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Organization type: NGO
Profile:
The Nature Conservancy works with organizations, communities, the private sector, and protected area managers around the world to advance ecotourism that:
- Generates income for conservation;
- Reduces threats to wildlife and natural communities; and
- Supports community-based ecotourism.
Throughout its work, the Conservancy develops and shares tools and strategies that can be used by a variety of people and organizations to improve tourism management. As the largest conservation organization in the world, the Conservancy is able to exert a positive influence on ecotourism practices beyond the places it directly works.
In addition to the approaches described above, other ways the Conservancy promotes sustainable tourism in and around protected areas are to:
- Provide assistance to governments developing policies for generating income from protected areas;
- Facilitate dialogues between the tourism industry and resource managers;
- Provide training, technical assistance, and informational resources to tourism practitioners at regional and international fora;
- Help local businesses and conservation partners reach international markets to promote ecotourism practices; and
- Develop partnerships with international conservation organizations, such as the UNESCO World Heritage Center, to apply their work at a large scale.
Areas of Sustainable Tourism (ST) expertise:
- Ecotourism
- Community-based ecotourism (CBE)
- Sustainable tourism in protected areas
- Tourism and financial sustainability of protected areas
Particular tourism niches:
- Sustainable tourism planning in protected areas
- Tourism impact monitoring/Limits of Acceptable Change/carrying capacity
- Tourism-based income-generation mechanisms for protected area systems (entrance fees, concessions, etc.)
- Economic valuation of tourism in protected area systems
- Business planning for CBE
Regions worked:
- South America
- Central America
- Caribbean
- Southeast Asia
USAID projects:
- Latin America and the Caribbean: TNC/AID Parks in Peril Ecotourism Program (1996 to present)
This program covers all above-mentioned niches and activities, with emphasis on capacity-building for protected area managers, local NGOs, and local communities.
- Bolivia: Mission-led Country Ecotourism Assessment (2003)
- Ecotourism Development Manual Series in two volumes—in English and Spanish (Volume 1 also available in French and Portugese)
- Various publications, including case studies
Recent ST partnerships and collaborations:
- Ecuador: Ecuadorian Ecotourism Association
Sustainable Tourism Forum
- Bolivia: Jornadas de Ecoturismo, with Ministry of Tourism and private sector
- Charter member and former board member of the International Ecotourism Society
- UNESCO World Heritage Center/UNF 2005-2008
Contact:
Andy Drumm
Senior Ecotourism Specialist & Desk Officer, External Affairs, South America Conservation Region
The Nature Conservancy - Worldwide Office
4245 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, Virginia 22203 USA
Phone: (703) 841-8177
http://www.nature.org/aboutus/travel/ecotourism/
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