Ecotourism Not a Win-Win for Poor Kenyan Communities?
by Katia Savchuk for Ethicaltraveler.org

Ecotourism is frequently cited as a model of responsible development, yet a recent report found it is often a sour deal for poor communities in Kenya. According to a series of articles on Investigate West, the nonprofit Kenya Community Based Tourism Organization looked into six ecotourism ranches across the country and reported that local groups that had handed over part of their commonly held land to investors were not reaping their fair share of the profits.

Some communities gave up large swaths of land but could only collect rent for the few acres that housed tourist resorts, after investors designated the rest as non-profit animal sanctuaries. At one ranch near Mt. Kilimanjaro, locals provided 12,500 acres but only received rent for 16, the report noted. While some communities were also entitled to a percentage of revenue, they were unable to verify that they were receiving their due. The Kilimanjaro resort charged guests more than $300 a night but only paid the community an additional $1,700 a year beyond the base amount for the lease of the land, Kenyan journalist John Mbaria reported in his three-part series.

According to Mbaria, the report also identified further problems that arose when communities found themselves locked in lopsided agreements or stuck in expensive liability disputes when tourists were injured. Nor did local groups enjoy meaningful employment opportunities: Surveyed ranches employed less than eight percent of the local population, mostly in menial jobs. Meanwhile, the pastoral communities could no longer graze livestock on the forfeited land.

As Mbaria witnessed on his visits to dozens of ecotourism developments in Kenya, some resort owners have funded amenities like water taps and schools. Still, he questions: “Why did these guys feel so obliged to ‘donate’ projects to people they were in business with?”

It's a bleak view of ecotourism, which has frequently been seen as a godsend for Kenya’s endangered wildlife and degraded environment, threatened by droughts, floods and tourist incursions. A study funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre in 2000 found that irresponsible tourism in the country's prized reserves was destroying ecosystems and failing to benefit nearby communities. Ecotourism promised a win-win.

Most ecotourism takes place on lands of the Maasai people, whose traditional lifestyle has preserved wilderness and wildlife. Now, these lions, elephants and rhinos are precisely what tourists want to see – and pay big bucks for. With foreign visitors up by a third last year, according to the Kenya Tourist Board – most hailing from the United Kingdom and United States – investors have cashed in on the growing market for environmentally friendly tourism. But in agreements with local people, these investors may be the only ones seeing green.

“Much of what happens in Kenya escapes the attention of a world fascinated by the virtues of ecotourism, in general, and particularly international tourists, who form the main clientele of such facilities,” Mbaria wrote. Perhaps it's time to take a closer look.
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Human Trafficking Expected to Increase during World Cup
by Jane Esberg for Ethicaltraveler.org

While many in South Africa cheer the influx of tourists arriving for this year’s FIFA World Cup, others warn that with them will come an increase in human trafficking, specifically of women and children. In a controversial report, the South African Drug Control Authority estimated that 40,000 sex workers will enter the country for the World Cup. Though the South African government and international aid organizations have attempted to address human trafficking, it is unclear how effective these measures will be.

In August of last year, South African President Jacob Zuma promised to increase security measures to limit human trafficking and fast-tracked legislation designed to strengthen the country’s disjointed laws for prosecuting traffickers. However, few substantive changes have been implemented. A recent UNICEF (United Nation's Children's Fund) report highlighted South Africa’s removal of visa requirements for travelers from Southern Africa as a major human trafficking concern. Since the kickoff of the World Cup, the enactment of the new trafficking legislation has stalled.

Aid organizations have focused on combating human trafficking through educational campaigns. The “Red Card” campaign hands out tickets in World Cup crowds, printed with slogans denouncing trafficking, such as: “Child slaves outnumber pro footballers. Makes you wonder what our favorite pasttime really is.” The United Nations is distributing materials to “sensitize” the population in South Africa, and UNIFEM (the UN Development Fund for Women) hosted a children’s soccer tournament to raise awareness. In addition, the Salvation Army and its partner organization Be Heard have launched a 24-hour toll-free hotline for trafficked persons in South Africa.

The nature of the problem makes it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs. However, what is clear is that continued vigilance can only help in South Africa, where trade in women and children was a concern even before the World Cup.
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Road Construction to Change Popular Nepal Trekking Route?
by Stephanie Grace Loleng for Ethicaltraveler.org

At 4:30 in the morning Kumar knocked on the flimsy wooden door of the lodge where I was staying. A few days into my trek on part of the Annapurna Circuit. a popular route for Western trekkers in Nepal, I had agreed to get up before sunrise to hike up Poon Hill. Kumar, my trekking guide, had told me the views from the hill were spectacular, and he promised there would be some tasty sweet Nepali milk tea waiting at the top.

I slowly clambered out of my sleeping bag and off of the wooden plank that served as my bed. Since the lodge had no electricity, I used a flashlight as I dressed haphazardly in the dark. Downstairs Kumar waited anxiously. It would take an hour to hike up the mountain, and he did not want us to be late. Once outside, a faint hint of sunrise motivated me to move quickly through the thick brush and up the narrow dirt trail.

When we reached the top, a small crowd of Western travelers and their trekking guides was already there, watching the sunrise. From a Nepali woman I bought milk tea for Kumar and myself, and we found a spot away from most of the other trekkers. I told Kumar I needed a moment to myself to soak in the views of the Himalayas. Although not a religious person, I felt a spiritual presence all around as I looked out at the incomparable mountain vista.

This was the highlight of the eight-day trek that took me through the Annapurna Sanctuary to Muktinath, a pilgrimage site for both Buddhists and Hindus. Now, 10 years later, plans are underway that would change this trekking route forever. The pedestrian-only trail is scheduled to be replaced by a road leading from the town of Tatopani to the temple at Muktinath, a four-day trek on foot.

The road is one of a broader effort that is underway to link villages in the area together by motor vehicle. In recent years, a road was built to Muktinath through the nearby Kali Gandaki Valley, and more roads are planned for completion by 2012.

As quoted in a recent New York Times article, Lal Prasad Gurung, director of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project, a governmental agency opposed to the development, says that the road through the Marsyangdi River Valley is scheduled to be completed to Chameby 2011 and to Manang by 2012.

In the same article, Mr. Gurung goes on to say that local people who make their money from tourism are firmly against the road but make up only 15 to 20 percent of the population.

People in the travel community and beyond have expressed mixed feelings about the building of the Marsyangdi road, or any road along the foot-only trekking routes through the Annapurna region.

Natasha von Geldern, editor of the travel website travelbite.co.uk writes that “the road represents the slow creep of progress in this, one of the world’s poorest nations. The government has talked about plans to introduce a different kind of tourism, featuring adventure attractions rather than the simple tea-house trekking, backpacker tourism so many have known and loved.”

Von Geldern points out that many local porters and guides and guesthouse proprietors, who currently provide services toforeign trekkers, "could see their incomes decimated” as a result of the development. On the positive side, the road would allow local communities that must now carry supplies on their backs to send and deliver goods by vehicle, a big step forward since, as von Geldern notes, “Nepal’s extreme poverty is for a large part due to poor transport facilities. Good roads mean development and the reduction of poverty.”

For many travelers, the issue comes down to the cultural experience that will be changed or even taken away by the building of the road. As von Geldern writes, “the most attractive feature of the Annapurna Circuit is the cultural experience of visiting the lower altitude Nepali villages. There aren’t many real villages above 3,000 metres.” Although local trip operators are planning alternative trekking routes, these will be longer and more strenuous than the popular routes that many travelers currently enjoy.

According to the New York Times article, “it’s not even clear that vehicle accessibility will hurt the region’s long-term tourism prospects. As jeeps and maybe someday cars take over, Muktinath and Manang will most likely only grow as tourism hubs, attracting new visitors content to ride up to the peaks. The only clear losers in the equation are the trekkers.”

For me, the best part of trekking the Annapurna Circuit was interacting with the locals along the route and staying in the tea houses along the way. The possibility of that still remains to be seen, as new roads are built and new routes planned.
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Book Review: Rita Golden Gelman’s Female Nomad and Friends
by Tori Pintar for Ethicaltraveler.org

Travel is about connecting with people, about taking risks and being open to new experiences. These are the themes of the new anthology Female Nomad and Friends: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World, an eclectic and encouraging collection of stories that will resonate with many travelers. Compiled by Rita Golden Gelman, author of the best-selling Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World, the anthology comprises over 60 individual stories, centered largely on connecting through travel, and 31 recipes ranging from the bizarre (dried worms) to the more traditional (bruschette).

Included are stories about food, love, fear, friendship, sadness and miscommunication. In one tale, an American mistakenly tells a French postman in his best French, “I threw the postman down the waterfall without a bell.” In another story, an employee at a Trader Joe's grocery store gives a bouquet of roses to an ailing elderly woman. Many stories are about navigating foreign transportation systems, getting lost and having to trust locals without speaking their language or knowing where they’re taking you. In one example, two Peace Corps volunteers miss their port of exit on a boat in Paraguay and are dropped off in complete darkness at the edge of the jungle and told to stay the night with a family who can help.

The variety of content, subjects, emotions and experiences found in Female Nomad and Friends reflects the fashion in which the stories were collected. The seed of the book was planted in France when Gelman was visiting a longtime friend and chef, Lars Johannsen. He suggested that Gelman write a cookbook that included stories from her travels. Eventually Gelman realized she’d rather read that book than write it herself. Through her website Gelman announced an open call for submissions of recipes combined with stories about connecting and risk-taking.

Together with another longtime friend, writer Maria Altobelli, Gelman chose the best recipes and stories. This frequently meant disregarding their original ideas about length and content in favor of stories with the most heart. “Occasionally, we found a story we liked that wasn’t even close to the themes of connecting and risk-taking, but if it made us laugh or cry or feel good, we slipped it in,” Gelman writes in her introduction to the book. Another thing that makes Female Nomad and Friends such an effective read is that it maintains the different voices of its 41 authors. The authors write, talk and feel like ordinary people, making it easy for readers to relate as the writers recall misfortune, dangers and above all the random acts of kindness that travelers experience time and time again from perfect strangers.

And here's another selling point: Every penny of profit from Female Nomad and Friends goes to fund scholarships for slum children in New Delhi, India, who have graduated high school to attend vocational school, improving their job prospects. Gelman was originally inspired to raise money for such scholarships in 2005, after spending more than a year in Delhi, including many hours in one of its slums. She saw an opportunity to expand the program with profits from her new anthology and the 40 other authors were eagerly on board. Already, author royalties totaling $46,750 have been sent to the Rotary Club in Delhi, which mentors the children.

In keeping with the theme of her new anthology Gelman recently hosted an international dinner party featuring recipes from her book. Through her personal website and Facebook pages Gelman spread word of the party and invited people from around the world to "connect" by hosting their own parties celebrating the launch of the book, the wonders of travel and the dollars that each book sale represents in scholarships.
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