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Eco-tourism: Much more than greenwashing
By Esther Williams
Many tourism departments are fixated on numbers. One million tourists by 2010, they say - not paying much attention to the quality of tourism. This is short-sighted development, says the Executive Director of the International Eco-tourism Society (TIES), Martha Honey.

Over the past year we have been constantly reading of the large influx of tourists to Sri Lanka, of the numbers reaching record heights, often taken as signs of an improved economy. Have we considered the real impacts of mass tourism on the environment, on local communities and our culture?

Martha Honey is in Sri Lanka for the TIES Board Meeting and will deliver the keynote address at a workshop on Eco-tourism: A Tool for Sustainable Development: A World Overview and Prospects for Sri Lanka, on November 22 at the BMICH. The workshop has been designed for officials of the tourism industry, government officials, academics, university professors, business leaders, hoteliers and NGOs.

In an interview with The Sunday Times Martha spoke of the origins of ecotourism in the late 1970s. It grew rapidly but without any real concrete definition or clear standards backing it.

So in reality, under the broad umbrella of eco-tourism, a number of hotels took to greenwashing (where only the language used is linked with ecotourism) and Eco-tourism lite - where companies do one or two eco activities but don't have in place all the criteria and standards of good eco-tourism, she says.

"Ecotourism has to support local communities, the environment and provide education as well as enjoyment for visitors," Martha stresses. It was keeping this in mind that individuals and organisations interested in tourism felt the need to have concrete standards.

This led to certification by multi-stakeholders coming together to form a certification programme. Today there are some 60-80 green certification programmes within the tourist industry and more developing all the time in Asia, Latin America and Africa, apart from the few successful ones in Europe.

The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) and United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) in turn have been pushing for certification. Governments and investment banks too have realised that to protect their market niche they would need to have in place some kind of a green certification programme, as a complement to the conventional certification programme for quality, price and service.

Of TIES she says, "Our principle task is to service members in various ways, to help promote good eco-tourism." TIES is a meeting place for those interested in eco-tourism. To this end they run workshops, conferences, publications and also work on specific projects.

One of the aspects that Martha will deal with in her address is the importance of eco-tourism in developing countries and how it can be a tool for poverty alleviation. "I think that many poor countries and communities are looking at eco-tourism as a lifeline out of poverty, " she says, explaining however that in many cases it is unrealistic as not every poor community has the facilities to handle eco-tourism well.

As for Sri Lanka, Martha considers it a good destination for eco-tourism. She has been very impressed with Ranweli Holiday Village, one of the few examples around the world of beach front eco-tourism hotels and is expected to visit other places as well."Sri Lanka has a healthy, well educated workforce. It means there are people who could move into tourism and have the skills to be trained to be effective within tourism,” she says.

Besides, Sri Lanka has a history of parks, heritage sites and wonderful cultural aspects. "This is the foundation on which eco-tourism in most countries can be built." Eco-tourism, she stresses is not just about nature but also about learning about other cultures.

With regard to the conflict, Martha says, "When it comes to Sri Lanka peace is a pre-requisite for tourism." So how did she get into eco-tourism?

Martha was a journalist for 10 years in Tanzania and later in Costa Rica. "I love to travel and visit interesting places," she smiles. While studying for her Ph.D in the 1970s in East Africa there was a huge debate in the university and in newspapers on the potential for tourism supported by the World Bank. "I followed it very closely and became intrigued by the idea of tourism for development."

Subsequently when she moved to Costa Rica in the 1980s she learned more about the concept of eco-tourism and became fascinated with the subject.

Years later, when she moved back to the States she was able to raise the money to go back to the countries where she lived and worked and places she wanted to visit like the Galapagos. "I looked at seven countries and became strongly convinced that eco-tourism if done well was a tool for poverty alleviation and conservation." So rather than abandoning a project because of too much greenwashing she realised there was a need to set standards and try to make it work.

Martha has written six books in all, three about eco-tourism, two about US Foreign Policy and one on the Investigation into the bombing in La Penca.In her books Martha goes after the truth about eco-tourism and argues that travellers can make educated choices to protect the earth.

What makes it Eco
TIES defines eco-tourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." This means that those who implement and participate in eco-tourism should follow certain principles:

Minimize impact
Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
Provide direct financial benefits for conservation
Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people
Raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental and social climate
Support international human rights and labour agreements.

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