Ecotourism is an underestimated moneymaker: Environmentalists

BOGOR (JP): Proper promotion and understanding of ecotourism could help contribute badly needed revenue to the country, environmentalists here have said.

Unfortunately, said Nani Saptariani and Deden Hilga Safari of the Young Indonesian Forest Lovers, ecotourism is not well understood here.

"Proper management of ecotourism could become a source of large revenue," Nani said last week. It is high time the country appreciated its own attractions better, she said, citing fees for certain tourist spots which charged only Rp 2,000 per person.

The environmentalists were involved in coordinating a number of events here as part of activities held in several cities called Ruwatan Bumi, or earth cleansing rituals, and other events.

The Ruwatan was coordinated by the Indonesia Alliance for Better Earth and Humane Life and held throughout April to spread public awareness and encourage creativity in response to the nation's crisis.

The subject of ecotourism was one of several raised in talks aired by Radio Suara Antara FM each Wednesday and Friday evening in April as part of the Ruwatan.

Even officials have not yet understood ecotourism, he said which should focus on both ecological and economical components. Evaluation of public opinion is also an important part of ecotourism, he added.

He said there were essential commitments to implementing ecotourism. These included the responsibility of all parties involved to avoid any negative impact on the local culture and environment. Another commitment was to increase conservation efforts, he said, and to increase the local people's income.

"Ecotourism must involve people from the planning stages to implementation," he said. If nature conservation was an important way to get money, people would take extra care in guarding it, Deden added.

The Bogor activities also included performances and programs held by various nature clubs involving the public. Tours were organized to educate participants on the contents of the Bogor Botanical Gardens. Earth cleansing here ends Sunday with collecting trash from the slopes of Mount Salak, at the base of which Bogor is located. (24)