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Ecotourism Programs

Spotted Eagle Rays Galapagos Islands National Park, Ecuador ©A. Drumm Altiplano Moonrise © M. Tinker La Milpa Guest Cabins Rio Bravo, Belize

In this section you can read about a selection of the programs and activities being developed by the Conservancy's Ecotourism Program.

This work is supported by the Parks in Peril Program - a partnership between USAID and The Nature Conservancy; The Alex C. Walker Educational & Charitable Trust; and by Conservancy members.

As you can see on the Maps page, we are developing ecotourism at a number of protected areas in the Asia-Pacific, Meso-America, and South America.

Here are a few examples of the work the Ecotourism Program is doing:

Ecotourism Management Planning

  • The Ecotourism Program works with local country program staff and local partners in the creation of comprehensive Ecotourism Management Plans for Protected Areas. The goal in developing such plans is to define the zones appropriate for ecotourism development, to make proposals for infrastructure development, and to provide guidelines for visitation, guide training, community participation and impact monitoring.
  • With the help of such plans and the guidelines they contain, we expect to see the development of a successful ecotourism program which will generate income for site conservation and sustainable local community development.
  • We recently completed such an exercise in Guatemala.

Visitor Use Fee Systems

  • The entrance fees visitors pay to enjoy the unique attractions of protected areas around the world are a crucial source of income for the conservation of those areas. However, many fabulous, but cash-strapped areas do not have visitor use fees in place.
  • The Ecotourism Program with the support of The Alex C. Walker Educational & Charitable Trust, has an important initiative to work with protected area authorities around the world to ensure that this important source of conservation finance is realized.
  • In Guatemala, Mexico, Bolivia and Komodo, Indonesia we are currently developing visitor use fee systems in partnership with national governments and local conservation organizations.

Ecotourism Product Development

Market Research

  • Periodically, the Ecotourism Program capitalizes on the huge, over 1 million membership base of The Nature Conservancy and conducts market research. We solicit feedback from Conservancy member international travellers to better tailor ecotourism programs at areas where we work to their potential audience. This "view from the outside" assists in providing good intelligence in both what ecotourists seek and what ecotourism partners provide.
  • Apart from providing our members with a better tailored ecotourism experience which generates much needed income for our partners' conservation work at at-risk sites, our partners' fledgling ecotourism operations receive a thorough evaluation of all aspects of the experience and this helps them improve the quality of their operation.
  • We recently completed such a survey among hundreds of Conservancy members.

Guide Training

  • In two of the Andean Region's national parks, Podocarpus in Ecuador and Noel Kempff Mercado in Bolivia, groups of 20 local community members participated in training courses which provided them with the skills to earn income from ecotourism rather than unsustainable logging.
  • A basic tenet of ecotourism is the participation of local people in the activity and building the capacity of local guides is a great way to contribute to that end.

Eco-Lodge Development

  • In April 2000, Fundacion Arco Iris inaugurated the "Casa Colibri" (Hummingbird House) Ecotourism and Environmental Education Center and ranger station at Podocarpus National Park, Ecuador. The center is located on the edge of the park between the towns of Loja and Zamora in the Southern Andean region of Ecuador, and is easily accessible by road.
  • The Center houses two park rangers and is the base for a new trail network and visitor center which is fast becoming an obligatory stopping point for visitors to the region. Simple bed and breakfast accommodation for up to 6 people is also offered.
  • Income from the B&B and trail visits finances the conservation work at the Center.

Developing Business Partnerships

  • The success of ecotourism depends on the development of strong alliances between communities, NGOs and tour operators who have experience of managing tourists' needs and established linkages to the market.
  • The Conservancy is exploring opportunities with private tourism companies to develop joint ecotourism initiatives.
  • An ecolodge or other ecotourism operation will generate income for conservation and expose visitors to our partner's great work.

What is Ecotourism  |  Goals & Objectives  |  Programs