Ecotourism and nature parks in East and Southern Africa

The final declaration of the World Ecotourism Summit (Quebec, May 19-22) - the culmination of The International Year of Eco-tourism 2002 - reads: ‘tourism (…) can bring both benefits and costs to the environment and local communities (…) ecotourism should contribute to make the overall tourism industry more sustainable, by increasing economic and social benefits for host communities, actively contributing to the conservation of natural resources.

The declaration requests scientists: to monitor and conduct research on the actual impacts of ecotourism activities upon ecosystems (..) and to cooperate with public and private organizations ensuring that data and information generated through research is channelled to support decision-making processes in ecotourism development and management.

In this seminar the Africa Studies Centre, in collaboration with the Faculty of Social Sciences (Free University of Amsterdam), will attempt to answer this challenge and provide a platform to discuss recent eco-tourism initiatives in East and Southern Africa.

Programme:
09.30 Welcome
10.00 Opening
10.15-12.15 Ecotourism and Nature Parks in Southern Africa - M. Draper (Univ. of Natal), H. Wels (VU), A. Spenceley (INR-SA) 
12.15-13.45 Lunch break
13.45-15.45 Ecotourism and Nature Parks in East Africa - M. Rutten (ASC), J. Mburu (IRD Göttingen), F. de Man (St. Retour)
15.45-16.30 Forum/conclusion - chair/discussant: N. Visser (Professor Sustainable Tourism and Transport NHTV)