IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO:

The Needed Mutuality of Ecotourism and You

Are you fond of finding coffee shops at the top of the mountains? Do you like to go camping and trekking in the middle of natural parks? Do exploring and swimming in the hidden spring resorts located in the countryside excite your traveler self? If yes, then you are contributing to the developments and fame of eco-tourism.

As defined by Ecotourism Australia, the term Ecotourism is an ‘ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation, and conservation’.

Undeniably, the ecotourism industry is commercially booming nowadays, particularly in the province of Negros Occidental. From the resorts located and developed in the high plains of Patag in Silay, camping sites in the terrains of Murcia, down to the food hubs and community gardens sprouting in the green landscapes in La Castellana.

Indeed, they offer significant advantages to the community – from job employment, to relaxation and pleasure of the tourists. But flipping the coin to the other side, do the ecotourism sites receive relaxation and pleasure from their visitors? As the mountains, terrains, and landscapes turned into coffee shops, resorts, and food parks, what do they give in exchange to the natural environment of the countryside?

Building a restaurant on top of the hills or developing a camping site beside the waterfalls can cause land degradation as lands will be flattened, formed into new shapes and slopes, and degraded land is a threat to the ecological balance of the environment as those eroded land will go to the sea and can result to siltation, which affects the health of the marine resources.

Those parks, food hubs, and community gardens in the countryside can also strongly affect our food production, considering the fact that those arable lands cultivated for crops such as sugarcanes, corn, and wheat, are now being cemented or filled with artificial designs created for tourism purposes. One main concern also is the proper waste management of the establishments away from the inspecting eyes of the environmental officers of the particular town or city. 

Indeed, the influx of the people going to the countryside to find some calm relaxation and rejuvenating enjoyment does stress the natural settings and flow of our rural environment. In every laughter of one family as they indulge themselves to the majestic greeneries and a cup of coffee, few trees sacrifice their lives to make way for a concrete restaurant building. In every splash of the spring water to accommodate the group of friends who want to take a dip and swim, an acre of arable land is turned into commercial spaces for thriving businesses. 

All things being considered, in every advantage, there is really a corresponding disadvantage. The progression of eco-tourism comes to the degradation of agricultural lands and overconsumption of natural resources. As we find beauty, relaxation, and peace in the spheres of countryside, may we also leave traces of conservation and protection in those places.

In every camping, swimming, and exploring eco-tourism site, may we remember the sacrifices of nature to offer our life some adventure, calmness, and joy. As eco-tourism grows, let us also grow our responsibility in caring for our natural environment – like a give and take process. Once and for all, mutuality is a must – both in nature and in ourselves.