Benefits and Drawbacks of Ecotourism生态旅游之利弊

Ecotourism—travel to areas that conserve the natural environment—makes up one of the largest segments of global tourism income. It’s also one of the fastest-growing kinds of tourism， and responsible for producing more than $28 billion in revenue for developing nations. And when ecotourism works well， it conserves the fragile habitats as it provides income for local communities and indigenous peoples.

生态旅游——即前往自然环境保护区的旅游活动——跻身全球旅游收入占比最高之列。它也是目前发展最迅猛的旅游形式之一，已为发展中国家创造超过280亿美元的收入。如果生态旅游发展顺利，可为当地社区和原住民带来经济收益，同时可以保护脆弱的生物栖息地。

But while ecotourism can provide many benefits for both the environment and local people， not all ecotourism is sustainable and beneficial to local communities and conservation efforts.

生态旅游对环境非常有利，亦能给当地居民带来诸多好处，但并非所有的生态旅游都具可持续性，也并非都有利于当地社区以及生态保护工作。

Benefits of ecotourism

生态旅游的益处

The primary benefit of ecotourism is that it encourages the development of local conservation efforts while also strengthening the economies of communities that are often impoverished. The income from ecotourism can enable these local communities to self-fund conservation projects， making them less dependent on provincial or national governments for funding. Even if priorities of local or state officials shift， conservation efforts that are funded locally will stay funded.

生态旅游的主要益处在于促进当地生态保护工作的开展，同时改善这些通常赤贫地区的经济。凭借生态旅游的收入，当地得以为生态保护项目自筹资金，从而减少对省级政府或中央政府的资金依赖。即使未来地方或中央政府的扶持重点发生变化，当地自筹资金开展的生态保护工作仍将保持资金不断流。

The income from ecotourism is also typically more sustainable than the income derived from extractive industries like logging， mining or agriculture. Building an economy around eco-tourism can encourage communities to think long-term—income from tourism should increase with investment in local amenities and infrastructure that both tourists and community members will benefit from. Residents will also bene-fit from the environmental education offered by local conservation projects， even if they are aimed at tourists.

同伐木、采矿等采掘行业或者农业相比，生态旅游业的收入通常更具可持续性。围绕生态旅游发展经济可以促使当地人做出长远规划。旅游收入会随着便利设施和基础建设投资的增加而上升，外来游客和社区成员均可从中获益。当地生态保护项目所提供的环境教育虽主要面向游客，亦可惠及当地居民。

Possible drawbacks of ecotourism

生态旅游可能的弊端

Unfortunately， ecotourism can be a double-edged sword for conservation—the most successful ecotourism industries will both benefit from and suffer because of the number of tourists they attract. Large amounts of foot traffic and construction like fences， bright lights and vehicle paths can disturb native wildlife， even in reserves meant to protect them. And when animals become accustomed to human contact， especially if they are fed by tourists， they can become more vulnerable to poachers.

遗憾的是，生态旅游对环境保护来说可能是一把双刃剑——生态旅游发展最成功的相关产业会因慕名而来的大量游客受益，也会因之受损。巨大的客流以及围栏、照明、车道等设施会侵扰当地的野生动物，即便在那些为保护它们而建的保护区也是如此。而且，一旦动物习惯了与人接触，尤其是接受游客投喂之后，在面对偷猎者时将更难自保。

When a community builds an economy on ecotourism， they’re also building on demand that fluctuates with weather， season and exchange rates. Ecotourism is typically more sustainable over the long-term than industries that extract resources from the environment. However， short-term dips in revenue can leave local businesses that depend on ecotourism in the lurch. And workers who can’t depend on ecotourism may be forced to turn back to industries that harm the environment.

以生态旅游为基础的经济，其发展有赖于随天气变化、季节更替和汇率升降而不断波动的旅游需求。从长远来看，生态旅游产业通常比资源开采行业更具可持续性。然而，短期收入下降会导致依赖生态旅游的地方企业陷入困境。无法靠生态旅游维持生计的工人们可能被迫重回危害环境的行业。

Ecotourism developments， especially those run by foreign companies or non-local businesses， can force indigenous people into competition with lodges and safari1 parks. One example highlighted by 2010 Goldman Prize2 winner Thuli Makama3 was in Swaziland4， where local people were forced off their lands by the development of a local ecotourism industry. Indigenous methods of conservation are not at odds with ecotourism—but some businesses may force the two into competition. And without proper research， you may not even know that the economic benefits of wildlife conservation aren’t being felt by local people.

生态旅游开发项目，尤其是那些外国公司或外地企业经营的项目，可能会使当地居民同各种旅舍和野生动物园之间产生竞争。例如，2010年戈德曼环境奖得主图丽·莫卡玛特别提到过一个案例：在斯威士兰某地，某种生态旅游产业的开发导致本土居民被迫离开自己的土地。当地的生态保护措施与生态旅游本不矛盾，但一些企业可能迫使二者互相竞争。而且，未经充分调研，你甚至不会知道，当地人并未感受到野生动植物保护带来的经济利益。

Responsible and sustainable eco-tourism

负责任、可持续的生态旅游

But it wouldn’t be right to say that ecotourism is bad for the environment. Sustainable ecotourism can work as a kind of compromise that provides money to conservation efforts while limiting the damage of tourism. And without ecotourism， people would still travel anyway—tourism grows as an industry every year， and tourists travel to fragile environments whether the local tourism industry is environmentally-friendly or not.

但是，若说生态旅游对生态环境有害，那也是不对的。可持续生态旅游可以作为一种折中方案，既为生态环境保护提供资金来源，也可限制旅游对生态环境的破坏。况且，即便没有生态旅游，人们照样还会出游——旅游产业每年都在发展，游客仍会涉足生态环境脆弱的地区，无论当地的旅游业是否环保。

A good eco-tourist destination will encourage tourists to respect wildlife—and also to limit their interactions with both plants and animals to photography and observation. The destination should not encourage that tourists bring food with them to feed the animals. Tourists should be encouraged to stay out of sight of especially vulnerable animals. Even being seen by some animals， like Ma-gellanic penguin chicks， can be enough to raise their stress levels and possibly harm their health.

管理完善的生态旅游景点会鼓励游客尊重野生生物——人与动植物之间的互动仅限于拍照和观察。旅游区不应鼓励游客携带食物投喂动物，还应提醒游客避免进入那些特别脆弱的动物的视线。一些动物，比如麦哲伦企鹅幼鸟，只要有人出现在视线之内，就足以增加它们的压力，甚至可能损害它们的健康。

Not all ecotourism is sustainable. But with some research， a tourist should be able to know whether or not their destination is practicing good stewardship of the environment and benefits local and indigenous people.

并非所有的生态旅游都是可持续的。但是经过一些调研，游客应该能清楚所到景点环境管理状况好不好，到此地旅游是否能够造福当地民众和原住民。

（译者单位：中央民族大学外国语学院）

1 safari（尤指在非洲进行的）观察野生动物之行，游猎。

2即戈德曼环境奖（Goldman Environmental Prize），该奖项表彰在基层为环保作出重大贡献的个人，有“绿色诺贝尔奖”之称。

3斯威士兰唯一的公益环境律师。2009年4月，图丽·莫卡玛为非政府环保组织在斯威士兰环境管理局赢得了代表权，从而为保障私人野生动物保护区附近的当地社区居民的利益带来了希望。

4斯威士兰王国位于南非和莫桑比克之间，拥有丰富的野生动物资源和独特的山地地貌。