Ecotourism as a tool for sustainable regional development

Ecotourism as widely accepted is the visit of pristine, unhampered natural environment as tourist activity and in turn learning about the culture and beliefs of those natives and appreciating nature at its fullest. This form of tourism encompasses not just boosting traffic to tourist sites but also about ensuring visitors travel responsibly, help maintain a […]

Ecotourism as widely accepted is the visit of pristine, unhampered natural environment as tourist activity and in turn learning about the culture and beliefs of those natives and appreciating nature at its fullest. This form of tourism encompasses not just boosting traffic to tourist sites but also about ensuring visitors travel responsibly, help maintain a balanced existing ecosystem and protect the wildlife they are visiting and contribute to the well-being of local communities. It also involves protecting the natural environment for the generation yet unborn and also as a tourist spot has its positive direct influence on the environment and its inhabitants.
Boo in his 1991 article argued that there are two trends in the ecosystem(ecotourism) approach, first, was towards integrating conservation with economic development and the second is based on the huge shift in the way people take vacations as reflected in the growing demand for adventurous, participatory and nature-oriented tourism.
With that being said, the importance and potentials of ecotourism tend to be multi-facet as it cuts across different sector and involves multi-disciplinary approach to be sustainable. Ecotourism is said to be multi-facet as it has direct impact on the society, environment and economy. Economically it serves as a source of capital to the immediate natives of the environment, source of employment, protection of the ecosystem/biodiversity, protection of a particular culture and most importantly generates revenue for both government and private participants. The social angle of ecotourism is the immediate benefits and ability to create both skilled and unskilled employment and significantly cater for the employment of women and ethnic minority groups. While the environmental impact is vast from reducing the intensity of global warming, it may also include protection of natural environment, preservation of tangible heritage such as archaeological, historical sites, and monuments and also intangible heritage such as protection of local cultures, folklores, traditional arts and craft.
With the increased awareness of the danger of global warming it is evident protecting our natural environment for tourist purpose also helps in sustaining the environment as trees and all plants species use up carbon in the atmosphere which are called green house gases that lead to global warming. In extension biodiversity and large gene pool are also protected by implementing eco-tourism approach.
Ecotourism in Nigeria can still be said to at ground state as little attention is given to other sectors generally due to oil boom. It is pertinent to draw our attention to the fact most thriving economy don’t depend solely on one particular resources, as a diverse economy is more likely to recover if the major resource depended upon is hit by unforeseen situations.
In a recent briefing the minister of finance also lamented that Nigeria’s over-dependence on oil had resulted in deterioration of the nation’s non-oil tax.
She said that non-oil taxes accounted for 74 per cent of Nigeria’s Government revenues in 1970 but by 2012, it had declined to only 30 per cent. (Okonjo Iweala 2013)
It is surprising and worrisome that Nigeria a country richly blessed with vast landscape, animal species, plants and culture geographically distributed across the country fail to see the potential in such resources it possesses and harness such sectors.
Potential ecotourism spot as listed by Nigerian park authority includes; Gashaka Gumti, Okomu, Chad basin, Kainji Lake, Cross river, Old Oyo Park, and Kamuku game reserve, which are all richly blessed  with multiple flora, fauna and landscapes.
They are all protected under their respective state laws, and activities carried out there are in a controlled manner, hence eliminate the chances of over exploitation and other forms of illegal practices. Such measures are necessary to avoid tragedy of commons from happening as its common with man to mis-use common resources.
Top ecotourism destination in the world Costa Rica far back as early 90s was called poster child of ecotourism which can be attributed partly to its unique misty cloud forests, blank sand beaches, thick rainforests and rushing river rapids which offer active activities to travelers and nature enthusiast coupled with the effort and structures put in place by the Government and private organizations.  Others include Kerala in India, Norwegian Fjords, Nepal, Madagascar, Ecuador and Kenya best known for its wide savanna teaming with lions, elephants, and also home to mountains, lakes beaches, rain forest, each with its unique ecosystem and wildlife. These countries take ecotourism as a way of cashing in on the growing demand for the popular trend of travel.
According to the World travel and tourism council (WTTC), tourism accounted for 9.9 per cent of global GDP, 11.0 per cent of the total world exports and 8.4 per cent of global employment in the year 2008.
On the global scale, tourism is recognized as one of the veritable weapons that can assist underdeveloped countries to achieve the 2015 anti-poverty millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Critically analyzing and weighing the scenarios presented, it can be concluded if Nigeria can take cue from top ecotourism destinations it will go a long way in tackling economical issues especially in the domicile area of attraction and be among top ecotourism destinations as it possesses outstanding features and especially in this era where the world is gradually drawing away from the use of fossil fuel and clamoring for other alternative sustainable source of energy, it is therefore imperative Nigeria sets the ball in motion and follow the footsteps of other African countries in the forefront and boost other moribund sectors of the economy such as eco-tourism in other to stand the test of time, as it’s evident if the sector is harnessed it can contribute immensely to the development of the nation.
Dorothy is Senior Curator, National Museum, Abuja