for undegraded environments. It is a form of alternative tourism which aims to achieve economic gain through biodiversity preservation. Not only that, ecotourism represents a small segment of nature-tourism that involves travel to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas. When planned properly, ecotourism can integrate conservation of biodiversity with socio-economic development of local communities. It implies that eco-tourism can minimize or even avoid most negative effects, if properly handled, managed and controlled. There is a broad consensus amongst researchers that eco-tourism can be used as a tool of biodiversity conservation but should be fully compatible with conservation goals. The aim of the study is to determine how eco-tourism can be used as a strategy for biodiversity conservation. It is not clear if ecotourism can have significant negative impacts when poorly planned and managed including severe environmental degradation. For the case of Rwanda the problem may be attributed to factors like high population pressure which has led to over-exploitation of biodiversity, expansion of intensive agriculture, deforestation, habitat loss and wetland degradation. The case study will be Volcanoes National Park and the research methodology will involve descriptive research design as well as use of qualitative and quantitative methods together with primary and secondary data. Data collection will be by use of questionnaires, interview guide and observation. Analysis of data will be done by use of statistical and explanatory methods.
- ItemThe potential and challenges of promoting ecotourism in Kenya’s wetlands(Strathmore University, 2014) Irandu, EvaristusIn the last few decades, ecotourism has become well developed in many parts of the world. This is because it is increasingly viewed as a strategy for promoting sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. But, uncritical adoption of ecotourism as a development strategy may pose problems to pristine ecosystems such as wetlands. The aim of the paper is to assess the extent to which wetlands in the country can be exploited sustainably for ecotourism development. The challenges faced in promoting ecotourism in the delicate and sensitive ecosystems are also examined. The paper adopts an exploratory research design to assess the ecotourism potential in the wetlands. The methodology used comprised thorough literature search and review on potential of and development of ecotourism in other parts of the world. In-depth interviews with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials and questionnaire survey on local communities and tourists were used. The four Ramsar sites in the country were used as case studies and information obtained from them was used to generalize about their potential for wetlands tourism. Several study visits were made to the selected Ramsar sites and observations made were recorded. The paper established that proper management of ecotourism in wetlands can bring many ecological and, socio-economic benefits to the local communities bordering the wetlands. Therefore, it is recommended that the county governments should put in place mechanism to ensure benefits from ecotourism trickle down to the local community.
- ItemSustainability in ecotourism with special emphasis on wildlife conservation(Strathmore University, 2014) Rathore, AshokEcotourism is carefully traveling to fragile, pristine and usually protected areas through low impact means and on a small scale. The purpose of Ecotourism is to educate the traveler, provide funds for conservation, economically benefit the local communities and encourage stronger relations between different cultures. However, due to a lack in international regulation, in many locations the wildlife is not being adequately protected. According to the International Ecotourism Society, ecotourism companies should include the following principles to protect the host country's wildlife and environment: minimize their impact, build awareness, provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts, and provide direct financial benefits for conservation. When the principles of ecotourism are applied, then the local community benefits financially so that the conservation efforts of its wildlife and environment are funded for future protection. The principle "export" for 83 percent of developing countries is the tourism of its wildlife in their natural environment, which is the second most important source of income for the world's 40 poorest countries.