Ecotourism education and awareness program : manual for CI Community extensionists

Abstract

Ecotourism is often seen as an option to enhance the economic well being of local populations and to encourage environmental conservation, yet rural and indigenous communities often may lack access to information and the opportunity to better discuss and understand these issues. The Ecotourism Education and Awareness Program consists of relevant and useful information regarding tourism and conservation and includes a series of activities intended to increase the capacity of communities to understand and assess the potentials of sustainable tourism. The EEAP is part of Conservation International’s Ecotourism Development Program (EDP). The EDP is a comprehensive approach to sustainable ecotourism development that addresses the issues most pertinent to a given country or region by designing a series of highly interactive workshops tailored to fit the specific needs of that area.