Challenges For Balancing Conservation AndDevelopment Through Ecotourism: Insights AndImplications From Two Belizean Case Studies

Abstract

As an idealized alternative to mass tourism, ecotourism seeks balance between economic benefits for resident hosts and protection of the natural resource base against environmental costs. Yet these ambiguous descriptors fail to consider what is to be sustained, at what levels, and for whom. Nor is the fundamental contradiction resolved between the demand for economic growth to ameliorate poverty-induced ecological destruction and environmental conservation that inhibits economic growth. If ecotourism is to induce sustainable development, it must be ecologically sound, culturally sensitive, and economically viable. Using data from two Belizean case studies, this paper challenges optimistic assessments concerning the impacts of ecotourism and points to the leakage of profits back to tourist-source countries, high emigration rates, and a tourism industry that is likely more “brown” than “green” Even though ecotourists in Belize tend to be affluent and spend more money than “mass tourists” leakages persist, local multipliers are low, and some natural resources are continuously threatened. If ecotourism is to support appropriate development, it should accelerate economic growth but also promote sound livelihood opportunities for local populations while simultaneously braking against environmental costs. How one defines these relationships and how communities work to achieve a balance between seemingly disparate goals is critically important to the process of using ecotourism as a development strategy. Given its recent commitment to ecotourism, Belize offers a unique opportunity to study local models and explore sustainable human-ecosystems in the context of this newly-developing industry.