Ursa International

Community Ecotourism Projects

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Community-based ecotourism (CBE) is based on the assets that a community has, and brings control of those assets into community hands. Usually these communities are in rural areas, and have many natural resources available to them that can be used as attractions for tourists -- waterfalls, wildlife, mountains, jungles, oceans, lakes, and more. Additionally, cultural aspects of the community -- crafts, history, ethnicity, archeology -- can be used as attractions as well. CBE allows local people to have a say over development of their lands, make decisions on revenue distributions, and promote local crafts, talents, and visions, thus both economically & socially empowering local people, while preserving their environment & culture.

Follow links for Project Briefs on the following studies:
 
 
Involvement of Local People in Ecotourism
Community Baboon Sanctuary, Belize


Eco-guide Training and Development
Senaru Village, Lombok, Indonesia
Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance


Impact on Feeding Wildlife by Tourists
Berenty Reserve, Madagascar


Women, Crafts and Conservation Attitudes
Santa Marianita, Ecuador


Rural Ecotourism Assessment Program (REAP)
Hopkins Village and the Seine Bight-Placencia Peninsula, Belize


Cohesive Community Planning or Rural Sprawl?
Re-Evaluation of the Belize River Valley Communities and 
the Community Baboon Sanctuary


Red Wolves: Creating Economic Opportunity Through
Ecotourism In Rural North Carolina

Tyrrell & Hyde Counties, North Carolina, USA