An Assignment on

Ecotourism in Protected Area

Course Title- Ecotourism, Protected area and Wildlife Management

Course Code- ESDM 4113

Submitted By Submitted To

Md. Jahidul hoque Monzer H. Sarker

ASH1709034M Lecturer
Year- 4 Term – 1 Dept. of Environmental Science &
Session : 2016-17 Disaster Management, NSTU
ESDM, NSTU.

Submission Date- 30-07-2020

Dept. of Environmental Science & Disaster Management

Noakhali Science & Technology University
 INDEX
Sr.no. Topics Page No.
O1 Introduction 01
02 The Significance of Protected Areas for Ecotourism 01-03
03 Impacts of Ecotourism in Protected Areas 03-04
04 Ecotourism and Protected Area Conservation in 04-06
Bangladesh
05 Summery and Guidelines 06-07
06 References 08-09
Introduction
Tourism or ecotourism is an increasingly indispensable factor of economic, social and
cultural development and it has become one of the largest global activities in both developing
and developed countries and constantly strives to gain a larger share of its benefits. A number
of definitions as to what is an ecotourism traveler have emerged over the years. The
Ecotourism Society (TES 1998) defines “ecotourism as responsible travel to natural areas,
which conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of the local people”. Nature or
forest-based tourism is a key category of ecotourism, one of the fastest growing sectors of the
world.

Protected areas, the most effective and widespread strategy for conserving forest and wetland
biodiversity of the world and becoming more popular destinations for wildlife tourists of
national and international origin which covers nearly 12% of the worlds land surface.
Protected areas have played significant role as tourist’s attractions in many countries since
their establishment. Ecotourism conserve Protected areas by three ways: first, ecotourism
may reduce or eliminate traditional resource use; second, tourists may support the importance
of tourism benefiting local peoples and third, when residents received benefits they are more
likely to support tourism and conservation, even to the point of protecting the site against
poaching or encroachment.

The Significance of Protected Areas for Ecotourism

Worldwide there are currently ca. 209 thousand protected areas, which span almost 15,4% of
the land area and 3,4% of the ocean area (32 million km2 according to 2014 United Nations
List of Protected Areas, UNEP, 2014). Ecotourism is a form of travel that aims to protect the
most valuable natural areas on Earth. It stands for a new form of symbiosis between humans
and the natural environment. Nature brings us tourists joy and in exchange we have to make
sure it is protected and can be preserved for future generations.

Figure 1. Spatial distribution of the world's protected areas

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Managing the development of ecotourism and other related forms of sustainable tourism in
protected areas should above all involve skillful control over the flow of tourists across time
and space, including setting up zones which serve different types of tourist concentration and
designing the necessary tourist infrastructure for a protected area that is tailored to its
individual characteristics. Tourists usually end up visiting those areas which already have a
network of hiking trails, nature trails, overnight accommodations and other amenities. Areas
with especially valuable flora on the other hand do not have the same network of foot, bike
and horseback riding trails, but are set up as strict nature reserves. Organizing tourist traffic
and minimizing its impact on the natural environment to a large degree comes down to
adequate planning and management of tourism flows by authorities overseeing protected
areas who work closely with local government agencies and the local community.

The proper development of ecotourism in protected areas should address three categories of
objectives: environmental, community and economic. Environmental priorities involve
ensuring nature and landscape protection over the long run and building a climate of support
for protected areas among the local community and visitors. Green tourism can also fulfill
community goals by ensuring that tourists have an interesting and worthwhile stay in nature,
improving the livelihoods of local residents, spreading the principles and support for
sustainable tourism and making sure that various groups in the community and society at
large can reap the benefits and pleasures which come from protected areas.

Economic objectives deal with building the case for sustainable economic development in the
most fragile, pristine and valuable regions of the world, which helps boost the national
economy, tackle unemployment and raise funds for nature and landscape protection. Town
and local government authorities lying within the boundaries or in buffer zones surrounding
protected areas increasingly see the benefits for the local economy and community that come
from making the most of being in a unique location. Ecotourism developed in parallel with
other forms of sustainable tourism and in combination with organic food production,
traditional and artistic crafts can be a powerful impulse for reinforcing the strategy of
environmentally-friendly economic growth.

In 1994 the World Council of Protected Areas, which is part of the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature developed an action plan for protected areas in Europe
called “Parks for Life”. The action plan, which was founded on the premise that protected
areas can only properly function if their management, is tied and interlinked with regional,
national and international socio-economic and political developments. Protected areas as the
basic tools essential for protecting biodiversity cannot be run in isolation from regional
development strategies and broader policies supporting sustainable development and spatial
development that impact regions where these areas are located. Managing protected spaces
has to go hand in hand with creating opportunities for and meeting the needs of local
communities and the society at large, which benefits indirectly from the existence of legally
protected areas.

In the first part of the „Parks for Life” publication, one can read about the important piece of
the puzzle represented by ecotourism, because it is this form of tourism which offers

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„tangible benefits, if sensibly developed on or near protected areas, especially since it
embraces widely recognized natural and cultural values. A healthy and attractive natural
environment is essential for the sustainability in the long-term of any form of tourism”.

Ecotourism is also the subject of a report issued by the EUROPARC Federation (formerly,
the Federation of Nature and Natural Parks of Europe) entitled “Loving them to death?”
which deals with the need to develop the principles of tourist policy in protected natural
areas. It includes a set of tips for managers of protected areas on how to best advance
sustainable forms of tourism. The report outlines the various stages involved in the process of
drafting development plans for environmentally-friendly tourism, with a special focus on
ecotourism. “Loving them to death” formed the basis for the drafting of the European Charter
for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas (1999, updated 2002), which defines the
standards for the development of environmentally-friendly tourism, and in particular
ecotourism, in protected areas.

Impacts of Ecotourism in Protected Areas

Tourism in protected areas produces benefits and costs. These effects interact often in
complex ways. It is the responsibility of the protected area planner to maximize benefits
while minimizing costs. While this document does not provide a detailed analysis of all
tourism impacts, the following sections identify the main costs and benefits. Protected areas
are established primarily to preserve some type of biophysical process or condition such as a
wildlife population, habitat, natural landscape, or cultural heritage such as a community’s
cultural tradition. Tourists visit these protected areas to understand and appreciate the values
for which the area was established and to gain personal benefits. Tourism planning and
development aims to take advantage of the interest shown by tourists so as to: enhance
economic opportunities, protect the natural and cultural heritage, and advance the quality of
life of all concerned. These goals are expanded below in table.

Benefits
Enhancing economic  Increases jobs for local residents
opportunity  Increases income
 Stimulates new tourism enterprises, and stimulates and diversifies
the local economy
 Encourages local manufacture of goods
 Obtains new markets and foreign exchange
 Improves living standards
 Generates local tax revenues
 Enables employees to learn new skills
 Increases funding for protected areas and local communities
Protecting natural  Protects ecological processes and watersheds
and cultural heritage  Conserves biodiversity (including genes, species and
ecosystems)
 Protects, conserves and values cultural and built heritage
resources
 Creates economic value and protects resources which otherwise

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 have no perceived value to residents, or represent a cost rather
than a benefit
 Transmits conservation values, through education and
interpretation
 Helps to communicate and interpret the values of natural and
built heritage and of cultural inheritance to visitors and residents
of visited areas, thus building a new generation of responsible
consumers
 Supports research and development of good environmental
practices and management systems to influence the operation of
travel and tourism businesses, as well as visitor behavior at
destinations
 Improves local facilities, transportation and communications n
Helps develop self-financing mechanisms for protected area
operations
Enhancing quality of  Promotes aesthetic, spiritual, and other values related to well-
life being
 Supports environmental education for visitors and locals
 Establishes attractive environments for destinations, for
residents as much as visitors, which may support other
compatible new activities, from fishing to service or product-
based industries
 Improves intercultural understanding
 Encourages the development of culture, crafts and the arts
 Increases the education level of local people
 Encourages people to learn the languages and cultures of
foreign tourists
 Encourages local people to value their local culture and
environments

Ecotourism and Protected Area Conservation in Bangladesh

Protected area based ecotourism is now the most interesting topic to the nature lover and
policy maker throughout the world because of its linkage with economic benefits, protected
area management and biodiversity conservation. In Bangladesh, we have some important
forest areas such as Sitakundo, Karaerhat and Chunati in Chittagong district; Eidgaon, Eidgar
and Fashiakhali in Cox‟s Bazar district; Lawasara and Rama Kalenga in Sylhet; Sherpur in
Mymensingh; Modhupur in Tangail; Nijhum islands in Noakhali and the Sundarbans the
largest mangrove in Khulna to be acted as the ecotourism spots and could be used as the
potential sources of tools for the conservation of forests, nature and the beauties of the
nation‟s endemism. Of them, the Sundarbans could be taken as an example. The Sundarbans,
a cluster of islands with an approximate area of 3,600 square kilometers, is the greatest
mangrove forest in the world. It is located at the southern extremity of the Ganges delta
bordering the Bay of Bengal in the southwest of Bangladesh, in the district of greater Khulna.
Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) provide employment to about 299,000 people in
Bangladesh. Much of this employment continues throughout the year, or at least during the

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agricultural off-season. NWFPs from mangrove forests contribute an estimated of Taka 717
million (US$ 17.9 million) annually to the Bangladesh economy, directly or indirectly. For
our most of the mangrove NWFPs, there are no policies, rules or regulation applicable to
their growth and harvesting. Processing of most NWFPs in the mangroves is still primitive.
Product quality is low and, therefore, less accepted in the international markets. Miles after
miles, the lofty treetops of the Sundarbans form an unbroken canopy, while nearer the
ground, the effects of high and ebb tides are marked on the soil and tree trunks. The variety of
the natural mangrove has much to offer an inquisitive visitor. Land and water meet in many
novel ways. The Sundarbans is the natural habitat of the world-famous Bengal tiger, spotted
deer, crocodile, jungle fowl, wild boar, lizards, Rhesus monkeys and an innumerable variety
of beautiful birds. Though the beauty of butterfly-colonization and their artistic conservation
techniques could not draw the attention of any researcher and author so far working on the
fauna of the Sundarbans. It is the most unfortunate situation in the field of the research
regarding the Sundarbans still today. For the botanist, the nature lover, the poet and the
painter, this land provides a variety of wonders. Thousands of meandering streams, creeks,
rivers and estuaries add charm. The many sail boats loaded with timber, golpatta (Nipa
fruticans), fuel-wood, honey, shells, and fish add to the serene natural beauty of the
Sundarbans. The main attractions of this area for tourists include wildlife photography,
viewing and studying the world‟s largest mangrove forest, boating, and meeting local
fishermen, wood-cutters and honey collectors. Also of great importance are the peace and
tranquility of the wilderness. In the Chandpai region it is fascinating to see the nomadic
fishermen (living with their families on boats) catching fish with the help of trained otters.
Exciting activities take place in Dublar Char (Small islands in the Sundarbans) in the forest
where fishermen from Chittagong gather for four months (mid-October to February) to catch
and dry fish. But, the most daring and exciting of all activities involve the honey collectors
who work in groups for just two months (April and May). It is interesting to see how they
locate a hive and collect the honey. Famous spots include Hiron Point (Nilkamal) for
observing tiger, deer, monkey, crocodiles, birds and natural beauty. Katka is another spot for
deer, tiger, crocodiles, variety of birds and monkeys, and a morning and evening symphony
of wild fowls. The vast grassy meadows running from Katka to Kachikhali (Tiger Point)
provide opportunities for wild tracking. Tin kona Island has tiger and deer. Dublar Char
Island is interesting for its fishermen and its herds of spotted deer. The similar history of
beauties, activities, sceneries, life styles, livelihoods, cultures and involvement strategies in
the forest conservation of the local people of different forests in Bangladesh could be cited
also in the respect, but it is avoided here in the present text. Ecotourism models around the
world differ in their biases. In Bangladesh, it is necessary to follow a model that incorporates
local communities‟ involvement; members of the local communities are usually landowners.
It is necessary for Bangladesh to recognize that ecotourism has the potential not only to
provide quality employment income and business opportunities for local people, but also to
act as a catalyst for the preservation of the natural environment and indigenous/tribal cultures.
Bangladesh is the delta of Himalayas; the entire country is natural laboratory for research
works in the field of nature conservation. The country is bordered within 54 thousand square
miles of the north of the Bay of Bengal. In mountains and in the plain lands more than 80
percent of the population reside, comprise 70 percent of total land area. About 85 percent of

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the total population lives in rural areas, but migration to urban areas is significant and
increasing. Bangladesh‟s natural heritage and the present situation have two words
appropriate for biodiversity “characteristics”: species richness and small population size in
the species. In Bangladesh, biodiversity is running under „double sided‟ characters. This is
the characteristic of Bangladesh biodiversity in the present time, but there could be a change
in the character very soon. One side of the character is the „species richness‟. It means that
still number of species is very high in Bangladesh forests and in aquatic ecosystems. Another
side is that, the population size of the existing species is very low almost in all the cases. The
double sided characteristics bear hopefulness in the way that if the „species richness‟ could
be preserved starting from just now, then the biodiversity could be raised up to the state to be
used as economic sources. On the other hand, low population size at the species always risks
bringing the species for the extinction. So, in Bangladesh majority of the species are
remaining at the stage of seriously “threatened” status. This is the negative side of the double
sided characteristics. It is now realized that an all-out species conservation strategy must be
undertaken immediately without getting any delay. Otherwise, species richness will fall
suddenly and as a consequence both forest and aquatic ecosystems in the country will have
negative impact on the biodiversity as a whole. Positive side of the double sided
characteristic is that, if we can go quick for conserving species and their population size, still
there is high possibility of keeping the ecosystems „rich in biodiversity‟. Then, definitely the
value of biodiversity could be utilized for the benefit of the nation. Bangladesh‟s vegetation
and wildlife have exceptional scientific and genetic interests due to the high proportion of
endemic species. Its biodiversity is threatened due to a shift from subsistence to a cash
economy and increasing population. Deforestation caused by cash-crop development,
urbanization and small holder farming, is currently at high percentage per annum. One
example could be given from Modhupur sal forest in picture (Occupation of sal forest by
cultivation of banana for commercial purpose). The threat of Bangladesh biodiversity is
serious, but not yet irreparable. As development and agriculture accelerate, however, damage
may soon be irreparable unless sustainable development is established at grass root levels.
Development within the industry of ecotourism and its marketing has given insufficient
attention to the possible significance of Bangladesh’s cultural and natural heritage. Places of
historic importance, ancient archeological sites, Bangladesh rainforests, mangrove forests and
coral reef ecosystems have been underutilized as tourist attraction. The concept of sustainable
tourism, however, can find its greatest support through the increased development of
ecotourism. Now, is the perfect time to pursue sustainable tourism, as Bangladesh is moving
towards a range of new initiatives in the area of sustainable resource use under its national
environmental strategies. All could be made possible and accessible if proper researches are
envisaged and practiced at the executive levels and dealt with honesty and sincerity with the
patriotic cognizance or intuitive knowledge.

Summary and guidelines

Based on the foregoing, the following Guidelines are suggested for increasing the benefits of
tourism in all kinds of protected areas, whether owned or managed by public, private,
voluntary or community bodies:

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 Ensure that the measurement of park tourism activities, volumes and impacts is accurate,
as complete as possible and that the data are effectively communicated;
 Match the services and products available in the park and locally to tourist travel motives;
 Make products and services available for tourists’ expenditure (e.g. recreation services,
accommodation, crafts, and foods);
 Aim for high service quality in all tourist services;
 Develop a constituency of satisfied and supportive park visitors, people who will argue
for park objectives in the large political debates in society;
 Develop opportunities for park visitors to play a positive role in park management
(through membership in Friends Groups, by providing donations to targetted programs, or
providing personal assistance to staff);
 Ensure that all information and interpretation programmes create appropriate
expectations;
 Minimise local leakage (retain local expenditures through maximum local selfsufficiency)
by developing linkages with local industries;
 Provide local accommodation options;
 Provide recreation activity options;
 Encourage consumption of locally-grown foods;
 Ensure local participation and control (e.g. local guide services);
 Ensure revenue-sharing or direct payment programmes;
 Understand the role of the protected area in regional and national tourism activities;
 Understand the fiscal and economic roles of park tourism;
 Host special events;
 Provide opportunities for local people to celebrate their cultural traditions;
 Where needed, assist in the education of local people in the skills necessary for tourism;
 Evaluate all tourism services provided by the private sector to ensure service quality and
adherence to park policy;
 Ensure that the park has staff trained in tourism planning and management;
 Continuously evaluate all tourism programmes to ensure that goals are met;
 Ensure that tourism programmes are based upon competent financial management;
 Price appropriately; and
 Earmark the income from fees appropriately

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