Community Impacts of Ecotourism: A Case-study of a Women’s Artisan Cooperative in Monteverde, Costa Rica Erin Kuo Abstract This paper investigates the community impacts of ecotourism in Monteverde, Costa Rica by surveying women who work for a local artisans’ cooperative, CASEM (Comite de Artesania Santa Elena Monteverde), producing crafts for ecotourists. The survey addresses issues of long-term sustainability of ecotourism in Monteverde through questions focused on income changes, occupation, and attitudes toward tourism and conservation. Thirty-three women responded to the surveys and the results demonstrate an overall increase of income for women and their spouses, an increase in employment among the women surveyed, and a decrease in income inequality of the respondents as a consequence of CASEM. Attitudes toward conservation appear extremely positive and do not appear to be directly related to tourism revenues, although this is difficult to conclude with certainty. A majority of the surveyed women believe that tourism and CASEM affect many aspects of their lives from income to family, community, quality of life, and environment. I conclude that most survey respondents feel that the current impacts on their lives from ecotourism in Monteverde are mostly positive.Introduction Ecotourism can be defined as a form of tourism wherein nature is the primary attraction. This unique form of tourism is commonly established in environmentally and economically sensitive or fragile areas; it is usually implemented in the third-world countries as a source of economic development by marketing undeveloped forests, oceans, and other pristine environments. The fragility of these areas is a relative concept and should be understood to apply to not only the biophysical components of the environment but also the human and social components (Price 1996). Many past studies on tourism focus on the tourist rather than the host (Chambers 1997). However, ecotourism and ethnic tourism, which tend to involve a sense of the socially and environmentally responsible tourist, have drawn the attention of anthropologists, environmentalists, and economists to study some community impacts (Hitchcock 1997, Chambers 1997). In different case-studies examining societies impacted by ecotourism, the questions of long-term sustainability and community involvement have become central questions in evaluating the long-term success and continuation of this form of tourism as a mode of development (Harrison 1996, Newcomer 1999, Spinrad 1982). As compared to some traditional modes of development, such as resource exploitation, mass tourism and industrial development, ecotourism is a promising alternative means of economic support for coupling economic growth and sustainable development. If one is to understand ecotourism as a unique form of tourism, striving to minimize impacts and achieve sustainability, one must first understand the concept of sustainability. Sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED 1987). The current pattern of development in Latin America is said to be unsustainable (Kaimowitz 1997). In the pursuit of economic growth, some developing nations have rushed into land conversion, agricultural development, and export-based economies. Many of these strategies fail to incorporate long-term social and environmental planning in order to ensure long-term productivity. In Amazonia, the ideology of converting “empty non-productive” forests into a short-term and immediately “profitable and productive resource” led to wide-spread deforestation, displacement of indigenous people, and irreversible soil erosion (Dore 1997). Many of these development and land-use strategies were found to be unsustainable.Within the last two decades Costa Rica has become an extremely popular ecotourism destination and in 1992 was named the number one ecotourism destination by the U.S. Travel and Adventure Society (Honey 1999). Prior to the 1980’s, Costa Rica led the world in the highest rates of deforestation (sdnp.undp.org 31 December 2001). However, a long history of environmental awareness and conservation among the public coupled with economic motivation from pharmaceutical companies and increasing levels of ecotourism led the government to adopt a policy of sustainable development (sdnp.undp.org 31 December 2001). Aside from its relative wealth and political stability, ecotourists are drawn to Costa Rica for its system of private, state, and national parks that encompass 25% of the national territory (infocostarica.com 17 January 2001). Within Costa Rica an increasingly popular ecotourist destination is Monteverde. My objective is to examine some of the host community impacts of ecotourism through a case-study approach with a women’s artisan group which is in conjunction with a community cooperative in Monteverde, Costa Rica: Comite de Artesanas Santa Elena Monteverde (CASEM). The focus of this study is to evaluate a) whether CASEM has increased the income of he families involved, b) whether CASEM has changed the women’s desire to work, c) what the attitudes of the women who work at CASEM are to the environment. Monteverde, Costa Rica has been cited as an idyllic example of an ecotourism project which conserves the natural environment and benefits the local community with the potential for contributing to the sustainable development of this community (Price 1996, Baez 1996, Boo 1990). Many statistics and observations have been reported to support this idea of a successful ecotourism project in Monteverde (Baez 1996, Boo 1990, Newcomer 1999). However, in the literature I found on tourism in this region, nowhere did I encounter the opinions of local residents regarding impacts of tourism on their community. This study examines some of the opinions and changes that tourism has brought to Monteverde by asking some of the women of CASEM about economic changes and attitudes toward tourism and environmental conservation within their community. Some of these factors may help to determine the potential of maintaining ecotourism and sustainable development in Monteverde. Methods Study Area Tourists from all over the world come to Monteverde to observe the diverse flora and fauna and varying life zones or to enjoy canopy tours and eco-adventures. From
View Full Document
Unlocking...