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From Africa Recovery, Vol.13#1 (June 1999), page

Ecotourism propels development

But social acceptance depends on economic opportunities for local communities

By Frances E. Vieta

In 1998 Africa was the fastest-growing region for international tourism, now the world's largest growth industry, with no sign of slowing down. International tourism in Africa increased by 7.5 per cent, with 24.9 million tourists visiting African countries during the year, according to figures compiled by the World Tourism Organization (WTO).

South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Madagascar helped lead the growth of tourism in Africa, particularly in ecotourism, the fastest-growing sector according to the WTO. Ecotourism -- commonly used to describe any form of tourism in natural surroundings -- accounts for 20 per cent of total international tourism. WTO forecasts that, worldwide, international tourists will increase from 613 million in 1997 to 1.6 billion by 2020 and earnings will jump from $443 billion in 1997 to more than $2 trillion by 2020.

Several African countries are set to cash in on this development, particularly in ecotourism. Zimbabwe, for example, which targets ecotourists who spend more and stay longer, is expected to earn more than Z$6 bn this year, making tourism the third largest foreign currency earner after agriculture and mining.

In recognition of ecotourism's growth potential, particularly for developing countries, the UN Economic and Social Council recently declared 2002 the International Year of Ecotourism. Many countries in Africa, particularly the continent's tourism leaders (Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe) are investing heavily in ecotourism. The University of Pretoria in South Africa has also responded by establishing the Centre for Ecotourism, which provides a wide-ranging service to the ecotourism industry in Southern Africa.

Ecotourism in Africa varies widely. Enthusiasts view gorillas in Uganda and lemurs (small nocturnal, endangered mammals) in Madagascar, go trekking in Ethiopia and birding in Botswana, look at rock paintings in South Africa, visit rainforests in Ghana, scuba dive in the Seychelles and enjoy walking and photographic safaris in East and Southern Africa.

Creating new jobs

Economic benefits, including entry fees, licences and concessions, often generate substantial funds to support conservation and management of natural environments. In a number of countries, tourist expenditures on lodging, transportation, food, guides, and souvenirs is an important source of income for local communities.

Employment generated by ecotourism-related jobs is sometimes one of the most significant benefits for local communities, providing supplemental income to rural farmers, women and young people. Hundreds of people, for example, live off the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, where foreign tourists trek to view gorillas; they work as rangers and camping staff or provide food, crafts and entertainment to the tourists. In the Buhoma valley just outside the park, many local businesses have started up, offering goods and services to visitors. The multiplier effect of tourism can be substantial. It is estimated that for every hotel room, one to two jobs are created directly or indirectly. In Zimbabwe, where ecotourism is fast earning international recognition, the tourism industry employs about 200,000 people.

Because it is unnecessary to give up historic work patterns or to make large investments, relatively little is at risk or lost if ecotourism does not generate the expected levels of benefits.

High 'leakage' of earnings

Ecotourism's direct contribution to national income is not accurately measured by gross income levels. A more precise indicator is net earnings, after deductions have been made for all necessary foreign exchange expenditures. This is because economic impact studies consistently find a high level of "leakage" of initial tourist spending, with much of it leaving the host country to pay for profits on investments by transnational hotel chains and tour operators, and for imported goods and services used in the tourism industry. The World Bank estimates this leakage to be 55 per cent for the typical developing country, but it can be substantially higher.

Many governments, however, have reduced these leakages by encouraging local participation in the tourism industry and support services. In Zambia, for example, privatization of game lodges and hunting concessions is regulated on an international competitive bid basis, but to encourage local investors and particularly indigenous entrepreneurs, certain leases and hunting concessions have been reserved for domestic bidders.

In sub-Saharan Africa there are about 440 protected areas covering about 2,600,000 square hectares. These protected areas are vital assets for the development of ecotourism, and conservation organizations support ecotourism because of its financial or political contribution to the existence and management of protected areas.

Ghana, which is seriously developing its ecotourism potential, has had a sustained annual growth of 12 per cent in tourist revenues. These are expected to reach $1.6 bn by 2010, and tourism will likely become the number one foreign exchange earner in the foreseeable future. Already, 80-90 per cent of Ghana's original forests has been lost or seriously degraded through settlement, agriculture and timber extraction. Ghana's ecotourism programme currently focuses on the Central Region, including the Kakum National Park where forest elephants, seven species of primates, and high antelope and bird diversity provide tremendous potential for ecotourism. The first of its kind in Africa, the Kakum canopy walkway, perched 30 metres above the ground, gives a unique bird's eye view of the rainforest.

The walkway opened in 1995 not only for visitors and scientists, but also as a source of revenue for conservation activities. The number of visitors has increased from 20,000 in 1995 to 59,000 in 1998, while revenue from the walkway rose from $10,000 to $108,000. A portion of the revenue from park admission fees reverts to the Ghana Wildlife Department, the agency that manages the park. The remainder accrues to the newly created Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust, a local non-governmental organization that will use the funds to support continued operation of the walkway, conservation activities, and sustainable development projects in the communities around Kakum.

Sharing revenue with local communities

Any kind of tourism, however, is a fickle business. Ecotourists do not travel to areas at risk from war or civil strife or where there are severe health problems. The eruption of any of these factors quickly dries up the supply of would-be ecotourists.

Gorilla tracking is a good example. There are only about 630 mountain gorillas in the world and they live exclusively in the forests along the Virunga volcanoes bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda. Wars that broke out in 1994 in the Great Lakes region stopped tourism in Rwanda and the DRC, and pushed up demand to view gorillas in Uganda, where some 300 live in Bwindi forest.

The potential for ecotourism based on gorilla viewing led to the establishment of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in 1991, with gorilla viewing beginning in 1993. Visitors increased from 2,250 in 1995 to 3,450 in 1998 and tour operators estimate that more than 70 per cent of Uganda's tourism revenue comes from gorilla tourism.

The case of Bwindi illustrates the difficulties of developing an efficient, equitable and sustainable mechanism for channeling funds to ensure that local communities derive maximum benefit. Early on, Uganda developed sustainable revenue sharing for local communities and a pilot programme for benefit sharing in Bwindi. According to the first plan from 1995 to 1997, 8 per cent of the $280 gorilla-tracking fee was allocated to the local community, providing considerable funds for building schools, clinics and roads. In 1998, however, the fee-sharing arrangement was changed so that only 20 per cent of the $25 park entrance fee was allocated to community development projects, drastically reducing the amount going to the communities and halting many of the previously supported community activities. Experts are urging a review of the fee-sharing arrangement to find the appropriate levels to be given to the communities, if ecotourism in Uganda is to continue to be ecologically responsible, sustainable and community appropriate.

In 1997 tourism generated $276 mn for Uganda -- second only to coffee's hard currency earnings. But this economic windfall could end the same way it did for Uganda's neighbours, following the March 1999 massacre of four Ugandans, including a game warden, and eight foreign tourists in Bwindi by roving Rwandan anti-government guerrillas. Transnational tour operators quickly closed down. Whether there will be future interest in gorilla viewing in Bwindi remains to be seen, although there are strong indications that the sheer attraction of the adventure will prevail. More than 100 foreign tourists visited Bwindi in the few weeks after a four-week closure following the attack.

Madagascar, which also is promoting tourism (the country's second largest foreign-exchange earner), had by 1998 established 40 new protected areas, covering roughly 2 per cent of the country's land area. But these areas are densely populated and intensively farmed because of their favourable climate. To reconcile the interests of farmers and the tourist industry, the official tourism policy is based on participatory ecotourism. Revenues from ecotourism are shared with local communities to compensate for restrictions on land use in parks and protected areas, thereby ensuring that these communities benefit from the tourism.

For example, Ranomafana National Park was established in 1986 to protect the Golden Bamboo lemurs. The number of visitors more than doubled, reaching 6,000 between 1993 and 1996. Half the revenues generated by the park are earmarked for the development of the buffer zone around the park, intensively used for agriculture, including irrigated rice, coffee, horticulture, and shifting cultivation. Local communities invest their money in intensified rice production, agroforestry, the construction of small dams, schools and health services, and the development of credit schemes. Ultimately, it is such improvements for local host communities that make ecotourism socially and economically acceptable, and not just a marketing ploy.

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