Ecotourism 38.4

Ecotourism 38.4

Alternatives got interested in ecotourism because it raises questions about greenwashing, the parameters of sustainable development and comparisons to other forms of travel. Joe Pavelka profiles a pair of Peruvian families who demonstrate ecotourism’s most holistic qualities. Rachel DeMotts and Larry Swatuk look at the complexities of promoting tourism through conservation in southern Africa, and discover that solutions are often easier to identify than implement.

Alternatives got interested in ecotourism because it raises questions about greenwashing, the parameters of sustainable development and comparisons to other forms of travel. Joe Pavelka profiles a pair of Peruvian families who demonstrate ecotourism’s most holistic qualities. Rachel DeMotts and Larry Swatuk look at the complexities of promoting tourism through conservation in southern Africa, and discover that solutions are often easier to identify than implement. Amid heated debate over oil pipelines in Canada, Chelsea Gutzman speaks to ecotourism outfitters in the proposed Northern Gateway path about how the project will change their operations. Plus many more ecotourism destinations and thoughts from Canada and around the world.

 Read selected articles and web extras from this issue

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Letters to the Editor

In Brief: Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Report Card, Grow Opps, Killer Canary, Leave the Gold in Them Thar Hills – Chelsea Gutzman, Ellen Jakubowski

The Brown Baggage of Green Economics – Anjali Appadurai
Rio+20 delegates imaged a green economy, but neglected the ideas of wealth and stewardship.

Notes from the Field – Grainne Ryder, Joy Sammy, Pritzi Castaneda, Todd Walters
Four places around the globe exemplify four different approaches to ecotourism.

Conflicts and Conundrums – Larry Swatuk, Rachel DeMotts
In southern Africa, there’s no easy route to the ecotourist promise of stewardship and livelihood gains.

Not-So-Strange Bedfellows – Akanksha Halbe, Paul Parker
Leaders in the hotel sector are proving that five-star luxury and a lighter footprint can thrive under the same roof.

Shooting for Impact – Chelsea Gutzman
An interview with Pacific Wild found and film producer Ian McAllister

Great Escapes for the Curious Traveller – Chelsea Gutzman, Emily Slofstra
From research trips to science centres to ecology camps, we dug up 50 great places to bend your mind.

The Unsinkable Scientist – Sheila Harrington
When the federal government tried to cover up evidence of wild BC salmon being infected by a virus from farmed salmon, they underestimated Alexandra Morton.

The Energy Matrix: The Vision of Frederick Soddy – Andrew Nikiforuk
In the economy of energy flows, a burnt hydrocarbon is wealth spent, not saved.

In Review: Hindsight is Foresight – David B. Brooks
Plato’s Revenge: Politics in the Age of Ecology by William Ophuls

What’s the Big Idea? Community – Robert Gibson
All of us have the guts to admit our co-dependents.


We acknowledge the financial support of Canada’s International­ Development Research Centre (www.idrc.ca); EJLB Foundation; Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation; The McLean Foundation; Ontario Arts Council; Ontario Media Development Corporation; Ontario Work Study Plan and the Sustainability Network. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund for our publishing activities. The support of the Faculty of Envrionment at the University of Waterloo and the Waterloo Environmental Students Endowment Foundation is appreciated.

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