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Video Synopsis:
ECOTOURISM IN THE AMAZON
The Amazon is the largest river in the world and runs through the world's largest rain forest. It's crucial for the balance of the climate and the survival of hundreds and thousands of types of wildlife.
Now the Brazilian government is encouraging tourism here. What will be the impact on the environment? What will it mean to local people? The promise is economic rewards — but will ordinary people really benefit?
This film looks at two visitor attractions on the Amazon, the kind of experience they offer tourists and their effect on their locality. In the process, it also explores the difference between two different kinds of tourism — ecotourism and nature tourism.
NATURE TOURISM
Most tourists come to the Amazon with hopes of seeing wonderful wildlife — and some people are trying to exploit this to promote mass tourism.
In the Ariau Amazon Towers visitors can sample life in the rain forest — but with all the comforts of a modern hotel. This tourist attraction is a treetop lodge and advertises itself as the only hotel built at the canopy level of the forest.
Eight kilometres of walkways enable tourists to walk around the jungle without touching the ground. They get to see "Tarzan's house".
This is what most people call "nature tourism". All the emphasis is on packing in the numbers. There are concerns about the effects of the tourist attraction on animals — many have been transported to the hotel from their natural habitats. Some monkeys have become addicted to alcohol.
Indigenous people can make money working at the hotel — but wages are low. The presence of the hotel has increased demand for land in the area. The government restricts farming in the rain forest on environment grounds. So between the government and the hotel, locals are being squeezed out.
ECOTOURISM
The Uakari Lodge in Mamiraua further up the Amazon takes a very different approach to tourism — ecotourism.
It has environmentally friendly architecture and runs on solar energy. All the emphasis is on minimising the impact visitors have on the environment. Here there is a large area of the jungle dedicated to the conservation of flooded forest, a rich eco-system housing many rare species.
The guides here know how to protect the environment. They've grown up in the area and are being trained by the scientists in charge of the project. This means visitors get the benefit of both the guides' local knowledge and the scientific context.
The film ends by considering the best way forward for tourism in the Amazon.
Running time: 25 mins approx (Produced in 2002)
"Excellent resource for A level Geography module on sustainability of rainforests. Excellent views and useful information. Up-to-date and relevant. The resource pack/booklet provides more than enough information - well done!"
Gill Davies, Geography,
St Cyres School,
Penarth, South Wales
Video Summary:As tourism increases in the Amazon, how will it affect the area?