MINIMIZING IMPACT: PRESERVING CULTURE WHILE FORWARDING

CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT GOALS THROUGH ECOTOURISM

By

DAN SCHWARTZ

A RESEARCH PAPER PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT

OF HUMAN BIOLOGY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLETION OF
SOPHOMORE COLLEGE

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

OCT. 2010
I. Abstract

In the problem of monetizing the rainforest in order to ensure its survival, ecotourism

may be the answer. It seems to hit both bottom-lines; the endeavor is financially viable and holds

conservation potential. Yet there is a third bottom-line in need of consideration: cultural

preservation. Even if ecotourism can financially support rainforest protection, no one can deem it

a success if cultures are overrun by the operations. My paper seeks to explore this question; what

is the impact of ecotourism on indigenous cultures? By analyzing both subjective and objective

data, and by interviewing members on both sides of the issue I hope to reveal the true cultural

costs of eco-lodges in indigenous communities. I will contrast lodges in Belize and Peru,

critically analyzing the projects. Comparing and contrasting these sites, I will propose that by

leading collaboratively and aiding social equality ecotourism can succeed while minimizing

impact on indigenous culture.

II. Introduction

In discussions of human development and conservation goals, the emphasis has recently

turned to sustainability. The priorities seem to be economic sustainability, followed by

conservation sustainability, and finally social sustainability. If an initiative doesn’t seem

economically viable, no organization will attempt it. Ecotourism has been frequently touted as

the solution to the “save the rainforest” problem that has plagued past generations. This

integrated conservation and development project (ICDP) shows both preservation and economic

promise, allowing large tracts of land to remain relatively untouched through a financially viable

operation. But will this potentially final frontier for conservationists also maintain existing

cultures, or will it pave the way for a pristine westernized idealistic manifestation of nature? In

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this paper, I will focus on two attempts at ecotourism in two very different locations, comparing

and contrasting their impact on the local culture, in the hopes of gleaning the keys to maintaining

a successful business endeavor while minimizing impact on the indigenous traditions.

III. Hypothesis

My original hypothesis was that, despite honest economic and conservation aims,

ecotourism homogenizes culture. As I looked at more sites, I began to notice that there wasn’t

one pattern of homogenization; instead, it became clear that each site was geographically,

culturally, and organizationally different. In some sites, ecotourism had a much bigger impact on

culture than in others. My original hypothesis was naïve, and I developed a new hypothesis that

allowed for differences in different ecotourism ventures. This hypothesis aimed to identify the

factors differentiating positive ecotourism impacts from negative. Synthesizing the common

threads from different cases, I found two criteria for successful ecotourism projects. My

hypothesis, which I hope to illustrate through two challenging examples, reflects these concepts:

ecotourism can avoid homogenizing culture by leading collaboratively and aiding social equality.

Leading collaboratively means sharing fiscal output and management with the local group, and

social equality refers to making an extra effort to support cultural practices, even when it mat not

be immediately economically advantageous.

IV. Findings

In my attempts to falsify my hypothesis, I chose two particularly unique examples that

challenged my predictions from different angles. In Gales Point Manatee, Belize, the project was

culturally disastrous; I attempted to tease out what went wrong, while salvaging the positive

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efforts of the community. At Posada Amazonas, Peru, the project was (and continues to be) one

of the most successful ventures between a for-profit ecotourism company and an indigenous

group; here, I tried to identify what went right, while critically analyzing the unavoidable

impacts on the local group. With these orthogonal case studies, I attempted to boil down to the

core of culturally respectful, fiscally successful ecotourism.

Gales Point Manatee, Belize

According to Jill Belsky’s paper

Misrepresenting Communities: The Politics of

Community-Based Rural Ecotourism in Gales Point

Manatee, Belize, the seeds for ecotourism in Gales

Point were planted in early 1991, when 170,000

acres of Belize (including Gales Point) were deemed

a biosphere reserve. The eye of this area was the

“Manatee Special Development Area;” a sectioned-

off space particularly structured for the preservation

of manatees in the area. A goal of the project, along

with preserving the wildlife, was explicitly “local The village of Gales Point Manatee (Belsky:
649).
empowerment building and keep[ing] the cultural

unity and integrity of the village intact” (Belsky: 650-1).

On paper the project looked great. The economic results initially looked promising;

according to Richard Horwich, the leader of the Manatee Advisory Team (MAT) which headed

the project, “some US$30,000-$40,000 per year had been brought into the area by 3,000 foreign

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tourists.” In addition, preliminary reports showed that the projects had been “relatively

inexpensive both to initiate and to maintain in the early stages” (Horwich & Lyon: 355). Parallel

to the financial reports of success were positive cultural signs; qualitative reports indicated that

the population in Gales Point had increased pride in their area and identified more with the

conservation efforts (Horwich & Lyon: 358).

The project may have showed promise on paper, but signs of danger were present early

on. The MAT was made up of a United States Peace Corps volunteers, a Fullbright scholar, a

United States Forest Service biologist, and Horwich, an American biologist (Fritsch &

Johannsen: 127). According to Belsky, “no attention was directed at developing an historical

understanding of cultural and environmental

change in Gales Point or determining how

property rights and other local social

institutions had been organized, managed, or

disrupted over time” (Belsky: 651). MAT

made attempts to form a representative group

A bed and breakfast at Gales Point Manatee (Courtesy of individuals from the community with
of Greg Denvers).
whom they could work, but Belsky’s study

reveals that MAT was unaware of underlying tensions within the village, and instead ended up

with a polarized group. This lack of communication with the greater indigenous population

sowed the seeds for future difficulties.

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 The financial and leadership issues created a dichotomy in the community of those hired

and those out of work. One main problem was inherent inequality in earnings. There were certain

barriers to entry that blocked many

indigenous people from working at

Gales Point Manatee. Belsky cites that

a boat, fuel, and life jackets were

required as part of the setup costs for

hire (Belsky: 652). This worked to

increase the wealth gap within the

community, rather than providing a A boat used by an indigenous employee at Gales Point Manatee
(Courtesy of Greg Denvers).
new chance for the lower earners to

bring in more money. A second issue brought on by the lack of communication was financial

dependence. According to Belsky, about 28% of the indigenous community listed ecotourism as

one of their top two sources of income, showing that a highly significant chunk of the population

was affected (Belsky: 652). Because of the high costs of entry, many community members took

out loans in order to fund their endeavors. In 1995, the MAT pulled out of the program with little

warning, leading to a substantial 25% drop-off in customers due to weaker advertising. This drop

was the perfect chance to see how fluctuations in the tourism market could adversely affect the

indigenous group. The results were startling; the families fell further into a cycle of debt. In one

interview, an employee explained, “I have to get [husband and son] to hunt gibnut to sell in

Belize City to raise the loan money” (Belsky: 654). Increasing non-tourism work in order to fund

tourism work was an ironic consequence of the project. In 1997, a $40,000 grant from the World

Bank only exacerbated the issue. The money was given with the explicit purpose of funding

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“beautification” projects in the area, paying residents to clean their own yards and build a

community latrine rather than bailing out the struggling workers. The grant had an effect

opposite to its intention; it engendered frustration in the offended citizens of Gales Point, driving

one man to act in direct defiance by throwing his garbage on the beach (Belsky: 657). The grant

showed a clear lack of understanding of the situation by outsiders; it backfired because of this.

Naïve efforts by MAT and the World Bank led to the decline of Gales Point Manatee,

creating a rift within the indigenous group and bringing on frustration towards the global north.

Most of all, the divisive nature of the project caused a major cultural break in the community,

which remains separated ever since (Belsky: 658). A more holistic, well-informed perspective

may have given MAT and others the insight necessary to create a project that appropriately gave

the community members beneficial opportunities.

Posada Amazonas, Peru

The Posada Amazonas lodge in Peru is

one of the highest-profile experiments in

collaborative ecotourism. Located in Madre

De Dios, Peru, the lodge is the result of an

even-handed project run jointly by a for-profit

company and a local indigenous group. The The Madre de Dios region, with the community of
Infierno (CNI) highlighted (Stronza: 31).
area is especially significant ecologically; Russell Mittermeier, the President of Conservation

International, calls Manu National Park (which contains the Madre de Dios region) one of the

“biologically richest protected area complexes on Earth” (MacQuarrie: 19). Posada Amazonas is

located in the southeastern portion of Peru, along the Tambopata River.

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 Established in 1996, the lodge is a joint venture between Rainforest Expeditions (RFE), a

for-profit tourism company, and the local indigenous group, the Comunidad Nativo de Infierno

(CNI). The lodge is a larger than Gales Point Manatee,

accommodating 60 guests in comparison with the maximum

occupancy of 25 in Belize. The uniqueness of the lodge lies in its

ownership details; management of the venture is split 50-50

between RFE and representatives of CNI (the “Control

Committee”), while the earnings are 40% RFE and 60% CNI. Each

of these clauses plays an important role in the ensuring that CNI

An areal shot of the

plays an important role both managerially and economically, and
Tambopata River (Dan
Schwartz, 2010).

distinguishes Posada Amazonas from most other

ecotourism lodges. In particular, this split contrasts

starkly with that setup at Gales Point Manatee, where

most profits left the hands of the locals and the Posada Amazonas attempts to keep a low
profile in the rainforest (Dan Schwartz, 2010)
leadership was disproportionately in the hands of the

external advisory team.

The economic impact of Posada Amazonas on the local community became immediately

clear. In 1999, just a few years after the lodge was established, the average employee earned

about $60/mo. exclusively from tourism, while earning about $230/mo. in total income (Stronza:

110). Thus, in the early years of the venture, tourism made up about a quarter of the average

employee’s income. Trends suggest that tourism as a percentage of total income has greatly

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increased since then, as projected growth of tourism in South and Central America is higher in

Peru than any other nation. Another chart demonstrates the

rapidly increased impact of tourism; between the second and

third years of the project, tourism increased from 10% to

15% of total income for the average household in CNI.

Interestingly, Brazil nuts decreased from 9% to 3% over this

time period, a drop that could suggest that former Brazil nut

harvesters were now working for Posada Amazonas

(Stronza: 111-2). Any way the numbers are sliced, it

is clear that the presence of the venture between CNI

and RFE has had a significant impact on the

economic

flow for the indigenous community. This leads us to

our next question: what was the impact? Main sources of income across households in
CNI (Stronza: 111-2).
The experience employees had with Posada

Amazonas clearly brought some benefits, according to a study by Texas A&M researcher

Amanda Stronza and Peruvian colleague Javier

Gordillo. Of 136 interviewees, 73% indicated

“economic benefits” as a main impact of ecotourism

on their lives, while 33% chose “learning

A black cormorant flies over Tres Chimbadas opportunities” as one of the top consequences of
Oxebow Lake, a biological attraction near Posada
Amazonas (Dan Schwartz, 2010).
their time at Posada Amazonas (Stronza &

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Gordillo: 457). In addition, a study by Stanford researcher Laura Driscoll found that there was no

significant homogenizing effect of Posada

Amazonas on the culture of the residents of

the CNI. Through a series of quantitative

behavioral studies, Driscoll reported that the

impact of tourism on the CNI affected only

their perception of tourism-related issues and Rooms at Posada Amazonas each have a wall
facing the incredible vegetation of the rainforest
(Dan Schwartz, 2010).
did not detract on a general scale from their

culture (Driscoll: 74). This study primarily focused on changes in community perceptions of

their own and the outside worlds through inquiries into family budget, values, and preferences.

These results revealed the benefits of the CNI interaction with Posada Amazonas.

There was a darker side to the interaction as well; further qualitative studies revealed the

costs of the collaboration on indigenous lifestyles and social

structure. In the Stronza & Gordillo study, 38% identified

“leaving family” as the most significant cost to working at

Posada Amazonas. In addition, the study revealed social

issues as a result of wage discrepancy between community

members; one worker remarked: “Because they

[employees] work at the lodge, people believe they are

richer, and so they get charged more for things…the

unequal treatment is leading to feelings of resentment and

relative lack of cohesion.” Some workers at Posada

Decorations at Posada Amazonas
incorporate indigenous culture into
the lodge (Dan Schwartz, 2010).

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Amazonas attempted to “buy out” their communal obligations, further complicating the issue

(Stronza & Gordillo: 459). Finally, there are basic physiological reactions to the new life tourism

brings; multiple employees have reported they have trouble digesting food from home after

eating meals in the lodge. Although the issue of food consumption is not as important as others,

it is a strong symbol of how simply leaving the familiar context of the community can be enough

to cause loss or alteration of tradition. Even though Posada Amazonas has put leadership and

revenue in the hands of CNI, there are still significant dangers in the joint venture.

V. Conclusions

Each case study boiled down to a core group of issues. For Gales Point Manatee, most

problems lay in a lack of effective communication between the indigenous group and the MAT.

First, the MAT was entirely foreign. In addition to the lack of geographic diversity, the group

had not a single team member who specialized in sociology or anthropology. On top of it all, the

team ran the project almost entirely unilaterally, so their limited viewpoints were never

challenged. The case of Gales Point Manatee highlights the importance of leading

collaboratively, or working with the community to better understand their needs rather than

attempting to implement a project on faulty assumptions about culture and values. Had the team

had more of a holistic perspective they might not have encouraged residents to take out loans,

applied for the World Bank loan the MAT received, or allowed the largest concentration of

employees to be within a village minority. All of these factors led to an unsuccessful project that

had massive and possibly irreversible impact on the local culture. Creating a stable and fair

system of managerial involvement with the community could have leaded to an ecotourism

experience that did not squash culture on its way to preservation and economizing.

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 Although Posada Amazonas demonstrates the positive influence of leading

collaboratively, the Peruvian lodge serves as a reminder that even the most circumspect lodges

have a significant cultural footprint on the surrounding community. The incorporation of RFE

with the CNI Control Board was a crucial step, and dividing profits and leadership decision-

making more evenly led to a markedly more collaborative, positive experience. In contrast with

the frustration and disillusionment visible in the Gales Point community, CNI residents report a

feeling of empowerment and ownership with respect to the project. Posada Amazonas has had

limited impact on the indigenous groups because it is a multilateral effort.

Despite the successes of Posada Amazonas, worrying signs persist. Aiding social equality

can lessen this footprint. The employment creates dependency on tourism for income, and

confusion about the benefits employees receive has created tension with the CNI. Perhaps most

threatening of all, the introduction of this new industry has taken workers out of a traditional way

of life and has here led to a loss of cultural practices. This Peruvian example demonstrates a

number of lessons. First, it may be necessary to limit employment and scale of the lodge to

ensure that the community can subsist in its absence. Second, RFE staff may need to make an

extra effort to elucidate their process to the CNI in an attempt to defuse myths about employment

at Posada Amazonas. Finally, employers must be willing to allow workers to continue cultural

practices near work, even if it is not the most efficient mode of operation. Currently, workers eat

the same, non-traditional food as their patrons; one approach for this would be to make separate,

more traditional meals for employees than for guests. This type of thinking could be expanded in

all aspects of the job in order to accommodate different cultural practices.

Both Gales Point Manatee and Posada Amazonas demonstrate the potential and the

danger in creating ecotourism projects in less developed areas. Synthesizing qualitative and

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quantitative studies have provided a number of important lessons. First, tourism will have a

massive impact economically on an area and may lead to dependency. As a solution, companies

might restrict the size of their operation based on the social equity needs of the local community.

Second, culture is a fragile entity that requires much circumspection when beginning projects of

this scale. For this reason, leading collaboratively with the community is crucial to the success of

ecotourism ventures. Finally, elucidation of payment methods and tolerance for cultural practices

are important steps in reducing impact on indigenous cultures by outsiders and ensuring fairness

in the indigenous society. Ecotourism lodges created with these principles in mind may be able

to provide a sustainable, economically viable option with minimal cultural impact.

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VI. Works Cited

Belsky, J M. “Misrepresenting Communities: The Politics of Community- Based Rural

Ecotourism in Gales Point Manatee, Belize”: Rural Sociology 1999.

Driscoll, L R. “Changing Communities: The Influence of Ecotourism Profits on

Cultural Identity in Southeastern Peru.” 2010.

“Ecotourism Peru – Community Based Lodge Tambopata | Rainforest Expeditions.” Accessed 1

Sept. 2010. <http://www.perunature.com/lodges/ posada-amazonas/ecotourism-in-

tambopata-peru>

Fritsch, A J & Johannsen, K. Ecotourism in Appalachia: Marketing the Mountains.

The University of Kentucky Press, 2004.

Horwich, R. & Lyon, J. “Community-Base Development As a Conservation Tool: The

Community Baboon Sanctuary and the Gales Point Manatee Project.” 1998.

MacQuarrie, K. Where the Andes meet the Amazon. Francis O. Patthey & Sons, 2001.

Stronza, A. “Because it is Ours”: Community-Based Ecotourism in the Peruvian Amazon. 2000.

Stronza, A. & Gordillo, J. “Community Views of Ecotourism”: Annals of Tourism Research.

2008.

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