Nevertheless, people on the ground are trying. One solution is to attract tourists, create new income for local communities and inspire a love of the rainforest in the hearts of those who visit.
“Unless you love something, you can’t really fight for it,” said Martin Frankenberg of travel agency Kaiara Amazônia. “This is such an important truth for everything in life, so if we really want to save the Amazon, if we really want to reverse the processes that it has been subjected to in the past
In 50 years, we need a legion of new Amazon lovers who have the means to take action.
Frankenberg was keen to stress that this cannot come at the expense of the forest, adding: “We see our main customer as the Amazon and its people, rather than the traveler. The traveler is very important in our equation, but from another point of view, he is our sponsor. Our allegiance is to our customers.
Visitors enter the Amazon aboard the Tupaiú of Kaiara Amazônia, cruising along the Tapajós, one of the main tributaries of the river. During their journey, they participate in excursions designed to improve their understanding of the forest and the people who live there, experiencing traditional cuisine and having the Hollywood movie version of the Amazon completely erased from their minds after days of swimming in the river.
Turtle breeders became turtle conservationists, clearcut ranchers became evangelical forest guides, and traditional crafts were revived to create gift shops filled with locally made goods. This did not happen by chance or overnight: in 1987, the organization Projeto Saúde et Alegria (PSA) began working with communities along the Tapajós to bring life-saving medical care to the most remote communities . Over time, it became clear that health should not be limited to the physical health of individuals; this had to mean cultural health and the health of the forest too.
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Frankenburg said: “What has happened over the last 20 years, and really over the last 10 years, has been a movement of indigenous pride; where people say, “Look, we are the guardians of the Amazon,” and it’s so true. If you look at a map of the Amazon, the most preserved areas are those demarcated as indigenous lands.
“So there is no doubt that wherever we have indigenous lands, we have a better preserved Amazon. This is why it is so important to give them the strength, not only culturally, to repair the historical damage we have caused, but also, if we want to save the Amazon, there are no better people to enlist that
the people who live there, because the Amazon is the forest of their mothers, of their family, it is part of them.
The team of National Forest also understands this philosophy. Over the past 30 years, they have increased forest cover from 6% to 22% through a combination of landowner grants, land acquisition, planning gains, business collaboration and community engagement .
John Everitt, chief executive of National Forest, said: “We have annual planting days with communities where people come and plant trees with us, and all of those trees are planted with meaning: a birth, a death, a wedding, a celebration, and so these forests have all these memories in these trees and will for years and years to come.
“People write their cultural roots into the landscape, we talk about it with indigenous people overseas, but actually it’s the same thing here. »
The forest’s nine million trees capture around 225 million kilograms of carbon per year, equivalent to the emissions that would be produced by circling the Earth more than 40,000 times. All of this happens in just 200 square miles; with more space, the environmental impact could be even greater.
The National Forest team has supported a wide range of sustainable businesses through its grant programs, including Cattows Farm, where some arable land has been transformed into forest. Cattows is now a popular destination for day trippers who can participate in outdoor learning activities, events and
festivals and enjoy a cake at the cafe.
Greenwood Days is a family-owned business located in a 90-acre woodland created as part of the project. It offers classes in traditional furniture making, woodturning and basket weaving, and has also been supported by the National Forest. Its founder Peter Wood was able to transform his passion project into a thriving business.
These examples demonstrate how sustainable tourism can benefit the natural environment, develop the green economy and support local communities. In the Amazon, the work done by Kaiara Amazônia, PSA and others has helped support small business creation and conservation efforts, providing training and strategic support, while leaving room for the individual strengths of each community .
In the community of Curuçá, on the banks of the Curuca tributary, the critically endangered Arrau River turtle has been revived thanks to painstaking conservation work. It is now a stop on the itineraries of Kaiara Amazônia and other tour companies, supporting the community’s restaurant, beekeeping and beekeeping.
Souvenir shop.
Meanwhile, in the village of Jamaraquá, a local guide, Donildo, also known as Dido, was once responsible for cutting down the forest for agricultural purposes. Today, he spends his time guiding tourists along the trails, from the regenerated secondary forest to the primary forest, where the trees are centuries old and so tall that you can barely see their leaves.
Sumba
If you allow people to put down roots on their terms, they will grow and usually the trees will follow. One such place is Bali’s less famous cousin, Sumba. It is an island steeped in tradition and natural beauty, largely unknown to tourists. In Sumba, wild horses still gallop on white sand beaches, waterfalls and lagoons still look like wilderness rather than an Instagram photoshoot, and local communities have retained their beliefs and practices uninhibited by the gaze of visitors. Despite its many charms, Sumba is one of Indonesia’s poorest regions, with widespread malnutrition and food shortages, high levels of child labor and prostitution, and low education rates.
The Sumba Hospitality Foundation, founded by Inge De Lathauwer in 2013, strives to attract more tourists to the island in order to break the cycle of poverty and attract much-needed investment, while ensuring that its unique character is retained . This project is still in its early stages, but it hopes to one day be an example of how tourism can be developed sustainably in the places that need it most.
Thassos
In Europe, the tourism story has a less optimistic tone: Venice is sinking; Santorini’s cobbled streets groan under the weight of tourists; Amsterdam wants to see the back of cruise ships and stag parties. Much of Europe suffers from chronic overtourism, driven by cheap flights and Instagram trends, leading to rising property prices and cities unlivable for residents during peak season. If you were to ask most people in Europe’s tourist hotspots what community-oriented tourism would look like to them, they would probably say there were fewer tourists.
An island in Greece has started to ask this question. Thassos, in the northern Aegean Sea, is working with the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to determine how to promote tourism on the island in a way that suits them. This is essentially a local-led initiative, facilitated by UNWTO experts. While the fate of many destinations is decided by air routes and algorithms, the people of Thassos will be able to decide their own destiny when it comes to the double-edged sword of tourism.
Zambia
The places that tourism can benefit from have a few things in common. In general, they are poorer and less developed and plan to use tourism as a way to increase their income, broaden their horizons and develop new infrastructure.
Zambia is one of these countries. It recently received $100 million (£82 million) in financial support from the World Bank, aimed at helping develop the nature-based economy in the country. This means developing existing safari and adventure tourism and expanding it into areas currently difficult to access, including the Liuwa Plains National Park, source of the Zambezi and Kasaba Bay. The money will primarily be used to support local communities, nature-based businesses and private sector businesses, helping them attract new visitors. There are also plans to offer support to women-led businesses to ensure the benefits are felt equally.
Belize
Belize’s Caribbean beaches, wildlife-filled jungles and ancient Mayan ruins currently receive only half a million visitors a year.
It is a destination with much to offer. On its Caribbean coast, there are islands, or cays, with warm blue seas filled with tropical fish. Further afield is the Belize Barrier Reef, the largest reef in the northern hemisphere, where there is a “blue hole”, a circular depression formed by an underwater sinkhole,
and incredible dives. Further inland, Mayan ruins like the temple of Caracol, which means “the snail” in Spanish, are surrounded by jungle. Another, Lamanai (“sleeping crocodile”), is best reached by water taxi.
The Belize Tourism Board’s goal is to help balance the potential benefits of more visitors while ensuring this expansion is done in a sensitive manner. The organization has a list of guiding principles, chief among them being ensuring that Belizean communities are at the heart of their work.
Tasmania
Sometimes tourism is not only a way for a community to create income, it is also a way to rediscover a lost culture. On the Australian island of Tasmania, members of the Palawa First Nation are working to educate their guests and reinvigorate their culture by inviting tourists to hike along the coastline and bush of their traditional homeland, Wukalina, aka Mount William National Park. During this four-day, three-night trek, hikers
Be taught by a Palawa guide and learn about the island’s history, unique plant life and culture. It is the only trek in the world owned and operated by the Palawa, creating a unique opportunity for a group who lost so much to colonialism to reframe the narrative and show people their homeland.
on their own terms.
Tourism has the potential to cause harm – environmental and cultural – but it also has great potential for good. Putting power back in the hands of individual communities is the best way to ensure sustainable tourism development in places that can truly benefit from it.
