According to Hector Ceballos Lascurain:

“ Ecotourism is a type of tourism that consist of traveling to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas with the specific objective of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural manifestations , both past and present, found in this areas”

ECOTOURISM

If tourism is not properly planned and implemented, it can: destroy vegetation; create congestion; pollute beaches; cause housing problems; litter tourist areas; Ignore the needs of local community;

An important economic activity in natural areas

Give economic value to ecosystem services Generate direct income for the conservation

of protected areas Generate direct and indirect income for

local stakeholders Promote sustainable use of natural

resources Reduce threats to biodiversity

Importance of Ecotourism

A low impact, environmentally-sound and community-participatory tourism activity in a given natural environment that enhance the conservation of bio-physical and cultural diversity, promotes environmental understanding and education, and yields socio-economic benefits to the concerned community.

Identified portion of the land and water set aside by reason of their unique physical and biological significance, managed to enhance biological diversity and protected against destructive human exploitation.

PROTECTED AREA

The variety and variability among living organisms and ecological complexes in which said organisms occur.

BIODIVERSITY

Modern form of economic development that is designed to improve the quality of life of the host community, provide a high quality of experience for the visitors, and maintain the quality of the environment which on which both the community and the visitors depend.

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Areas of high recreational, tourism, educational and/or environmental values where ecotourism could be allowed.

RECREATIONAL ZONES

Areas that remain relatively undisturbed by human activities and remain in their natural site thus maintaining biodiversity and ecological processes.

NATURAL AREAS

Ecotourism is usually centered on activities related to nature. Before ecotourism was introduced, these activities were called special interest, nature tourism, and green tourism.

Some ecotourism activities have been identified as possible for the Philippines and are currently undergoing development. These are: mountaineering/trekking, birdwatching, photo safari, scuba diving, spelunking, and whale and dolphin watching.

ECOTOURISM – THE ACTIVITY

Among all ecotourism activities, mountaineering and trekking are perhaps the most famous.

In 1996, the Philippines attracted a total of 2,049,367 tourists.

The Philippines has 34 national parks, 23 of which are located in mountain areas.

MOUNTAINEERING/ TREKKING

1. If there is an established trail, walk in a single line.

2. Do not take anything from the forests as souvenir.

3. Avoid disturbing wildlife.4. Never leave garbage along the trail or at

the campsite.5. For human waste, each climber can dig his

own “TOILET”.

Climbers’ Responsibilities

6. Bring along camping equipment7. Do not bathe or wash dishes along the

river.8. Learn the locals’ culture9. Be sensitive to the values of local people.10. Avoid the old practice of digging

trenches.11. Do not buy souvenir items made from

rare animal or plant species.

12. Find out the maximum capacity of the trekking area.

13. Always register.14. Avoid giving money or token candies to

the children in areas visited.15. Make sure that health measures are taken

into account.16. Always hire a guide.

The Philippines treasures about 557 species of birds and about 300-400 subspecies distributed throughout the archipelago.

The species and subspecies together comprise about 950 kinds of birds.

Of this total 800 are residents and 150 are migrants or irregular visitors.

BIRDWATCHING

1. Olango Island (Off Mactan island Cebu)2. Philippine Eagle Nature Research Center

(Malagos, Davao City)3. Calauit Island (Northern Palawan)4. Mt. Makiling (Los Banos, Laguna)

Possible Sites for Birdwatching

Deemed the most successful ecotourism activity in the country because of the hundreds of establishments directly and indirectly involved in business of scuba diving.

The main factor is simple– the Philippines has one of the most diverse marine life in the world.

Diving has been one of the reasons why coral reef areas survived total damage from destructive fishing.

SCUBA DIVING

Although hailed as a true ecotourism activity, scuba diving can also damage the marine resources on which it is based. This has resulted in complex environment ethics issues affecting the diving community. Some of these are:

1. Spearfishing2. Feeding3. Touching4. Agitating5. Playing

1. Anilao (Batangas) 2. Puerto Galera (Mindoro Oriental) 3. El Nido (Northern Palawan) 4. Moalboal (Cebu) 5. Balicasag Island (Bohol)

Some of the Dive sites in the Philippines:

Until 1993, very few people realize that whale and dolphin watching is possible in the Philippines.

For a long time, and with the most destructive consequences, whales and dolphins have been killed in waters around the world, both intentionally and “accidentally” by catch.

WHALE WATCHING

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CAVING

Caving is one sport where one will have to be really careful not to make any damage to the delicate limestone formations.

One of the most dangerous sports to have if one does not take into consideration all the safety procedures before and during the exploration of caves.

Light is the most important tool. Never enter a cave alone. Never enter a cave without proper

equipment, especially in sport caving. Always tell somebody where the team will go

and what time it is expected to be back. Look for tell-tale signs of flash-flooding, like

mud on the wall Unless the team is composed of professional

cave explorers, never enter a cave without a competent guide.

Safety Measures which can be used for tourist and sport caving:

Never touch an animal inside a cave. Never touch delicate limestone formation. Do not leave anything on the cave even

biodegradable wastes. Never write or vandalize the cave

formations on the wall. Never take anything, however small, as

souvenir.