The purpose of this paper is to provide a synopsis of the current issues facing ecotourism in Costa Rica; critically examine the impacts and challenges of ecotourism; analyze the potential of ecotourism as a strategy for sustainable development; look at ways in which ecotourism and sustainable development can be evaluated; and suggest ways to improve current ecotourism practices and policies for Costa Rica. What are the impacts and challenges of ecotourism? What are the possible benefits that ecotourism can bring? Is ecotourism in Costa Rica sustainable?
Based on the guiding principles of ecotourism, a legitimate argument can be made that ecotourism in Costa Rica has not produced desired outcomes and is not sustainable. However, an equally strong argument can be made that although ecotourism may not currently be sustainable, it has yet to fully mature, and has shown signs that it can achieve a balance between development and conservation goals.. Ecotourism has more promise for achieving sustainability than alternative types of land use such as agriculture, cattle grazing, logging, or mass tourism. Whether or not ecotourism in Costa Rica will prove to be sustainable in the long-term remains to be seen.
In order to increase the likelihood that ecotourism achieves goals of sustainable development in Costa Rica, all of the key actors must to begin to take more proactive measures in order to ensure that ecotourism is carefully planned and implemented. Ecotourism must account for social, economic and environmental implications, in order to succeed. A much more balanced and integrated approach, founded on the guiding principles of sustainable development, is essential to maximize the benefits and minimize the negative impacts of ecotourism in Costa Rica. / Master of Public and International Affairs
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/9912 |
| Date | 18 May 2004 |
| Creators | Buchsbaum, Bernardo Duha |
| Contributors | Urban Affairs and Planning, Browder, John O., Rich, Richard C. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Major paper |
| Format | ETD |
| Rights | I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Virginia Tech or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
| Relation | EcotourismCostRica.pdf |
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