Ecotourism: Reinforcing Local Demand for a "Waste to Wealth" Approach to Sanitation
Date
2015
Authors
Cave, Kate
Heikoop, Bernhard
QUILLÉROU, Emmanuelle
Schuster Wallace, Corinne
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UNU-INWEH
ORCID
Type
Technical Report
Degree Level
Abstract
Ecotourism was originally developed out of a joint demand from tourists for improved rural development and nature conservation, with a strong preference for benefits falling onto local communities. In Uganda, the policy base and social network of the ecotourism sector is young, yet provides a promising and solid foundation for rapid development.
Adequate sanitation facilities are key for a pleasurable (eco)tourist experience, both in terms of personal use and cleanliness of the environment in which they are staying. In turn, (eco)tourists increase the volume of waste generated and collected and therefore increase the volume of positive waste management by-products generated (energy and fertilizer). These by-products can be used to support local tourism for cooking and lighting (energy) and for increased food production (fertilizer). This report outlines the potential synergies between the development of an anaerobic digestion sector and the ecotourism sector for the delivery of sustainable sanitation, rural development and conservation, as well as realization of social, environmental and economic benefits.
These physical and economic links demonstrate an opportunity for communities to build upon such synergies, create development opportunities and scale up sustainable sanitation, provided an enabling environment at the national and the regional levels. There is a definite potential to exploit synergies between the ecotourism and sanitation sectors through an ecotourism-sanitation nexus in Uganda. The establishment of communityowned and -run businesses has the potential to multiply benefits derived by the local communities as well as the overall economy from the nexus.
Description
Cave, K., Heikoop, B., Quillérou, E., Schuster-Wallace, C. J. (2015) Ecotourism: Reinforcing Local Demand for a “Waste to Wealth” Approach to Sanitation United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). Available from: http://inweh.unu.edu
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo/
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
Keywords
Community-based ecotourism, community resources, wildlife, conservation
Citation
UNU-INWEH (2015) Ecotourism: Reinforcing Local Demand for a “Waste to Wealth” Approach to Sanitation United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). Available from: http://inweh.unu.edu