Ecotourism

The tourism activities which takes place in natural areas is called Ecotourism. The tourism can experience the local and social benefits in addition to the environmental benefits. In ecotourism, the visitors have the opportunity of learning a wide integral aspects of a true nature experience. Nowaday, in which many environmentally detrimental industries exist, ecotourism can be promoted as an environmentally sustainable industry.  However as studies previous have been showed, ecotourism have yielded both positive and negative results on environment. But the potential for ecotourism to positively impact on the environment is undoubted.  One way to have a positive effect of ecotourism on nature is to use education to promote pro-environmental learning outcomes in participants. Because turism learning is an essential element in ecotourism, education has been researched extensively within ecotourism contexts.  

The tourism industry is the sixth largest industry in the world (Lew, 2011) and has a large potential in the economy of countries. Ecotourism does have potential conservation benefits; however, ecotourism can also have negative impacts such as habitat destruction, negative impacts on wildlife behavior and ability to reproduce, increased degradation of natural environments (i.e. littering and trash), spreading of human disease to wildlife, and more. Because one of the goals of ecotourism is environmental sustainability, previous research has considered how these negative impacts could be avoided (Jackson Ray, 2020).

Blue economy

The blue economy is understood as the use of ocean resources for sustainable economic development, improved livelihoods, and ocean ecosystem health. The blue economy is important in many fields, including coastal and marine tourism, which has been identified as a key sectors of the blue economy with high potential for growth. 
 

In 2012, from the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, the blue economy accepted as an important concept of world economy. Conceptualizations of the term vary and include: oceans as natural capital, oceans as good business, oceans as a source of livelihoods, and oceans as a source of new wealth and a driver of innovation.  Developing countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) emphasize the use of ocean resources to provide employment and income, focusing on small-scale fisheries, tourism, and aquaculture to alleviate poverty and provide food security while seeking investment in measures to reduce climate and environmental risks to people and infrastructure.  How can community-based ecotourism deliver on the trifecta promise of the blue economy - more social equity, less environmental risks, and ongoing support for the local economy?

PAINTWORK

One of those key commonalities is the valuation of the social and economic benefits derived from healthy ocean ecosystems, acknowledging that economies and human wellbeing are devalued through unsustainable practices. The other key commonality is the increased designation and delimitation of spatial boundaries in the ocean, an issue originally addressed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) adopted in 1982.

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Many coastal communities around the world are highly dependent upon the functions, goods and services provided by marine ecosystems. Healthy marine and coastal ecosystems support food systems and livelihoods, regulate climate, and are closely associated with quality of life including recreational and cultural values. Historically, neoclassical economics has largely ignored the essential contribution of healthy ecosystems to human wellbeing in decision-making. Over the last four decades, academic literature has steadily progressed the understanding that natural systems are necessary for survival and, therefore, should be safeguarded. 

Involving tourism in the environmental projects can be considered as a

BLUE ECONOMY  

Involve ecotourism in coral restoration programmes can be considered as a blue economy

As mentioned previously, coral restoration projects are accepted in the hospitality industry programs and visiting coral restoration sites offers in luxury resorts activities menu. The routine activities of tourism in a beach are including swimming, sunbathe in the beach, food and sometime is scuba diving for special group of tourism. Visiting and helping from coral restoration sites can be offered as a income source to the project. Especially if these activities accompany with scuba diving it will be more interesting and attractive to tourism.  

In my country culture (Iran) and many of cultures there is a special national day with name Arbor Day. In this day people are encouraged to plant trees and they can be responsible to take care of it until it has become a stark and huge tree. It will be interested if the coral restoration visitors (tourism) could be planted a coral in the restoration site and are able to visit it every year. Participating in coral restoration programme can be accepted by tourism if it look like an interesting and new experience. Sharing this activities in the project and  the visitors social medias will be so effective to receive more positive feedback in the future. 

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