By promoting and helping to organize ecotourism, nonprofits benefit by raising awareness amongst the people who in turn get to earn money . But how does all this help Eco- Tourist’s?
Well they get to be in a place which is difficult to gain access to and get to know cultures and tribes, who otherwise might have been reserved, hostile or unwelcoming. And most of all are happy in the knowledge that their money is going to protect nature and sustain human beings.
According to a study by the Travel Industry Association of America:
More than 55 million Americans are interested in sustainable travel, which protects both environment and culture
Groups like Earth watch, Seacology, Blue ventures, Nature conservancy and Sierra Club provide a range of truly eco destinations.
Seacology, is a Berkeley-based nonprofit organization that seeks to preserve island environments and cultures by providing services in exchange for local conservation efforts. They opened fund-raising expeditions for the public just last year.
� Fiji, where the group built a kindergarten in return for the establishment of a 17-square-mile marine reserve.
� Tonga, where a floating medical clinic was set up as incentive for the creation of a nature preserve.
Blue Ventures, a British nonprofit that offers three-to-six-week expeditions for scientists and volunteers to its marine field station in secluded Andavadoaka, Madagascar.
� Opened the world’s first community-run marine-protected area for octopus, which has improved catches among local octopus fishermen and led the national government to use the project as a model for other marine-protected areas in the country. Blue Ventures’ latest project is to
� Now developing a community-run eco-lodge in Madagascar.
� In 2007, the group will also offer short-term marine survey expeditions to the Argyll Islands, which are being considered as a possible location for Scotland’s first coastal and marine national park.
Nature Conservancy, whose Yunnan Great Rivers Project supports sustainable ecotourism development in China’s Yunnan Province, are also using local connections to draw attention to larger programs.
So if you love nature, want your time on this planet to count, want to be amateur environmentalists then eco tourism sure is your cup of tea.
Via: The New York Times
