ECOTOURISM CONFERENCE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, JULY 2000

Between the 15-23 July 2000, the Commission for the Anthropology of Tourism
of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences
(IUAES), along with the Sustainable Tourism Study Group of the
International Geographical Union (IGU) is organizing and co-sponsoring a
number of panels and individual presentations in the "Feria Ecoturìstica y
de Producción" or Ecotourism and Production Fair, at the Hacienda Muriel,
in Hato Nuevo, Manoguayabo, near Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
The Fair is organized by the Fundacion ciencia y arte, under the direction
of Dr. Jose Serulle Ramia. This is the fourth annual Fair, each one held in
a different location in the country so as to maximize the potential for
involving local communities in the activities and economic benefits of the
Fair, to ensure that local communities are involved in a process of
environmental education, awareness of environmental degradation, and
environmental management, and to sensitize Dominicans and international
visitors of local ecotourism projects and potential. In the last few years
environmental degradation has become a major preoccupation in the Dominican
Republic, at the same time that the country has become more dependent upon
mass tourism. There are now many NGOs working in areas of environmental
protection and ecotourism, and scholars actively involved in research in
these areas. The conference will be an excellent opportunity for people
working in these areas elsewhere to compare knowledge and experiences. 

Among the themes being treated in the conference section of the Ecotourism
Fair are the following: sustainable tourism in the Caribbean and elsewhere;
development of Ecotourism in the Dominican Republic and Internationally;
importance of rivers and wetlands in biodiversity and ecotourism
activities; river and wet land clean-up; environmental protection;
coastal-marine environments; "green hotel" policy and practice; tourist
resorts and ecotourism; national parks; issues of private reserves; water
sports; legislation of contamination of rivers, wetlands and coastal-marine
environments; international experiences in river, wetland and coastal
management; cultural heritage; territorial-spatial management; urban
environments and tourism; urban and rural environmental clean-up; and
evaluations of ecotourism projects. Other panels or individual
contributions on other themes will be considered. Registration fees are
nominal, and hotel and other information will be forthcoming.

Apart from the conference section of the Fair, which takes place between
10:00 am and 4:00 pm each day, there are numerous excursions, educational
and leisure activities, stands and kiosks. Every evening, from 4:00 pm to
12:00 pm, there is a continuous series of artistic and cultural activities,
with music, dance and folklore groups from around the Dominican Republic.
Selected Refereed papers will be included in a book to be published by the
time of the conference. For the Refereed stream, paper or panel Abstracts
of up to 250 words can be sent directly to Dr. Jose Serulle Ramia at
[log in to unmask] , Dr. Gregory Teal at [log in to unmask] , or
to Dr. Michael Hall at  [log in to unmask] or to.  Abstracts for
the Refereed stream must be received by March 1, and completed papers by
May 1. Other Abstracts may be received until June 1.  
Dr. Greg Teal, Chair, Commission for the Anthropology of Tourism (IUAES)

Dr Neil Carr
Dept of Economics, Social Sciences & Tourism
University of Hertfordshire
Hertford
SG13 8QF
Tel. 01707 285511
Fax. 01707 285455
email [log in to unmask]


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