University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...

Ecotourism as a sustainable way to protect nature
respect to the environment and wildlife in general, it will be easier to protect and
manage the national parks. It would not be necessary to clear any areas to satisfy
the tourists, if they knew the consequences of the clearing. Because the greater
awareness among tourists would make them understand why the animals are not
always close by.
Sighting animals is the main attraction in South Africa for researchers as
well as for tourists and interested people in general. Binoculars could be a
solution to sight birds and other animals from a distance without disturbing
them.
With respect to local community involvement, education and information
are important. No matter how many mistakes were made in the past, there is no
excuse for not giving the necessary information today. Anyway, it has been
shown that educational programmes carried out in South Africa are really
successful because native people are the first interested in preserving the wild.
Information campaigns about mining and short-long-term activities should be
carried out to show that tradition has not always been a very good solution. In
this matter, African governments should be involved in international
programmes. This will teach them how to manage the problems and what the
solutions can be. Although, this measure will not be successful due to the most
part of the world is getting energy from South African coal, but it is hopped that
with the improvement of clean energies in the world, activities such as mining
will disappear. In the future, African authorities should develop other sectors to
protect the environment and to avoid future economical crisis as Europe has
spent.
About violence in Africa, democracy will be a step in the right direction.
Improvement of the welfare state could contribute to solve this problem,
although that is a long and hard work in Africa. The existence of democratic
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