Brief Case Studies on Sustainable Mountain Tourism

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Sustainable Mountain Tourism in action:

Brief Case Studies

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AFRICA, ASIA/PACIFIC, LATIN AMERICA: EUROPE, NORTH AMERICA:

Case studies

Sustainable mountain tourism in action

According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), tourism is sustainable if itmeets the needs of the present tourists and host regions while protecting andenhancing the opportunity for the future. The World Tourism Organization (WTO)sees sustainable tourism as leading to the management of all resources in such a

way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled, while maintainingcultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life supportsystems.

The following examples from around the world show how tourism in mountains can beimplemented successfully in a sustainable way.


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AFRICA

Morocco: Kasbah de ToubkalThe Kasbah de Toubkal is a mountain retreat situated in the High Atlas at 1800metres above sea level and 40 miles from Marakech. The Kasbah is the home ofeleven villages of the Ait Mizane tribe of the High Atlas and is equipped for day visits, seminars,residential stays or as a base for more active pursuits. The Kasbah has

been developed for tourism in a joint Berber and European partnership: and with ashared belief that the beauty of the Toubkal National Park should be accessible to all who respectit. The Kasbah was reconstructed by locals using as many local

materials as possible. In 1996, the site became a the setting for the Martin Scorsese filmKundun and the funds earned from the film were used to start up a wasteremoval system. During the same year, the manufacture of local handicrafts wasencouraged for the Kasbah du Toubkal to display for visitors. In 1998, a High Atlas Tourist codewas developed and is distributed to all visitors: it requests that theyrespect the mountains and keep them clean. Read more:

Tanzania: Cultural Tourism Programme

The Cultural Tourism Programme (CTP) in Tanzania is a network of local groups whooperate independently from each other: each group offers its individually developed

tour package in different parts of the country. Supported by the Dutch DevelopmentOrganization (SNV), the Programme aims at helping rural communities to enjoy the

benefits of the tourism sector of which they are a key part. Typical packages includehiking and trekking tours, and imparting knowledge about the cultural heritage of theMaasai tribes and their history. Tourists can also learn about "wildlife", flora and itsmedicinal uses, or simply about East African agriculture. The Cultural TourismProgramme is a successful attempt at offering direct participation to the population inthe existing tourism industry. The Programme shows that it is possible to develop acompletely new product, parallel to and without having to compete with mainstreamtourism, a product whose profits go straight to the local project holders and throughthem also to the village communities involved. The initiators have succeeded increating a socially responsible and sustainable tourism product which, through its


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attractiveness, is suited to being marketed by the established tourism industry and which couldbe of interest to other tour operators for Africa. Read more.

Uganda: Buhoma Village Walk

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is situated in Southwest Uganda and hosts almosthalf of the worlds mountain gorilla population and 12 other threatened animalspecies. To protect the mountain forest's rich biodiversity, the Ugandan governmentdeclared Bwindi a national park in 1991. However, this barred the local populationfrom removing forest products and so threatened the communities that depended onthe park's forest resources to make a living. Forty percent of the population livingaround the park lack sufficient land to meet basic needs and 16 percent of the

population are landless. They rely on the forest for weaving materials, medicinalplants, hunting, honey collection, fruit gathering and building poles. Theinaccessibility of the park to those living around it fuelled conflicts between thecommunities and the park.A FAO project, launched in 2001, has enabled more than

300 small-scale natural resource-based enterprises to be set up around the park,with community members running them independently and earning income. Activitiesrange from food production to tourist tours. The Buhoma Village Walk, for example,is a guided tour offered mainly to tourists visiting the Bwindi Impenetrable NationalPark for gorilla watching. This initiative adds to the variety of tourist activities offeredin the area, while also providing members of the local community with an alternativesource of income directly linked to conservation. Read more.

ASIA/PACIFIC

Afghanistan: Mountain Wilderness

Few tourists have ventured to Afghanistans magnificent mountain ranges over thelast two decades due to persistent war and conflict. Yet, a new era in Afghanmountaineering may be set to begin. In a special ceremony in Kabul on 4 August2005, 22 mountain leaders graduated from a pilot programme designed to beginreviving Afghanistans trekking industry. The graduates of the programme -- the firstenvironmentally-friendly mountaineering programme in Afghanistan -- came fromvarious parts of the country (Badakhshan, Bamyan, Nuristan, Kabul and the

Panjshir), and included two women and eight former soldiers. Each trainee wastaught to assist tourist groups in their mountain climbs or treks, as well as shown howto build capacity with local populations and promote community-based andenvironmentally-friendly tourism that would help preserve Afghanistans naturalenvironment and cultural values. The programme was sponsored by the Afghan

National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) and Mountain WildernessInternational (MWI), in cooperation with key partners including the United NationsEnvironment Programme (UNEP) and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).As a next step, the programme will coordinate the development of a framework forsustainable tourism by local, national and international partners. Read more

Australia: Anangu Tours

Anangu Tours is an Aborigine-owned tour company based at Uluru (Ayers Rock) inthe Northern Territory of Australia. It started operations in October 1995, and is nowthe most recognized Aboriginal tour company in Australia as well as having asignificant national and international profile. All the trips offered by Anangu Tours areled by local Aboriginal people. For this reason, Anangu Tours do not climb Ayers


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Rock which is contrary to the Tjukurpa , the "creation law" of the Aboriginal people.Instead, guides lead tours on paths their ancestors walked, interpreting cave

paintings and explaining foods and medicines: how to make bread from the nakedwoollybutt grass seed, where to find bush plums, how to treat sore muscles andcolds with a native fuschia, irramunga. Furthermore, the guides teach bush skills,including fire making, spear throwing, and how to make kiti (glue). Read more.

China (Tibet): Huanglong Biosphere Reserve

The Huanglong Biosphere Reserve is situated in a mountainous area with peaksreaching up to 5,588 meters above sea level. The area has already been noted for itsrich biodiversity and part of it has been inscribed as a UNESCO Natural WorldHeritage site. Major wild animals can be found in the reserve including the GiantPanda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and the leopard (Panthera pardus fusca). It is alsoremarkable from a scenic point of view since the Biosphere Reserve includes asystem of 3,400 travertine pools that are linked by travertine shoals, rapids andwaterfalls. About 630 permanent residents of various ethnic and religious

backgrounds live in the Biosphere Reserve and subside mostly on farming and 1

animal husbandry. However, tourism is of increasing importance in the localeconomy, especially since the sacred site of Huanglong Gorge attracts large

numbers of worshippers every year. The managers of Huanglong Biosphere Reserve are nowtrying to find a scientific way to protect the natural resources in the area, but at the same time usethem in a sustainable way. In order to improve the economicsituation of the local population it is therefore crucial to cooperate with the localcommunities, and use existing traditional knowledge and local products. TheBiosphere Reserve has started to take action to implement sustainable tourismthrough a wide number of measures including sustainable management of nonrenewable resources, waste management, social and cultural management,wastewater and traffic management. Read more.

India (Ladakh): Community based eco-tourism in Hemis National Park

Strong connections to existing livelihoods and local culture, as well as thedevelopment of a diversity of tourism products, helps to reduce poverty, improvelivelihoods and mitigate seasonality. Such is the case of the Himalayan HomestayProgramme, initiated in 2001, in Hemis National Park, under a partnership betweenthe Snow Leopard Conservancy, The Mountain Institute, and the United NationsEducational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Hemis National Park isa high-altitude protected area in the eastern part of the cold desert of Ladakh createdin 1981 for the conservation and protection of its unique flora and fauna and the

endangered snow leopard (uncia uncia). The goal of this eco-tourism programme isto empower local communities to benefit directly from an eco-system that includessnow leopards, through building on existing income-generation activities. Trainingand support was provided to village women co-operatives in Ladakh to offer foreigntourists traditional Himalayan accommodation (homestays) and to run a smallrestaurant during the tourist season. Emphasis is placed on environmentally friendly

practices, including good waste management, the use of natural gas and kerosenefor cooking ( instead of scarce firewood or yak dung) and the sale of pressure-boiled,filtered water to minimize use of plastic mineral water bottles. Solar cookers and solarwater heaters were provided as a subsidized loan, contributing to the hygienic,ecologically friendly and sustainable operation of these facilities. They will be repaid

at about 50% of cost, which goes into a community improvement fund. Both men andwomen are also trained to be village-based nature guides, offering visitors shortwalks or day hikes to look for plants, birds and other wildlife. Local travel agents havenow begun to participate in the programme. For visitors, these eco-tourism activities

provide an authentic and distinctive experience in the worlds highest mountainrange. For villagers, these activities conserve local cultural and natural heritage andvalues while improving livelihoods; and it all adds up to communities being willing


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and able to protect their fragile, high-altitude ecosystem, and the snow leopards whomake it their home. Read more.

India: International Tourism Eco/Bio Tourism in the Kumoan Hills

Kanda, a dispersed settlement of about thirty villages, is situated at 1500 - 1900mabove sea level in Uttranchal, a hilly province in northern India. The area issurrounded by beautiful mountains and terraced fields and its pure air and healthyenvironment are appreciated by visitors from all over the world. Kanda, and its

surrounding villages, face similar challenges to other mountain communities in theHimalayan foothills: including high unemployment, poverty restricted access toquality education, health, and sanitation problems, decreasing agricultural productivity and environmentaldegradation. All these factors are exacerbated by the ever-rising population.

In 1981 the Rural Organization for Social Elevation (ROSE) was founded by localresidents, concerned about the plight of the poor in the Kanda area. Since then,ROSE has implemented a wide range of projects to fight poverty, including one thatfocuses on ecotourism. Since1988 tourists of different nationalities have come to stay at the touristcentre in Sonargaon village. During their stay, which can last from a few days to several months,visitors watch, join and enjoy community life. They areencouraged to use their own personal skills to contribute to the community and takeon the role of an eco-bio tourist. The objective of the project is for ecotourists tolearn about the area and the culture of the people, while at the same timecontributing to the host community: for example, by teaching English, helping withconstruction or reforestation projects. Read more.

Nepal: Annapurna Conservation Area Project

The King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation launched the Annapurna

Conservation Area Project (ACAP), the first and largest conservation area in Nepal, in 1986 as

an innovative concept in the protected area management system of the country. The conservationarea embraces a multiple land use principle of resource management that combinesenvironmental protection with sustainable community development. Traditional subsistenceactivities are woven into a framework of sound resource management, supplemented byconservation, development and alternative energy programs to minimize the negative impacts oftourism and enhance the living standards of the local people. Read more.

Pakistan: Karimabad and Baltit Project Development,

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has restored the prime historic landmark of the 700-

year old Baltit Fort on the terraced slopes in Hunza, in Northern Pakistan. The mainaim of the project is to preserve this setting despite natural decay and the inevitableimpact of recent changes, such as urbanization which has begun to threaten theintegrity of the built heritage. The Fort is now a museum and cultural centre.Moreover, culturally and environmentally compatible small enterprises are being

promoted which provide gift items, local woollen rugs and hand-knotted vegetabledye carpets for visitors. These activities are playing a major part in reinvigorating thetraditional community spirit and restoring the residents' pride of their heritage. A self-

paying waste management project has been set up to safely dispose of human wasteand garbage. The project now attracts over 20,000 visitors a year, half of which arefrom outside the country. Access to the Fort is limited to pedestrians and only 25

visitors are allowed at any one time. To reduce the pressure on the environment, theFort is closed to tourists during the 4-5 months of winter. Read more.


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Viet Nam: Village of Lao Chai in Northern Viet Nam

Viet Nam only opened its borders to travellers in the late 1980s and, in many areas,village life continues as it has for centuries. The great cultural diversity and historyare important attractions for many travellers, but the lack of development also createsincredibly poor and unsanitary conditions in many of the countrys remote regions.

In the village of Lao Chai, Lao Cai Province in the mountains of Northern Viet Nam, afamily has taken action to develop ecotourism, in collaboration with HandspanAdventure Travel. The family invested money to improve living conditions andsanitation in their home, and Handspan guides now bring trekkers from around theworld to stay. Other families in the village have now followed the example and theliving standard of the families, as well as of the village as a whole, have increasedsubstantially. Handspan Adventure Travel is currently helping to raise funds torenovate and expand the school in Lao Chai village. Read more.

LATIN AMERICAArgentina: San Martin de los Andes, Patagonia

San Martn de los Andes, a typical mountain village in Patagonia, lies at the entranceof Lann National Park and represents a classic example of sustainable tourism inLatin America. Surrounded by woods and mountain ranges, the village is a suitablelocation for a wide range of recreational and sporting activities such as skiing, rafting,fishing, hiking and excursions. As tourism is the main socio-economic activity of SanMartn de los Andes, the municipality has acknowledge the importance of anenvironmentally sound environment that needs to be preserved at all costs for future

generations. It is now actively promoting good sustainable practices among theprivate sector and tourists and has developed a code of good practices for hotelowners, as well as an exemplary code of environmentally-sound behaviour forvisitors. Read more.

Bolivia: Alto Madidi National Park

The Alto Madidi region in northwestern Bolivia is located in a belt of high biodiversity,which runs through western South America at a point where the Andes meet theAmazon Basin. The Government of Bolivia recognized the importance of the Madidi

area by establishing the Madidi National Park in 1995 and is now looking toecotourism as a means of generating income for the people living in and around thisimportant ecosystem. The Conservation International Ecotourism Programme hasdeveloped a model ecolodge situated in a unique position at Chalalan to demonstratethe pontential of ecoutourism. A small group of entrepreneurs from the Quechua-Tacana community of San Jos de Uchiapomonas constructed a few buildings for

backpackers in the local thatched-hut style at Lake Chalalan, a site 3 hours by boatdown river from the village. This project aims to provide an excellent example of acommunity owned and managed ecotourism venture. Read more.


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Peru: Saving the Sacred Valley of the Incas

A new association, Saving the Willkamayu has been launched under the auspices ofthe HimalAndes initiative, in order to protect and restore the rivers and watersheds ofPeru, and in particular the Willkamayu Basin, regarded by many as the Sacred Riverof the Incas. Like many of Perus rivers, the Willkamayu - one of the greatest touristattractions in Cusco and the site of many recreational activities and sports - isthreatened by consistent contamination and pollution which is putting the health ofhumans and environments at risk. The Saving the Willkamayu Association aims to

promote awareness of these challenges and to highlight the role that individuals andlocal communities can play in helping to restore the river and its valley. Read more.

Northern Peru: a birdwatching destination

Northern Peru is a region with one of the worlds highest diversity of bird species (morethan 1200 species), which makes it into one of the top destinations for

birdwatchers.A scientific research group undertook an exploratory mission to estimate the potentialof the area for international tourism aznd developed a report in which theyrecommend the implementation of a tourist circuit.This report includes strategies on

how to attract the attention of birdwatchers - an area of tourism which is recognizedas profitable. But most importantly the report emphasizes that the development of thetourist route has to preserve the environment and help to improve the life andlivelihoods of local communities through the promotion of birdwatching. Read more

Venezuela, Argentina and Bolivia: Programa Andes Tropicales

The Programa Andes Tropicales (PAT) is a Venezuelan NGO, founded in 1996,which works for the protection of the natural environment of Venezuela's tropicalAndes. The European Union and the CODESPA Foundation supports the

programme. The programmes goal is to identify and study the causes of theproblems that threaten the region's ecosystems and agricultural infrastructure. Ruralecotourism has been identified as offering support for the region's people, plants andanimals. PAT is currently developing a network of sustainable tourism sites inVenezuela, Argentina and Bolivia. It has conceived a type of rural lodging calledmucuposadas, in which the tourist lives with the indigenous community andcontributes to improving their quality of life and protecting large areas of nature. Atthe same time, the farmers and farm workers who live in these areas obtainresources without having to destroy adjacent lands or cut down parts of tropicalforests in order to expand their croplands. Although the programme began in

Venezuela, PAT is currently trying to expand it into Bolivia and Argentina, with theaim of creating a large network of ecological lodging in the region. Read more.

EUROPE

Austria: The Cheese Route of Bregenzerwald

The Cheese Route is an example of the successful diversification of goods and

services in tourism. The Cheese Street is an affiliation of farmers, landlords, artisansand craft shops in the Bregenzerwald region, who wish to conserve the landscape as


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well as the traditional handicrafts and products of the region. The Cheese Streetprovides visitors with a glimpse of local dairy farming and the role of farmers incultural landscaping. A wide range of cheese specialties and dairy produce areavailable for purchase. The project has been co-financed by the European Union.(European Fund for Regional Development). For further information about weekly

programmes, ideas for hikes, tips for those travelling with children, links to museumsand all about cheese visit http://www.kaesestrasse.at/ (German) orwww.bregenzerwald.at (German, English, French, Italian).

Alps mobility II: Alpine Pearls

The Alpine region is one of the most important recreational areas in Europe and isvery sensitive to ecological imbalance. Tourism and mobility entail each other andare economic and regional key factors on the one hand, but on the other haveconsiderable impacts on environment and health. A study has proved that 50-75% of

the environmental impact of tourism are caused by transport. Trans-sectoralmeasures and transalpine co-operation are necessary therefore to reduce theemissions and negative impact of transport linked to tourism. The focus of the projectI Alps Mobility II - ALPINE PEARLS, an EU Interreg III project, is the creation ofinnovative eco-tourism that combines tourist points of interest with the advantages ofsustainable mobility with environmentally sound transport means. The eco-tourism

package Alpine Pearls not only links tourism and mobility, but particularly links theparticipating model regions with each other in a transalpine sense. The objective is todevelop a travel package through the Alps, using only environmentally soundtransport means, such as railway, buses, bicycles, zero-emission-vehicles, andhorses or walking. Read more

One example of an Alpine Pearl is Werfenweng, a car free holiday resort in Austria.

Werfenweng is located on the southern slopes of the Tennen Mountains and followsthe concept or a car-free holiday resort. The use of private cars is restricted in thevillage. In order to ensure full mobility for the visitors, the local people provide horsecoaches, private chauffeurs, night taxis and a Werfenweng shuttle service. Insummer, a fleet of electric vehicles can be rented. Part of the electricity of the resortis provided by solar power stations. In addition, a farmers shop sells high-quality

products from the area that directly benefit local farmers. Read more

Via Alpina: a hiking network from Monaco to Italy

The Via Alpina consists of 5,000 kilometres of trails, and is the first hiking network toconnect the whole Alpine region, from Monaco to Trieste. The Via Alpina initiativewas launched in 1999 by Frances La Grande Traverse des Alpes association, a

body set up to promote hiking in the French Alps. It is supported by the EuropeanUnion and the eight member countries of the Permanent Committee of the AlpineConvention (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Slovenia,

Switzerland), and has a five-year budget of 4 million. The purpose of the project isto help mountain regions exploit their landscape and cultural resources in a

sustainable way, explained Marcel Grandjean, the Swiss project leader. The trails
http://www.kaesestrasse.at/http://www.bregenzerwald.at/http://www.bregenzerwald.at/http://www.kaesestrasse.at/


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have been planned to serve less well-known regions, off the main tourist routes. The GrandeTraverse des Alpes is in charge of international coordination, but national and local organizationsare responsible for practical implementation. It is a good example of how to promote a socially andecologically compatible form of tourism with a decentralized structure, but which embraces thewhole Alpine region,

explained Werner Btzing, Professor of geography at Erlangen-NuremburgUniversity and an expert on Alpine matters. Read more.

Switzerland: St. Martin (Canton Valais)

The St-Martin Township, located in the Val d'Herens mountain region, began a that wouldreconsiderpotential tourism activities in light of cultural, natural and agricultural sustainability. Themain aim was to halt the out-migration of the local populationthrough the generation of sufficient revenue. The project focuses on a form of softtourism that emphasizes traditional mountain agriculture and built heritage in place of winter skiing,

and is, until now, a great success story. It is also an example of theincreasing awareness and emphasis on cultural and built heritage within localcommunities and within the growing tourism arena.

NORTH AMERICA

Canada: Whistler. Its Our Nature

Whistler is a mountainous resort in British Colombia that has adopted a concept of sustainabletourism called Whistler. Its Our Nature. This concept is the result of a community-wide

programme initiated by a partnership of local organizations andbusinesses to promote and support more sustainable practices among businesses, schools andhouseholds. It is based on the Natural Step framework which ranges from not using chemical

pesticides to downsizing vehicles and installing low-flowtoilets in all municipal facilities. Read more.

Canada: The Banff Heritage Tourism Strategy

Banff National Park in Canada is the world's third-oldest national park and, as anUNESCO World Heritage Site, must meet the highest standards of environmental

stewardship. The Banff Heritage Tourism Strategy (HTS) is a community-basedtourism initiative that has tremendous potential to help overcome the damage beinginflicted by the large numbers of visitors to Banff National Park. The primary aim ofthe Strategy is to sustain Banff as a tourism destination by preserving andcelebrating the beauty and ecological integrity of the park and surrounding areas.Tourism directly or indirectly employs virtually everyone in Banff and has enormouseconomic benefits for the province of Alberta and for Canada as a whole. In order to

protect the precious heritage of the Park and retain its appeal as a tourist destination,the Banff Heritage Tourism Strategy has four linked objectives: i)to ensure visitors are aware they are in a national park; ii) to encourageopportunities, products and services that are consistent with heritage values; iii) to

foster environmental stewardship; and iv) to strengthen employee knowledge ofheritage values through training and accreditation. Read more.


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Examples of unsustainable tourism

Climate change is affecting the world's mountain regions and has a particularlystrong impact on the winter sports tourism industries. Inadequate snow cover over

several seasons means that a destination's winter sports industry ceases to becomeviable. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predictions indicatethat the effects of climate change will be stronger on land surfaces, in the northernhemisphere and in winter - the very location and timing of winter sports tourism. If theconditions predicted for the Swiss Alps over the period 2030-2050 hold true, the

Swiss winter tourism industry is under threat. Only ski areas above 1,600-2,000metres will offer snow-reliable conditions. Already, in many places below 2000metres, resorts are keeping in business by using snow canons: these machinesrequire huge amounts of energy and have a negative impact on fragile mountain ecosystems.

Morzine-Avoriaz, a commune in the northern French Alps, has already experienced the effects ofclimate change in two of its resorts. Morzine, a lower-level resort (1,000 metres), catering to a familyclientele, is facing snow cover problems, while thenewer, high-altitude resort of Avoriaz (1,800 metres), attracting a sports-mindedmarket, suffers from severe overcrowding at peak times. Avoriaz, like many other winter resorts inFrance and Italy, did not develop out of a traditional mountaincommunity but was built uniquely for tourism. Its distinctive skyscrapers in the snow do not fit intothe visual and cultural landscape of the Alps.Read more.

Mount Kailash is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for nearly a billion Hindu and Buddhist

people from Tibet, India and Nepal. Pilgrims travel for weeks across the Himalayas and the TibetanPlateau to circumambulate the peak. In recent years,more and more western tourists have become attracted to the sacred site. Thisdevelopment is threatening the Mount Kailash area, given that there is a lack of a infrastructurenecessary for this influx of visitors, such as rubbish pits and publictoilets. The site is in danger of severe environmental damage.

Mount Everest, the world's highest summit, has become littered with empty tins,batteries, ropes and used oxygen cylinders. Indeed, over 16 metric tonnes of plastic,broken ladders and even medicine bottles are thought to have been dumped since1952, when the first attempt was made to reach the peak. Huge piles of rubbish are

also buried under Everest's glaciers. The glaciers become rivers flowing through theHimalayan kingdom and on into India and Bangladesh which can lead tocontamination of the whole region's river water. Garbage left behind by climbers is anongoing problem which environmentalists say threatens the conservation of thewhole Himalayan region. Climbers are therefore urged to behave more responsibly.During the last decade various expeditions have begun to clean up the world'shighest mountain. In 1991, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Ministry ofTourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal, with the participation of the local people of thearea, launched the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Project to curb pollution andmanage garbage collection. The project committee carries out the following activitiesin the region: garbage management, the clean-up of Sagarmatha (Everest) Base

Camp, conservation education, reforestation, sanitation, tourist facilities (trail, bridge,


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radio, and telephone installation), community services (maintenance of infrastructure,community water supply, hydroelectricity schemes, and cultural conservation. Readmore.

Mount Fuji is a sacred and important volcanic mountain in Japan. It is the countrys most populartourist spot and the worlds most visited mountain. During the 2003climbing season which officially lasts from July 1 to August 31, about 156,000

people made the ascentsome 5,000 per daybut in previous years the number

has been 200,000 or more.This popularity has caused a pollution problem so severe that it has prevented MountFuji from receiving designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the 1960s,Japan built a highway halfway up the mountain, unleashing a tourism boom that overthe course of decades has fouled the peak and its environs with trash and sewage.Japanese citizens and organizations responded by launching a clean-up campaign,and their efforts have been successful. Nearly 900 pounds of garbage were carriedoff the summit in 2003, and another four tons were collected from visitor rest areasalong the trails. However, Mount Fuji still has not been deemed eligible for WorldHeritage site listing and environmental problems persist. Read more

Machu Picchu in Peru, the Inca citadel inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sitein 1983, is under threat. Perus most visited tourist attraction and major revenuegenerator is continually endangered by economic and commercial forces. A greatcause for concern is the sites increasing number of tourists, which has grown from200,000 to more than 500,000 annually over the past decade. In addition tothreatening the preservation of Machu Picchu, tourism has also served to disconnectthe regions indigenous people from their spiritual and cultural heritage. The costsassociated with visiting the site, which are geared toward foreign tourists incomelevels, make it practically inaccessible to the Incas descendants. Furthermore,

indigenous groups play no role in determining management policies. Also of concernto indigenous groups is the desecration of burial sites and the removal and display ofhuman remains from Machu Picchu and other Andean locations. In 2000, thePeruvian government introduced regulations to reduce the impact of tourism on theInca Trail and at Machu Picchu. The law limits the number of people on the trail eachday to 500 (previously during the high season, as many as 1,000 hiked the trail eachday) and stipulates that all tourists trek with registered companies, which helpsensure that hikers adhere to trail conservation rules. Read more.

In Mauritius, a project is underway to build a highway through Ferney Valley toservice the island's lucrative tourism industry. The valley has one of the last

remaining indigenous forests on the Indian Ocean island, and is home of some of theworld's rarest plants and animals. The aim of the 25-km (16-mile) South EasternHighway is provide a shorter route from the airport to east coast resorts for thethousands of visitors who flock to Mauritian beaches every year. Tourism is a keyeconomic pillar for the tiny island. As sugar and textile exports are threatened due toliberalised trade laws, the island is trying to fully exploit its tourism sector whichgenerated 23,448 million rupees last year (1 US$ = 30 rupees in Oct. 2005) -- a 20.8

percent rise compared with the previous year. Supporters of the project state that thenew highway will provide a better alternative route and will support productive sectors

of the economy and promote tourism; while opponents of the $19 million project,funded by the African Development Bank, argue that the government could upgrade the existingcoastal route or investigate alternative routes. This would save Ferney Valleys rich biodiversityand benefit poor local communities who could set up cafes, shops and restaurants along the


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routes. Read more.

How eco-friendly are ecotourism holidays?

For the last 20 years ecotourism has been celebrated as one of the most promising tools for theconservation of natural habitats. When planned and implemented

properly, ecotourism can be both an effective conservation tool and a successful communitydevelopment model.

However these high expectations have not always been fully realized and critics claim that

many ecotourism ventures take advantage of the label ecotourism--marketing tourism as environmentally friendly, but in fact destroying the very ecosystemsthey claim to protect.

Poorly planned projects labelled as eco or sustainable often dont benefit local populationsbut cause social tension and environmental degradation, while leaving the tourist dissatisfied andcheated. Therefore the market has to be well monitored in order to detect stowaways on the eco

band wagon.Visit the Web site of the International Ecotourism Society (TIES) to learn more aboutecostourism, its ethics and codes of practice.

Brief Case Studies on Sustainable Mountain Tourism

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