Benefits of Ecotourism: People and Nature Thriving in Unison
Sustainable Economic Alternatives
Restoring the Dry Forest
As a volunteer intern at EcoSwell, one of our main goals is to help people in nature thrive together. I learned from Omprakash Unit 3 that often times, human “progress” comes at the expense of the natural environment. In Peru’s Northern Coast, I was able to witness the impact of human progress on nature firsthand.
One of Peru’s most popular dishes is “Pollo a la Brasa,” which is a form of chicken roasted over firewood. Since the dish is so popular, many restaurants rely on it economically. However, in the hyper-arid climate of Peru’s Northern Coast, wood is scarce. There are areas of dry forest scattered throughout the desert, but the trees are often exploited for their wood, which destroys the habitat of the species that live there.
EcoSwell has taken it upon theirselves to help a nearby town of Piedritas protect their dry forest. Piedritas is an impoverished small town (population 400) just south of Lobitos. There have been instances of people coming from the nearby city of Talara to chop down trees so that they can use or sell the wood for cooking purposes, but one man in Piedritas built a fence around the declining dry forest in efforts to sustain his livestock, which luckily slowed its destruction. When the EcoSwell team first visited Piedritas, they immediately took notice of its natural beauty, and realized the economic opportunity the dry forest provided besides roasting chicken. That is, they identified Piedritas as a prime location for ecotourism and teamed up with their partners to construct hiking trails and an ecotourism center in the town.
“They identified Piedritas as a prime location for ecotourism and teamed up with their partners to construct hiking trails and an ecotourism center in the town. ”
Economic and Environmental benefits of Ecotourism
In this way, Ecoswell successfully enabled people and nature to thrive in unison. Ecotourism will positively impact the Piedritas community because it will bring in much needed income and create jobs for its people, including hiking guides, restaurant owners, and potentially souvenir vendors. Additionally, ecotourism is a much more sustainable practice than selling roasted chicken because it does not promote deforestation. In short, by creating alternative economic opportunities from the dry forest, EcoSwell was able to incentivize the Piedritas community to protect their dry forest, which in turn, protected endemic species such as the Sechuran fox, Peruvian Woodcutter, and many more.
To me, the ecotourism project in Piedritas is very inspiring because it demonstrates that destruction of the natural environment is not essential for human “progress” after all. In fact, the situation in Piedritas is very eye-opening because sustainable treatment of the dry forest actually allowed the community to progress more than the previous, destructive treatment. I can only imagine how different the state of the natural world would be if people found more ways to thrive in unison with their surrounding environment.
“Through new economic opportunities, EcoSwell was able to incentivize the Piedritas community to protect their dry forest, which in turn, protected endemic species”
