Can process facilitation re-route ecotourism development? : case studies in facilitating ecotourism planning in South Africa and Madagascar

• Main Author: Kingwill, Jonathan
• Other Authors: Francois Odendaal
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2014
• Subjects: Environmental and Geographical Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4770

Bibliography: leaves 58-61. === Ecotourism¹ is rapidly growing global phenomenon that has significant impacts on wilderness areas around the world (Honey 1999). Ecotoursim projects that have shown to be successful in achieving sustainability² are however rare³, despite the hope and funding that continues to be invested into them⁴. In order to distribute the costs and benefits of ecotourism equitably among the role players⁵ (RPs) and mitigate negative social and environmental impacts, a different approach to ecotourism development is required. The study aims to explore process facilitation and focusses on three main objectives. These objectives include assessing the relations and institutional arrangements between RPs, assessing the flow of information within the networks andfinally comparing the institutional arrangements and RPs for each case study. These aspects were studied in the Richtersveld region in north-western South Arica, well known for diamond mining. The historical trend of mining in South Africa has denied the local people access to financial benefits or development opportunities. The local economy is thus dependent on mining, which employs approximately half of the Richtersveld population. The diamond mines are scaling down as the non-renewable diamond stocks have become depleted. The region thus faces a rising issue of unemployment, which will place added pressure on the land. Alternative livelihood strategies therefore need to be developed in order to avoid the poverty trap and environmental degradation.