
Ecotourism and Certification
272 pages
6 x 9
The idea of "ecotourism" has taken off in recent years, but a crucial detail is often neglected: how do we know that an enterprise truly meets the goals and standards of ecotourism? Certification—the rating of lodges, resorts, tour operators, and other sectors of the tourism industry by independent auditors who verify environmental and social impacts—has emerged as the most promising answer. Ecotourism and Certification offers a valuable overview of ecotourism certification and lays out the basic challenges and strategies for establishing certification programs.
The book begins by establishing baseline information on the tourism industry, situating ecotourism within the larger tourism industry, and tracing the history of certification. The second chapter explores the concepts underlying certification followed by a chapter that examines certification as a tool in other industries such as forestry and coffee production. The remainder of the book highlights case studies of the most promising certification schemes around the world. Written by experts who have been closely involved with the projects described, case studies include:
Ecotourism is a promising approach to protecting threatened environments and communities around the world and certification is a key to making it effective. This is the first book to take a global look at the emergence and application of certification, and it speaks largely through the voices of those directly involved with the industry and in the countries where is has been applied. It will be an important contribution for ecotourism and development professionals worldwide.
Preface
Acronyms
Introduction \ Martha Honey and Emma Stewart
PART I. Concepts
Chapter 1. The Evolution of "Green" Standards for Tourism \ Martha Honey and Emma Stewart
Chapter 2. Exploring the Concepts Underlying Certification \ Robert Toth
Chapter 3. Certification Systems for Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism: Can They Transform Social and
Environmental Practices? \ Michael E. Conroy
PART II. Cases
Chapter 4. Environmental Certification for Tourism in Central America:CST and Other Programs \ Amos Bien
Chapter 5: Australia:The Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program \ Guy Chester and Alice Crabtree
Chapter 6. Eco-labels for Tourism in Europe:Moving the Market toward More Sustainable Practices \ Herbert Hamele
Chapter 7. Beyond Hotels: Nature-Based Certification in Europe \ Xavier Font and Tanja Mihalic
Chapter 8. Getting Started: The Experiences of South Africa and Kenya \ Eddie Koch, Peter John Massyn, and Anna Spenceley
Chapter 9. Planning for Ecotourism amidst Political Unrest: Fiji Navigates a Way Forward \ Kelly S. Bricker
Chapter 10. Green Globe: A Global Environment Certification Program for Travel and Tourism \ Annalisa Koeman, Graeme Worboys, Terry De Lacy, Ashley Scott, and Geoffrey Lipman
Chapter 11. Accreditation: Certifying the Certifiers \ Ronald Sanabria
Chapter 12. Conclusions
Appendix
Glossary of Terms
About the Contributors
Index