Download from ecological preservation to ecotourism Dr Jennifer Hill

Conserving Tropical Forest:
from ecological preservation to ecotourism
Dr Jennifer Hill
Dept. of Geography and Environmental Management
UWE, Bristol
Tropical rainforests are the most species rich biome on Earth,
harbouring over 50% of the world’s species on just 7% of the land
area. Sadly, there are a host of threats to the biome, most notably
from commercial logging, animal pasture, government re-settlement
schemes, development projects, and indigenous and commercial
agriculture. Some tropical rainforest is protected in biological
reserves, following ecological principles. According to these
principles, large reserves, which are compact in shape and close to
other forest areas, are the best way to maintain species diversity. A
good example of such reserves is provided from Ghana, in West
Africa. Such traditional ‘fortress’ conservation, however, excludes
many ecosystems and local communities. In reality, biodiversity
protection occurs in social space, so we need to promote the
sustainable use of biodiversity as a competitive form of land use. An
increasingly popular way to achieve this is through ecotourism, and a
case study is discussed from the Peruvian Amazon.