ECO - Myths and Reality in Costa
Rica "Eco" is a fashionable label and
everybody uses it whenever possible and of course it is used most widely in
Tourism. Who does not want to call his Hotel or Travel Agency "
Eco-tourism"? It sounds so much better and people are so much more
attracted by such a fashionable word. However, reality shows that people prefer
or are dragged by the Travel Agencies to the same old overcrowded mass tourist
resorts equipped with state of the art bars, discos and other entertainment,
which, of course, must be big, luxurious and expensive. The true "Off the
Beaten Track" , isolated lodges have a hard time to make ends meet. Travel
Agencies do not want to expose their clients to a bad road or even risk being
bitten by a mosquito or other possible inconveniences nature might surprise you.
And no doubt, they make a better deal by bringing people to more expensive
luxury hotels than to the modestly priced Eco-Lodges. Advertising Costa Rica,
the official Tourist Board, came out with the nice slogan "without
artificial ingredients". However in their official annual Magazine
"NATURALLY COSTA RICA", only the large chain luxury hotels can afford
to advertise and are they not full of artificial ingredients? For the puff
luxury decoration, radio, TV, VHS, Mini-Bar and so on, the price has to be $150
plus. The many ecological institutions who operate in Costa Rica contribute to
this trend and channel the student groups to overcrowded places like Monteverde,
Tortuguero, and Manuel Antonio and prefer places with paved trails through the
Rain Forest like in "La Selva", which is not the concept of
ecotourism. The big companies offer their employees Incentive Tours, but would
not dream of choosing a true Ecolodge. Instead they send them to 5 star luxury
Hotel with swimming pool, Jacuzzi, golf course and health spa, where they spend
a lot of money and come back just as tired as when left the office. They still
have not come up to the idea that sometimes the employees would rather prefer a
quiet, unspoiled and natural retreat where they would regain time to gather
strength and peace to their bodies and minds. We believe that the true meaning
of Eco-Tourism is to go back to nature, accept simplicity, and be content with a
clean, simple, but comfortable room and facilities and accept for a while the
inconveniences of a dirt road, a muddy trail through the lush Rain Forest and
(why not?) some rain, too. As a reward you are overwhelmed by the beauty and
exuberance of nature, instead of the noisy and overcrowded places one finds in
every big cities. Something has to be done to re-orient tourists to the true
eco-lodges to enjoy the wonders of nature and if the so-called Eco-Travel
Agencies stick to their Logo, they should also include in their programs true
eco-lodges in isolated areas. We, owners of small Eco-lodges, do not want to
deny the "eco-tourists" the right to spend their vacation in one of
the many luxury hotels according to their means. But, if they really want to
practice Eco-tourism, our suggestion is that they should at least spend a couple
of nights in a true Eco-lodge in an isolated area and pay respect to Mother
Nature. SAVING THE SHARKS IN THE PHILIPPINES Recently, something significant has happened in
the sleepy and remote town of Donsol, Sorsogon. Locally known as Butanding, the
whale sharks have been a common sight in the waters of the municipality. Old men
and young boys tell of stories of having actually ridden on the backs of the
whale sharks and seeing them almost everyday. In some instances, the whale
sharks come to as near as 30 meters from the water's edge feeding on planktons
and krill-rich waters of the area. For the people of Donsol, the Butanding is
just a huge and harmless creature in their waters. The people never regarded it
as food or as a threat to their community, and the whale shark in return, swim
unmolested. Things started to change on January of 1998 when divers from out of
town "discovered" the whale sharks and were able to take video of the
huge fish. A small article in the newspaper featured the discovery of a large
number of whale sharks in the sleepy town of Donsol. Unfortunately, some of the
people who saw the article were the so-called whale shark hunters and traders. A
few days after the article came out, poachers from another province caught two
of the sharks and then three more in a span of about two weeks. Now out of
protection of obscurity, the whale sharks of Donsol are in danger of being
completely wiped out! In fact, the animal is fast disappearing from
Philippine waters altogether. And yet, the market s increasing its demand for
the whale shark. Now, the arena in protecting this population from poachers is
the economic value of the whale sharks; and the only industry that can challenge
them is tourism, or specifically, ecotourism. Since a whale shark would easily
give a poacher P100, 000, there is a challenge on how tourism can put up the
same amount of economic return without necessarily decimating the entire local
population of the animal. The alarm sent off by the wanton killing of the whale
sharks made the local executive of Donsol, the province of Sorsogon, concerned
organizations in Manila like the World Wildlife Fund Philippines, and several
individuals to come up with an ecotourism program. Said program is envisioned to
help in the economic benefits of ecotourism operations in the municipality and
at the same time, conduct scientific research on the whale sharks and its
environment. The issue is that the municipality of Donsol is not yet ready for
tourism. They now have the opportunity to develop a major livelihood and at the
same time, help save one of the last remaining population of great animals on
earth. Can the people of Donsol successfully hurdle the challenge? A festival to celebrate the International Year
of Ecotourism, will be staged in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. The date is
still being negotiated. The event will consist of guest speakers, workshops,
forums, nature-based recreational activities, cross cultural awareness programs,
multi cultural food stalls, and entertainment. Draw cards for the event will be
announced soon. Possible entertainers include Midnight Oil, Yothu Yindi and Paul
Kelly to name a few. Any Ecoclub experts interested in sharing their knowledge
on the day would be more than welcome. For more info contact:
Mr. Ben Lewis RAISING ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS & PRACTICE IN RAJASTHAN Ecolodge Members Apani
Dhani are working on two different projects: NEW SPECIES DISCOVERED IN VIETNAM A rare conifer has been discovered by Dr.
Nguyen Tien Hiep with the help of foreign scientists at an altitude of 1,000 m
on a limestone mountain of Ha Giang province. The discovery of Golden Cypress
was announced by the Institute of Ecological and Biological Resources at the
National Center for Natural Science and Technology. The Institute has given
Golden Cypress the scientific name XANTHOCYPARIS VIETNAMENSIS and said it
produces precious, fragrant wood that could be used for luxurious ornamental
items. The discovery will help Vietnam develop its genetic resources. The
protection of the species will also promote interest in the Bat Dai Son Natural
Reserve. SPECIAL ECOTOURISM EVENTS IN NEPAL
The following exciting events are taking place at our Ecolodge Member Aqua Birds
Camp, Nepal: The views that appear in this section do not necessarily represent those of ECOCLUB S.A. We reserve the right to edit for brevity. Send your ecotourism news report or article for the next issue to news@ecoclub.com |