> Jim again:  Somewhere in the not-too-distant past on this list, I made the
> statement, "Global conservation programs are paid for by countries with
> money," a claim that raised at least one or two eyebrows here.  :-)   But
I
> think Simpson is making a similar argument.  Conservation programs don't
> pay for themselves . . . .  Nor is it clear how programs of "castigating
> the rich" and other such anti-wealth policies (as discussed here on the
> list last month) will actually pay for such things as biodiversity
> protection.
>
> Thoughts, comments, reactions?  (I just thought I'd ask--it's been rather
> quiet lately.)    :-)
>
> Jim T.

I don't know Jim. Ecotourism is big business here in BC. It is estimated to
be a least a $1 billion industry. Many of my friends are employed in the
industry here running backcountry ski and hiking lodges. There are the dog
sledders, the kayakers, and so on. What I find remarkable is that it is not
the rich nations, the patrons of the poorer nations, that are essentially
the cause of this wealth generation, but rather it is a combination of
persons living in both 'hemispheres'. I have travelled extensively in Latin
American countries and know for instance there are a lot of persons that
spend money in Costa Rica, for instance in venues like "Key Largo" which was
and is still a 'cat house'. There are 5000 prostitutes in the city of Costa
Rica [Tico Times]. Their clientele are not the young and adventurous young
bucks from the Marines, the clients are older, often retired, and these
clients do not value kayaking, mountain climbing or horse back riding.

When a North American goes to a restuarant and orders a shrimp pizza they
are sending their ecotourism dollars to places like Ecaduor, and Costa Rica,
where shrimp are harvested not from indigenous mangrove swamps and
estuaries, etc., but more often, and increasingly from man-made shrimp farms
that have been built by destroying mangroves. Half the worlds mangroves have
dissappeared because of this. The WWF has encouraged and invested in the
establishment of extensive areas of teak plantations in Costa Rica on former
depleted agriculture lands where rainforests previously existed. These
plantations are not biologically diverse forests but more like orchards
tended frequently by labourers. In the north of Costa Rica is a truly
remarkable area called Guanacaste, and this area is referred to as a dry
tropical forest. In the past this area was used for raising cattle. This is
the area where there are hematophagous bats that suck blood from cattle and
people occassionally. The conservation organizations and the government of
Costa Rica have removed most of the cattle from the conservation areas with
the result that the very tall grasses have fully restored. This area is one
of the most affluent areas of Costa Rica now because of conservation. There
is only one little fishing village on the coast not far from Nicaragua. The
value of the tourism is enormous and recently there was a proposal to build
an international airport to serve destination tourist. The whole plan was
turned down because of the value of conservation. The impact of a large
tourism facility, which would have been much like Cozumel, Mexico, would
have destroyed the ecology along the coast.

Instead the Costa Rican government is doing something different. The type of
tourism that is being developed there is 'low impact' with very small
'centros-ecologicos'. These are usually small family owned operations which
cater to small groups of people or individuals. The average one is really
much like a small 'finca' or 'beach side' cabinas [go to Bahia Drake for
instance and it will be difficult to return] and a 'central area' or
'cosina'. The centro usually has a range of activities that it will provide.
They usually refer the tourist to another 'entrepreneur' who is a nature
interpretor that speaks either spanish or english, or a person that has
horses to ride and so on. As well as the many Ticos there are many
non-Ticos, some of whom have taken up citizenship, and some of whom are
newly arrived, which cater to tourists.

The overall impression after having been in these Latin American countries
is that the small scale family eco-tourism  businesses are very low impact
especially in comparison to Hawaiin stye and Cozumel style tourism which
caters to the Sea-do, car driving, and heavy parting crowds that like to
socialize with their own english speaking, non-indigenous comrades. The
whole ecotourism industry is very large, much larger than most people
understand that live and work in the commercial and ivory towers would and
could appreciate.

It is not the 'dollar' value that is that large, it is the 'human value'
that is large. Almost all the ecotourist guides that I have hired are very
affluent in the sense that they usually have a university education, speak
more than one language, or they are living with money in their pockets,
money in the bank, and have lots of leisure time and good health. They are
much more 'rich' in many ways than the average North American because they
do not have mortgages, and 8-4 jobs, 5 day work weeks, and do not have to
work half as hard as most people to simply 'get by' here in North America.
Many of the Canadians, US citizens and Europeans that I met in Costa Rica
and Peru told me that they moved to get away from the 'materialism' and the
'boredom' of the 'rat' race and meaninglessness of the culture here. They
say they would never return to whence the came, and none of the persons that
I met have returned. I would not return if I was in their situation. Life is
better there in the tropics or in the high Andes than it is here in many
ways. Ecotourism is an ancient industry, and if you go to the north of Peru,
to Piura, Chimbote, and Trujillo, you may want to forget all about the
North. And when you are their along the coast, that is what happens, you do
forget the past, and you learn about a new past, a past that you thought
does not exist any longer. They still fish along the coast with 'cabollitos'
or small horses. These are small boats made from reeds and they have been
used for over 2 thousand years. On Lago Titicaca there are small islands
with people living on them that never seem to be busy at much else than
watching livestock, fishing, and knitting. The men there stand around
knitting. The women spin the wool. The yonger people are going to
universities and trade schools more often because they have good paying
ecotourism jobs. [remember a dollar goes 4-5 times as far in these areas
than here in NA]. One village I stayed in had an electric generator that was
installed by the government. At night though the village was dark, and I
asked them why the village was dark, why the electricity was turned off?
They told me that the did not want the noise and the lights and preferred
the lamps from kerosene. They said that the noise and the glare of the
lights were 'awful' and I had to agree. The stars in the sky over this
island and huge lake were ;0 unbelieveable because of the elevation of 4750
meters above sea level.

My Greek friends said the area reminded them of Greece, and they told me
that they felt at home. The houses are made from adobe with walls that are
two feet thick. The is virtually never any frost and there is no need to
heat the homes. There island was inhabited thousands of years ago and there
are stone walls arranged in squares on the tops of the hills where sacred
festivities are enacted on behalf of the gods in the skies. To my thinking
there is something timeless about these areas and cultures that I cannot
comprehend because in our culture change is constant....one day I will awake
and because there is so much change I will not recognize where I am nor who
I am. I feel that [dread] that I will be mistaken myself for someone else, I
may not recognize myself [Kafkaesque] but in Peru they instantly know me as
Juan. (well having blue eyes and blond hair it is easy).