BY- S M MUJAHIDUL ALAM DEPUTY MANAGER BANGLADESH PARJATAN CORPORATION FORMER HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL AND TOURISM, NHTTI

1. Eco-Tourism
Planning & Development

2. Eco- Travel
Eco-travel may be
defined as a Leisure
activity that takes place
in an unusual or exactly
wilderness or remote
destination. It trends to
be associated with high
level of activity by the
participants.
They expected to
experience varying
degrees of- risk,
excitement, tranquility
and to be personally
tested.

3. Principles of Visitor Management
1) Appropriate management requires explicitly stated objectives.
2) Diversity of resource, social and managerial, conditions in and among
protected areas is inevitable and may be desirable.
3) Management is directed at influencing human-induced change.
4) Impacts on resource and social conditions are inevitable consequences of
human use.
5) Impacts can be temporarily or spatially discontinuous.
6) The use/impact relationship is nonlinear and influenced by many variables.
7) Many management problems are not use-density dependent.
8) Limiting use is only one of many options.
9) Monitoring is essential to professional management.
10) The decision making process should separate technical decisions from
value judgments.
11) Consensus among affected groups about proposed actions is needed for
successful implementation of protected area management Strategies.

4. The Use of Carrying Capacity
1) There Must Be Agreement On The Type Of Desired Social And Resource
Conditions, Including The Type Of Recreation Opportunity.
2) The Recreation Activities And/or Experiences to Be Provided Must Be
Density Dependent.
3) There Must Be Agreement on The Acceptable Level Of Impact.
4) A Clear, Specific And Known Relationship Must Exist Between Use Levels
And Social And Resource Conditions.

5. 5) Use Level Must Be More Important Than Visitor Behavior In Determining
The Amount Of Impact.
6) The Protected Area Management Authority Must Control Access In The
Area.
7) The Protected Area Management Authority Must Have The Resources
(Personnel, Financial, Information, etc.) to administer The carrying
Capacity Limit.
8) There Must Be Agreement On The Objectives of a Rationing System In
Implementing Carrying Capacity.
9) There Must Be Agreement That The Carrying Capacity Limit Represents
Either The Maximum Or The Optimum Number Of People Visiting An Area.
The Use of Carrying Capacity

6. Limits of Acceptable Change
• This system focuses on identifying acceptable
and achievable resource and social conditions.
The LAC recognizes the value judgments
involved in identifying appropriate levels of
impact and use intensity.

7. Nine Step LAC Planning System
1) Identify Areas' Special Values, Issues, And Concerns.
2) Identify And Describe Recreation Opportunity
Classes.
3) Select Indicators Of Resources And Social Conditions.
4) Inventory Existing Resources And Social Conditions.
5) Specify Standards For Resource And Social Conditions For Each
Opportunity Class.
6) Identify Alternative Opportunity Class Allocations.
7) Identify Management Actions For Each Alternative.
8) Evaluate And Select Preferred Alternative.
9) Implement Actions And Monitor Conditions.

8. Ecotourism Costs:
environmental degradation;
economic inequity and instability;
 and negative socio-cultural changes

9. Ecotourism Benefits
generation of revenue for protected areas;
creation of jobs for local communities;
promotion of environmental education; and
conservation awareness

10. Potential Environmental Impacts
The impact of ecotourism is similar to the impact of small-scale construction,
water and sanitation, and roads, but there is added concern for sensitive
environments. Potential adverse impacts include:
 Soil erosion or compaction from: poorly designed roads and trails that do
not follow natural contours; off-road movements to avoid wet, rutted, or
gullied areas; off-road or off-trail traffic to view unique wildlife or resource
features; and poorly planned infrastructure or excessive use in areas such as
camp sites and tour routes.
 Deterioration of water resources and quality due to inappropriate design
 and siting of latrines, septic tanks, and solid waste.
 Deforestation from firewood harvesting, camping, and construction.
 Destruction of unique flora.

11. Changes in animal behavior due to human interference.
Pollution from litter, oil residues, or vehicle exhaust.
 Local resource users living near protected areas can also
be affected adversely. Tourists can have a significant
impact on a community’s cultural and economic integrity.
The seasonal nature of tourism can conflict with labor
needs for crop planting and harvesting, and enhanced
protection of an already protected area can conflict with a
community’s traditional use of the area for non-timber
products (fuel wood, medicinal plants, game meat).
Potential Environmental Impacts

12. Program Design--Some Specific Guidance
 Adverse environmental impacts often result from poor
planning and coordination. Ecotourism should be based on a
national tourism plan and protected area management plans,
which would be useful in catalyzing soundly designed
ecotourism programs.
 This plan can be used as a guide to establish regulations,
policies, and responsibilities for tour operators and other
users. In addition, management plans should be developed
for specific protected area before initiating tourism activities.
Standards for environmentally sound design and operation of
camps and lodges need to be promulgated and legally
required for all potential developers and operators.

13. Develop protected-area management plans
The maximum level of visitor use an area can sustain
without sacrificing visitor experience or ecological, aesthetic,
or natural resource values. Limits of acceptable use can be
based on number of visitors per day, number of beds allowed
in a zone, number of vehicles per kilometer, or other
measurements. Whatever measures are selected, they must
be easy for protected area staff to track and act on if
exceeded.

14.  At the same time, the potential benefits of ecotourism
can adversely affect the environment of the protected
area. An increase in employment, infrastructure (roads,
electricity, telecommunications) technical assistance, or
services (education, healthcare) can stimulate people to
migrate to the vicinity of a protected area. Also, improved
economic conditions are often accompanied by increased
production of solid waste.
Potential Environmental Impacts