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TheInternationalEcotourismSociety(TIES),
 DigitalTraveler~AsiaPacific
eNewsletter,December2006www.ecotourism.org
1
Tsunami–TwoYearsOn
ManyofthecommunitiesintheIndianOceancountriesaffectedbythedisastertwoyearsagoarewellontheirwaytorecovery.ThetsunamiprovedthesignificanceofthesocialandeconomicrolesoftourisminmanyofthecountriesintheAsiaPacificregionthatdependheavilyontheincomefrominternationalvisitors.AnumberofourmembersandfriendsintheAsiaPacificregionhavesharedmanyencouragingandinspiringstoriesabouttheirreconstructionefforts,manyofthemutilizingecotourismactivitiestorebuildthelivesoflocalpeople.Wehavebeen,ontheotherhand,greatlyconcernedaboutthereportsthatwhilemanyoftheaffectedcommunitiesarestrugglingtoprovidefoodandshelterforthehomelessandunemployed,rapidtourismdevelopment(andre-development)ispreventingthesurvivorsanddisplacedlocalresidentsfrommakingsmoothtransitionbacktotheirhomes.TIESpromotesecotourism,definedas"responsibletraveltonaturalareasthatconservestheenvironmentandimprovesthewell-beingoflocalpeople"(TIES,1990).
Asspelledoutintheabovedefinition,theadvancementofnatureconservationandpositivecontributionstolocalcommunitiesarebothintegralpartsofwhatmakesecotourism.We,therefore,encourageourreaderstocontinuetoadvocatefortheimportanceofecotourismandresponsibletravel,andsupportinitiativesbylocalorganizationstoeffectivelyuseecotourismasatoolforsustainabledevelopment,toprovidetrainingandeducationforfamilieswholosttheirbreadwinnersinthetsunami,tobetterpreparetouroperatorsandguidesfornaturaldisasters,toimproveguidelinesonhotel/lodgeconstruction,andtoempowerlocalcommunitiesthroughparticipationinsustainabletourismdevelopment.
 
AndamanDiscoveriesPressRelease(December20,2006)
www.andamandiscoveries.com
 AndamanDiscoveries
isadevelopmentprojectlaunchedbytheNorthAndamanTsunamiRelief(NATR)tohelppromotesustainabletourismintsunamiimpactedvillages.
AftertheWave–ATsunamiDevastatedVillageEmbracesRespectfulTourism
NartladdaKlongwitti,orChimasherfriendscallher,smilesasshewelcomesthegroupofforeignerstohervillageontheAndamanCoast.Unlikethemajorityofvisitorsoverthepastfewyears,thisgroupofvisitorsisnotheretoseethedestructionwroughtbythetsunamiof2004.Instead,theyarehereastouriststoenjoytheculturalandnaturalsplendorofTungNangDam,avillageof70housessituatedinbetweenthecoralreefsanddenserainforestsofSouthernThailand.
Forfulltextandotherinformation,pleasecontactAndamanDiscoveries:info@andamndiscoveries.com.
 
SurfAid-WaveofCompassion
www.surfaidinternational.org
SurfAidisanon-profithumanitarianaidorganizationwithofficesintheUSA,Indonesia,AustraliaandNewZealand,andwithitsprogrambaseinPadang,Indonesia.Dedicatedtoimprovethehealthandwell-beingofpeoplelivinginsurf-richregions,SurfAidworkswiththeworldwidesurfingcommunitytoenhancethehealingpowerofcross-culturalpartnerships.Sincethe2004TsunamiandtheMarch2005NiasEarthquake,SurfAidhasprovideddisasterreliefandincreaseditscommitmenttodevelopinglong-termsustainablecommunityhealththroughthepreventionoftreatablediseaseandcommunityeducation.(Source:SurfAidInternational)
 
TheInternationalEcotourismSociety(TIES),
 DigitalTraveler~AsiaPacific
eNewsletter,December2006www.ecotourism.org
2
 Learnmore…
•
SurfAidYouTubeMessage:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxbmTcVop2Y

•
“WaveofCompassion,”award-winningdocumentarybySurfAid:
http://surfline.com/surfnews/surfwire.cfm?id=3141
MangrovesfortheFuture
www.iucn.org/tsunami/ 
MangrovesfortheFutureisamulti-countryinitiativefortheconservationandrestorationofcoastalecosystemssuchasmangroves,coralreefs,wetlands,andestuariestosustainhumanlivelihoodsandreducevulnerabilityamongcoastalcommunitiesintheIndianOceanRegion."MangrovesfortheFuture"promoteslong-terminvestmentincoastalecosystemconservationbecausetheyarepartofthefundamentalinfrastructurefordevelopment.TheinitiativeiscoveringtwelvecountriesaffectedbytheDecember2004tsunamiinSouthandSoutheastAsiaandtheWesternIndianOcean,includingIndia,Indonesia,Maldives,Seychelles,SriLanka,andThailand.(Source:IUCNNews)
 Learnmore…
•
BestPracticeGuidelines
www.iucn.org/tsunami/resources/guidelines.htm
•
EnvironmentalStories
www.iucn.org/tsunami/MFF/Env_storiesIUCN_final.pdf 

 
Report:StatusofCoralReefsinTsunamiAffectedCountries
Editedby:CliveWilkinson,DavidSouterandJeremyGoldberg
Publishedby:GlobalCoralReefMonitoringNetwork(GCRMN)(
www.gcrmn.org
),ReefBase(
www.reefbase.org
),ReefCheck(
www.reefcheck.org
)andCoralReefDegradationintheIndianOcean(CORDIO)(
www.cordio.org
)ThereportfindsthatmostcoralreefsintheIndianOceanescapedseriousdamagefromtheDecember2004tsunamiandcouldrecovernaturallywithin5-10yearsifhumanimpactsaremanagedeffectively.Thisisthemostcomprehensivereporttodateontsunamiimpactstoreefsintheregion.ItreportsthatthecumulativeeffectofanthropogenicstressesontheenvironmentremainsthemajorthreattoIndianOceancoralreefs.Thesestressesincludeover-fishing,destructivefishingmethods,sedimentandnutrientpollution,andunsustainablecoastaldevelopment.(Source:GCRMNwebsite
www.gcrmn.org
)GototheReefBasewebsite
www.reefbase.org/gcrmn_tsunami/ 
todownloadthefullreport.(Inordertodownloadthisreportandotherpublications,youmustregister–freeofcharge–andsignintotheReefBasesite.)
TourismConcern:
Tourism&Post-TsunamiReconstruction:aSecondDisaster?
www.tourismconcern.org.uk 
TourismConcerniscampaigningfordisplacedpeoples’rightstothecoastallandandtheirinvolvementinthereconstructionprocess.TriciaBarnett,Director,said,“Thetourismindustryistreatingthetsunamiaftermathasafinancialopportunity.Thishasresultedinstrategicdisplacementoftraditionalfishermencommunitiesfromthecoastandtheirlivelihood.”Shecontinued,“Theongoingimpactsontsunami
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