NGO–Community Collaboration for Ecotourism: A Strategy for Sustainable Regional Development

Abstract

An inappropriate mega-tourist project dramatically threatened the communities and ecosystems at Bahias de Huatulco, a beautiful site on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. The indigenous communities in the neighbouring highlands suffered, first as their forests were logged, and then by the economic pressures and cultural onslaught from globalised tourist development. An environmentally sensitive programme to emplace an infrastructure to provide ecotourism services, supported by the traditional beach-front tourist industry, offers a mechanism to strengthen the social organisation and the economic base of the participating communities. Together with complementary activities to rehabilitate and better manage the forests, to introduce artisanal activities and create a local wildlife reserve, ecotourism is stimulating conservation efforts and sustainable management and production practices. By introducing these alternatives to the marginal economic opportunities offered by the beach tourism, the local peoples enjoy a higher quality of life and are better insulated from the cyclical swings in the national and international economy that are taking a high toll on peoples elsewhere.