OMSLAG 5.indd - IUCN

Introduction
According to the United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity,
biodiversity is ‘the variability among living organisms (plants, animals,
micro-organisms) from all sources, including the terrestrial, marine, and
other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are
part’. In short this means: the diversity of all life forms on earth and their
ecosystems.
Being able to observe a wide variety of wildlife, vegetation and landscapes
is appealing to tourists. This is exactly why the savannas of Africa with their
spectacular wildlife or the lush tropical forests of Costa Rica attract tourists
from all over the world. In countries that depend on tourism, a decline
in biodiversity will have a negative impact on the tourism sector and the
economy. The other way round, a growing number of tourists can have a
negative impact on biodiversity.
In order to make sure that tourism gives a positive contribution to nature
conservation, the development of tourism in natural areas needs to be
planned and managed with extreme care.
With this complex relationship in mind, the IUCN National Committee
of the Netherlands (IUCN NL) started the Biodiversity & Tourism
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Programme in 2002. As part of this programme, a Micro Fund was set up.
Between 2002 and 2006, the fund supported 27 organizations that are
developing tourism as a tool to protect nature. The experience of these
projects offers a valuable insight into how the relationship between tourism
and conservation actually works. With this booklet, we want to share this
experience, especially with all those who want to use tourism development
for the purposes of conservation.
The reader should keep in mind that the projects all have certain
characteristics in common. First of all, these were small-scale projects,
because the maximum grant was 12,500 euro and the activity for which
it was awarded was not to last longer than one year. Almost all projects
were located in so-called developing countries. And finally, all the projects
involved local communities, because – in the experience of IUCN NL
– community development is essential for successful conservation.
We have chosen not to discuss certain aspects of sustainable tourism; the
fact for instance that tourists will often have to travel by plane to get to the
project sites. Although we do think that pollution caused by air travel for
leisure purposes is a serious problem, it is a complex subject in itself that
cannot be covered within the scope of this publication.
The first chapter focuses on the relationship between biodiversity and
tourism. What are impacts of tourism and what are the possible benefits?
In the second chapter, we discuss the importance of involving stakeholders
and local communities. The third chapter describes different ways of how
to manage tourism in natural areas and how to deal with the impact of
tourism. The focus of the fourth chapter is on commercial viability: how to
attract tourists and how to cooperate with the private sector. We conclude
with the findings from the previous chapters: this is a list of aspects that
deserve special attention when plans are being developed to turn tourism
into a conservation tool. The other activities of the IUCN NL Biodiversity
& Tourism programme, the activities of IUCN International, as well as a
description of the projects that have received funding, can be found in the
appendices.
The Biodiversity & Tourism Micro Fund was made possible by the
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Doen Foundation. We would
specifically like to thank the coordinators of the 27 projects for sharing
their experiences with us.
The IUCN NL Tourism Team