BEST
PRACTICES IN ECOLODGE PLANNING, DESIGN AND GUIDELINES Cairo,
EgyptMarch
25th,
2000 Hitesh Mehta ASLA RIBA Associate AIA MRAIC MAAKA
MAAKLAE D S
A
I
TRENDS IN ECOLODGE PLANNING, DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
Introduction and
Definitions
Before
I address Best Practices in Ecolodge Planning, Design and Guidelines, it
is important to first understand what makes up an ecolodge.
It
is a lodging facility that:
-
pays
attention to the natural setting and respects vernacular architecture in
its design.
-
meets
its energy needs through passive design and renewable energy sources.
-
uses
environmentally sensitive materials wherever possible
-
employs
sustainable construction techniques.
-
has
a sustainable approach to water, wastewater and sewage.
-
educates
both the staff and tourists on local natural and cultural issues
-
involves
and empowers the local community in the planning and operation stages.
-
contributes
to local cultural and natural conservation through education programs and
research.
The
one thing to bear in mind is that no matter what you build, there will
be impact on the land, so the idea is to create the least amount of impact.
As the famous inventor of the 20th Century, Buckminister Fuller
said: “ When you build a building, you rape the earth”.
I
presume that many of you at one time or the other have asked the question
“WHY ECOLODGES” ?
As
a developer you could easily get good return of your investment by building
a 300 room traditional resort. But there is a problem here, you will end
up destroying the same environment that your guests have come to enjoy
through use of non-renewable sources of energy, waste and water pollution
, soil erosion and noise pollution. In the future, you may get an opportunity
to develop a lodge on the banks of the River Nile. The first thing to do
is to intensively study the site and you may be surprised to see that there
is some very interesting life on the site. Or you may get an opportunity
to develop a hotel on the Red Sea Coast and find that there is a very healthy
ecosystem that is present.
Every
landscape has an existing ecosystem and it is important that both the biological
and cultural diversity not only be maintained but enhanced. As Henry David
Thoreau, the famous American nature writer said “ You must look thru
and beyond nature to really understand it”.
So
I ask again, “WHY ECOLODGES?” Because with the current increase in tourism,
lodges are inevitable, so it is crucial that we have buildings that are
going to have the least amount of impact on the ecological and cultural
environments.
My
presentation consists of the following:
-
Current
International Trends
-
Future
Trends
-
Ecolodge
Guidelines and Standards
So,
what is a trend:
As
per Webster Dictionary, a Trend is defined as:
“The
general direction that something takes, a continuing tendency”
For
example one could say that the trend has been for a while now that women
are increasingly doing what have been traditionally considered men’s jobs.
A
CURRENT TRENDS
To
determine what the current trends in Ecolodges are, I sent out a questionnaire
late last year to over 125 lodges around the world and followed it up with
research and interviews. The trends are classified in seven categories.
What I call the SUPER SEVEN.
For
the purpose of my presentation, I shall only concentrate on the planning,
design and technology trends.
-
PLANNING
AND DESIGN
-
PHYSICAL
CONTEXTUALITY
-
Elsa’s
Kopje is the latest ecolodge in Africa. The developers approach to the
physical contextuality of the rock outcrops of Meru National Park in E.
Kenya is remarkable.
-
Stefano
Cheli, the developer has successfully blended the lodge into the surrounding
environment. A local swamp grass was used as the roofing material. The
strands of reed were made into small bunches and tied with sisal string,
then they were soaked to prevent them from cracking. They are then twisted
around the horizontal lengths of timber. This method has been used by the
local people for generations.
-
This
technique was time consuming however it helped blend the lodge into the
surroundings perfectly. Not being a regular shape made them hard to define
as roofs from a distance, almost appearing like boulders.
-
Existing
rocks were incorporated into the rooms & left in its natural condition.
There
was no glass used anywhere.
-
Satao
Camp is tastefully done and located in Tsavo National Park, Kenya, under
a shade of mature Tamarind trees. It does not mimic the local vernacular
forms but takes it a step further by creating organic forms with the same
material.
-
The
same architectural theme is carried throughout the project and even the
landscape lighting and fire hose stand is creatively done.
-
CULTURAL
CONTEXTUALITY
Three
projects in different parts of the world exhibit that vernacular architecture
is truly timeless.
-
The
Serena Group which is owned by Islamic spiritual leader, The Aga Khan,
take the cake when it comes to cultural contextually. They set the trail
ablaze with Amboseli and Mara Serena lodges in Kenya and in 1998 opened
a real gem of lodge in the exotic island of Zanzibar.
-
An
existing house in the old town of the city was painstakingly restored and
renovated. The main concept was to conserve both the esthetical and cultural
character. The ethos are extended to the interior by using local materials,
crafts, motifs and design idioms; regional culinary dishes, prepared by
award winning chefs, combined with international standards of management
and service.
-
On
the Pacific coast of Mexico, lies the Hotelito Desconocido, an ecologically
& culturally sensitive development that is located on one of the most
important sea turtle and bird preserves in the country.
-
Built
in the traditional style of a Mexican fishing village, Hotelito exists
in peaceful harmony with its delicate surroundings, caring for its natural
habitat without compromising the comfort of its guests. Thatched-roof huts
made of reed grass, wood, & clay, sit perched on stilts over the calm
waters of an estuary.
-
On
the other side of the globe, off the exotic Island of Zanzibar, is located
Chumbe Lodge. The Architecture of the bungalows is a true work of art.
-
Instead
of copying the vernacular style the developers improvised using the state-of-the-art
of eco-architecture, in local materials with mangrove poles and coconut
leaf thatch, and equipped with specially designed furniture built on the
island and fitted with colorful African fabrics.
-
The
Visitor Center is very tastefully designed and uses local building forms
and technology in new ways. A continuity of the vernacular, so to speak.
The Lodge recently won the coveted British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow
“Global Award”.
- HOLISTIC APPROACHES TO
DESIGN
Holistic approaches to design
are becoming more and more common. Several projects have
demonstrated that “The right approach is the total
approach.”
- Located in Western Australia, Ecobeach
was designed with an Integrated Planning Approach – Looking
at everything and how each is connected to the other –
Holistic in nature where the place comes before the people.
The plan integrated the complete anticipated range of
activities at the retreat, from construction through to
operation.
- An aerial view of the site would show
that there is minimal land degradation due to careful
construction techniques and strict environmental management
protocols for contractors.
- A 3 km network of elevated boardwalk,
constructed from recycled timbers, joins all huts to reduce
site degradation.
- Fresh from the E D S A ‘s drawing boards
is a project from the Caribbean island nation of Dominican
Republic.
- We are currently working on a 64-unit
ecoresort and the client H2O Developments initial briefing
is for us to design with the triangle in
mind.
- The spiritual aspect is a very important
part of the project & one of the main components of the
program is a spa & wellness center. The baby boomers are
coming in a big way and we need to get ready for
them.
- We will also be having a small
observatory complete with a hresolution telescope to view
the awesome tropical sky at night.
- Jim Hadley, the Architect for Maho Bay
Camps, together with his wife recently completed the
planning of Kohala Mountain Camps in
Hawaii.
- The planning was influenced by the
deeply spiritual views of nature held by the local people.
The landscape architect took advantage of the traditional
Hawaiian land division of the a hupua’a which differentiates
parcels of land according to watersheds, to prepare the site
plan. A vertical organization for the site was developed
that takes advantage of natural features while minimizing
impact on the land.
- The designers believe that living
lightly on the land and in harmony with nature will be a
learning experience for guests, as well as an escape and
retreat, helping to transform the consciousness of all
involved: guests, staff, and the local
community.
- ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING
AUDITS
Environmental
Planning Audits is another growing trend.
- KENYA TOURISM DIVERSIFICATION
PLAN
- In March of last year, four
international consultants including me were contracted by
the European Union to contribute to the diversification of
Kenya’s tourism base through a sustainable model of tourism
reconversion. The main concept of our strategy was to make
the tourism product more environmentally and socially
conscious and therefore more compatible with its southern
neighbors.
- My task was to carry out an audit of
some representative existing accommodation facilities and
propose various sustainable design techniques that should be
used to improve the product.
- We carried out our investigations by
using three methods: interviews, participatory workshops and
finally on-site visits to the various protected areas and
lodges.
- The participatory workshops were the
first ever in the history of Kenya where all the
stakeholders in the lodge design industry were gathered on
one table. A lot of the deliberations from here compromised
the recommendations that
E D S A made to diversify and improve the
Kenyan tourism design product, thereby making it more enticing
than what is offered anywhere in
Africa.
- We are noticing that environmental
sensitivity is increasing among developers, so much so that
they are shelving existing plans that have been approved by
local authorities and contracting environmental planners to
re-visit the design in order to make it more environmentally
& socially conscious. Such was the case with a resort
complex in S.W. Puerto Rico.
- Three months ago we carried out an
environmental audit on an existing master plan that had been
prepared by an architect. We found that drainage was an
issue, roads had been laid on ridges, and there had been no
detailed existing vegetation
analysis.
- We prepared an overall master plan that
respected the lay of the land and we suggested eco-design
techniques for all aspects of the landscape
design.
- No effort will be spared in creating a
development that maintains the existing sacredness of space.
Existing indigenous nature vegetation will be retained &
villas & hotels will be sited in a way that provides
uninterrupted views of the ocean.
- We even researched the whole western
region of Puerto Rico and prepared an ecotourism and
adventure activity plan for the resort, which is planned to
become the largest solar powered community in the
world.
- PHASING
Another
major design trend that I would like to mention is that of
Phasing.
- In a recent survey of 130 lodges from
around the world carried out by the Ecotourism Society, it
was found that only 19% of the ecolodges were built at one
time. 22% were built in two stages and an incredible 59%
developed incrementally as resources allowed. Phasing the
project is definitely the prudent way to
develop.
- A great case study is the Jemby Rinjah
Ecolodge in Australia. The development has been staged with
ammendments as they went along to take into account ideas
and requests that came from
guests.
- Stage 1 was completed in 1986 with 6
visitor cabins and managers
residence
Stage 2 and 3 was completed in 1993 with 3
cabins, 3 group ecolodges, conference center and dining
room
Stage 4 was completed in early 1998 – with
a solar powered deluxe
unit.
- PARTICIPATORY
PLANNING
Involving the indigenous peoples in the
planning process is making waves.
- I am the planner, architect, &
landscape architect for an ecolodge which is designed to be
developed on one of the most beautiful of the Kenyan Rift
Valley Lakes, Lake Turkana.
- It is here that the earliest fossils of
Humankind have been
discovered.
- In the beginning stages, we held
participatory planning sessions with the local Turkana
elders. They have been living on the land for centuries and
helped in the siting of the various units and the trails.
They will also be providing all the furniture and
artifacts.
- CARRYING
CAPACITY
An
aspect of design that is being increasingly addressed by
planners is the issue of carrying
capacity.
- The whole landscape around Lobolo Lodge
is a desert and the site of the lodge is actually an oasis.
We wanted to make sure that we do not overdesign and
therefore violate the carrying capacity of the site.
Intensive studies were done on the rate of water flow of the
spring, the water needs of the lodge and the minimum water
needed to sustain the local Turkana tribe and their cattle.
This eventually determined the number of units that we could
design.
- MONITORING AND
EVALUATION
- As with Carrying Capacity, the other
aspects of ecolodges that is largely ignored by most
operators is monitoring and evaluation. The Four Horizons
Lodge in Australia is definitely setting new
standards.
- Energy consumption aspects are
systematically logged and analyzed – this covers use of the
electricity, water, gas, diesel & wood fuel. Due to the
small scale of the operation, environmental performance is
mainly operated on a personal observation and recording
basis. Records of observed wildlife and systematic counts of
rare species are also noted.
- WORKSHOPS
- The final design trend we are noting is
the drive by various countries to create ecolodge awareness
amongst the public and professionals. We have now done
workshops in Kenya and the Philippines and will be
conducting another one in the Caribbean in
July.
- These workshops are attended by all the
stakeholders in the lodge industry. They include Landscape
Architects, Architects, engineers, lodge owners, National
Park Service personnel, appropriate technology
practitioners, marketing and financial
consultants.
- TECHNOLOGY
No. 2 in the super seven club is trends in
technology of which there are
several.
- DESIGN
FOR DECONSTRUCTION
- Have you ever heard of a collapsible
eco-camp? Well, Jan Wigsten operates a trek in Mongolia
whereby tourists and the local herdsman join in building one
yurt, which is used as a “mess’ tent where food is eaten and
where the staff sleep.
- It takes 30 minutes if four people join
in the process of building the
yurt.
- The yurt when folded, fits perfectly on
to one cart. It is as if the yurt & the cart are made
for each other. Horses, yaks & camels of the local
people are hired to tug the carts.
- GIS IN
PLANNING
Geographic Information Systems, also known
as GIS is becoming widely used especially for projects in
environmentally sensitive and fragile areas. It is a very
effective computer aided design technique for site
analysis.
- For a resort in Georgia, USA, the
Landscape Architect prepared a master plan that was guided
by a combined overlay analysis of the site
resources.
- The master plan is derived from a
composite analysis with intensive uses located in least
impacted areas.
- The lodge was specifically sited to
visually protect ridge lines, maximize views, and preserve
the environmental resources of the
site.
- We are seeing more use of this
technology for Tourism planning at the national scale, and
for Protected Areas.
- TECHNOLOGY AS AN INTERPRETATIVE
EXPERIENCE
- Stanley Selengut’s new units at Estate
Concordia offer the guests a unique interpretive experience.
For example, a hand pump in the solar-heated sholets guests
monitor how much water heat is available and whether they
need to add cold water. Even the new composting toilets have
a thermometer that let guests determine if there is enough
organic matter in the system.
- The Asa lodge in Sweden is located on
the banks of a fast flowing river and all the electricity is
provided by a hydroelectric
generator.
- INFLUENCE FROM GREEN
HOTELS
- The other major technological trend that
I am noticing is that Green Hotels are creating a market for
innovative technology and this is slowly filtering into
ecolodges. For example: Virtually everything in Sjoyst
Hotel’s guest rooms is recycled or recyclable including all
the fabrics and the wood floor.
- The Radisson in Malta produces 45,000
gallons of water a day for it’s own use through an on-site
reverse osmosis plant.
- ANA Hotel Singapore has embarked on a
major program to change its air conditioning plant to energy
saving chillers using chlorine –free HFC’s . Chiller
manufacturers have dramatically improved the efficiency of
their equipment, which justifies replacement for economic
reasons alone, especially when operated throughout the
year.
- Beach cleaning is one of the several
environmental initiatives at Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort,
Malaysia. It can clean 17,000 sq. m of beach in an hour,
sifting the sand to collect debris such as cigarette ends,
sweet wrappers, and dried leaves and raking it smooth to
leave behind a finely combed trail.
3. ECOLODGE PLANNING CASE
STUDY
- SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF
MAYAGUANA
- Mayaguana, a 70,000 acre Island in the
Bahamas, has a total population of 300 inhabitants,
kilometers and kilometers of white sandy beaches, thousands
of West Indian Flamingoes and pristine natural vegetation. I
would like to present to you a quick case study of an
interesting island sustainable tourism plan that our firm is
doing for Mayaguana. We believe that E D S A’s approach
encompasses a lot of the trends that I have mentioned
earlier in this presentation.
- The all island conceptual land use plan
has been sustainably designed and engineered to ensure that
there will be minimum negative impact on natural environment
and will act as a catalyst for social development and island
conservation.
The overall master plan suggests the
development of 5 low-impact boutique inns, a village center, a
research facility, a protected preserve and an interpretation
center. Each one of the inns will gave a unique character and
theme that will be connected to Mayaguanan traditions and
vernacular architecture.
- What is innovative about this project is
the process that we employed to make sure that all additions
to the built environment and island infrastructure will be
at a scale that is appropriate to the local ecological and
cultural carrying capacity of the
island.
Before we were brought on board, the
clients had already trekked the entire 105 kms. of the island
and built a good rapport with the local citizens who live in
three villages.
- We then carried out an intensive site
analysis of the entire island with the expert help of the
local inhabitants. We consulted with world authorities who
identified sites of American Indians. 8 sites had been
discovered and catalogued. Local divers helped us identify
the area resources that the island depends
on.
- Members of the Island council and
leading citizens from all three settlements have made
valuable contributions to the planning
process.
- We interviewed several elders of the
community to research the history of the
island.
- Apart from visiting their houses, we
even socialized with them at their social
halls.
- Once the analysis was completed we
invited several local people to participate in a planning
workshop. The final overall master development plan is the
result of extensive fact finding and personal contributions
made by many present and past residents of
Mayaguana.
- In addition to the development of low
impact tourism accommodation facilities and residential
lots, the overall Master Plan also establishes the Island as
a model for research and education into the process of
sustainable development. The client had already assembled
the University of Florida and Harvard, and conservation
agencies like Earthwatch to attract principal scientists and
educators in all the relevant disciplines to use Mayaguana
in their field research and sustainable education
endeavors.
- The master plan had also sent aside
22,000 acres as a conservation and teaching preserve, and
Heritage Park which will complement and support the planned
Research Center for visiting scientists. The protected lands
include a rookery for seabirds such as the Blue Footed
Booby, and egg-laying venue for the green turtle, nesting
areas for the Bahamian Rock Iguana and West Indian
flamingoes, a healthy coral reef system, blue holes and
caves.
- With the implementation of scalable
development, it is expected that other economic
opportunities will follow for local participation and
ownership to the benefit of island residents;
transportation, food service, crafts, laundry, fishing
tours, etc. Mayaguana will be a phased development and the
project has been prioritized with respect to those areas
requiring the least amount of new infrastructure
support.
- The client will also endeavor to help
create an environment that encourages former Mayaguanans to
migrate home from the capital, Nassau and elsewhere to
repatriate needed skills and off island
experience.
- The total number of lodge beds on the
island of Mayaguana will be determined by the carrying
capacity of the area and it’s resources. A team from
Earthwatch will study the supply of sea food and determine
the number of bed units.
B FUTURE TRENDS
- The Cruise Line Industry is getting
ballistic. Royal Caribbean’s “Voyager of the Seas” which was
launched last November hosts 3,100 guests at one time, and
has a casino, 9 bars, 10 dining rooms, a skating ring,
4-story shopping arcade and a rock-climbing
wall.
- What is scarry is that Cruise ships are
becoming floating Las Vegas’es that take you to destinations
that are not as important as the ambience of the vacation
experience aboard the ship.
- A Bahamas based company is coming out
with a residential airline with 50 homes each valued at
$2m!! We will need to make sure that these terrorists of the
seas have no impact on the ocean that they reap profits
from.
- My definition of Ecolodges includes
cruises, airlines and trains since they all places where
tourists live in and they are accommodation facilities like
all others and create the same damage to the
environment.
- Resort destinations of the future are
sure to involve the exploration of space and living seas.
Several companies in the US have been given the license to
develop small aircraft that can go into
space….
- Undersea hotels are not far away and a
“room with a view” may take an entirely different
meaning.
We will
need to address these new trends before they go out of
hand.
- The furious pace at which our inventors
are working and the rate at which the .com companies are
multiplying, technological trends will significantly alter
the character of future
destinations.
- It will be important to heed Sigurd
Olsen advice “…we must seek balance between ecology and
technology…..”
- INCREASE IN UPSCALE FIVE STAR
ECOLODGES
- The baby boomers are coming of age and
we will definitely see an increase in five star upper scale
ecolodges. We will need to make sure that the rest of the
tourists are also attended to.
C CONCLUSION
Times are changing fast. Mega-resorts
continue to be built without any social or environmental
mitigation.
- An eleven hundred room hotel in the
Canary Islands is presently being built where the existing
environment had to be destroyed to locate the new
hotel.
All I
can say is that we have a lot of work to do. If we do not act
quickly we may soon have Cancun’s and Costa del Sol’s
everywhere.
II CASE STUDIES OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
FOR ECOLODGE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION A BACKGROUND
HISTORY
One way to successfully check the
development of uncontrolled growth is through the creation and
implementatioof policies and regulatory frameworks. One very
important framework is Ecolodge Guidelines. Efforts to create
guidelines for the ecotourism profession and industry date
back to the early 1990’s. Ecolodge guidelines are particularly
needed at this time, in order to ensure ecotourism lodging
meets the highest possible international standards, not the
cost-saving eco-efficiency approaches being promoted by the
mass tourism industry.
The demand for ecolodge guidelines
has never been greater as national governments, NGO’s,
development banks and aid agencies all set their sites on
Ecotourism as a sustainable development
tool.
I would like to present a brief
worldwide history of steps taken by various governments and
organizations and then dwell into current
trends:
1991
The first attempt that was made to
produce Ecolodge Guidelines was by the United States National
Parks Service. In November 1991, they launched the Sustainable
Design Initiative with a workshop in Maho Bay, Caribbean. The
participants were from a diverse group, which included the
American Institute of Architects, American Society of
landscape Architects, national parks and conservation
organization, The Ecotourism Society and architectural and
engineering firms.
The outcome was a set of guidelines
for the application of sustainability to the management of
sensitive natural and cultural resource areas. The guidelines
were developed for nine topics, namely: interpretation,
natural resources, cultural resources, site design, building
design, energy management, water supply, waste prevention, and
facility maintenance and
operations.
It is a well produced book but
unfortunately it has not been very practical and together with
the fact that NPS has had some trying times in the 90’s, the
document had not been well implemented in the US National
Parks. As of now, it sits very comfortably in
bookshelves.
1992
Australia has been a leader in the
ecotourism field and has taken great strides to ensure that
resort development takes place in an environmentally sensitive
way.
Following extensive consultation
with all community sectors, Australian governments adopted in
1992 the National Strategy for
Ecologically Sustainable
Development.
The Strategy defines ecologically
sustainable development as 'using, conserving and enhancing
the community's resources so that ecological processes on
which life depends are maintained and the total quality of
life, now and in the future, can be
increased'
The Strategy sets out the broad
strategic and policy framework under which governments will
cooperatively make decisions and take actions to pursue
ecologically sustainable development in Australia. It urges
“governments to develop and manage the tourism industry in
such a way as to conserve the nation's natural resources and
built heritage base and minimize any negative environmental,
social and cultural impacts.”
1993
The Australian Commonwealth
Department of Tourism commissioned the Australian Conservation
Foundation to carry out a study to investigate cost-effective
energy and waste minimization practices relevant to ecotourism
and nature-based tourism operators. The “Best Practice
Ecotourism: A Guide to Energy and Waste Minimization” was
developed to assist these operators to further down the path
to achieving best practice. The incentives to do so for
example, the opportunity to become an accredited ecotourism
operator under the national Ecotourism accreditation
program.
Pew
Charitable Trust, a private organization from New York,
initiated a draft preliminary study as a first step toward
encouraging the practical application of conservation tourism
on an international scale.
The trust had felt that government
efforts to curtail or halt the destruction of some of the
world’s most biologically diverse and spectacular ecosystems
had failed. In 1993, the study was undertaken to evaluate the
feasibility of establishing a network of “conservation lodges”
throughout the world aimed at generating income to help
protect areas of ecological and where appropriate, cultural
significance.
It was designed to evaluate whether
an international network of lodges and related tourism
facilities could generate sufficient revenue to support a core
management structure while simultaneously making a significant
contribution to local conservation and related development
activities.
The study contained some very
interesting Site selection, design and construction
guidelines.
1994
The regional tourism commissions
were the ones that took the lead role in developing standard
for ecolodge development.
The South Australia Tourist
Commission published the South Australian Design Guide for
Sustainable Development to assist developers wishing to
establish ecotourism developments in South Australia. It
contains guidelines for development, design, management and a
whole range of other information pertinent to the
establishment and operation of ecotourism
ventures.
It is not intended to be a
“do-it-yourself” textbook, but rather a guide to help
understand the issues involved in such developments and
identify where further information or assistance can be
obtained.
The Alberta Economic Development
and Tourism commissioned a
study
“ Alternative and Minimum Impact
Technologies for Remote Tourism Developments” The study was
intended to identify a range of feasible alternative and
minimum impact technologies and management systems, which
would be useful for consideration both by established
facilities and new
developments.
The study begins to demonstrate the
range and type of approaches to planning, design,
construction, equipping, and operation of such an
environmentally responsible establishment, by reviewing the
alternate technologies ant practices available in three broad
categories: energy, water and sewage. and waste
management.
The Zanzibar government recognized
that one important prerequisite for such class tourism is an
unspoiled natural environment. It was felt that if
environmental consideration is fully incorporated into the
design of hotel projects from the outset, then undesirable and
costly environmental problems could be avoided
later.
The government therefore prepared
guidelines for potential investors in the preparation of the
EIA.
1995
TANAPA ( Tanzanian National Parks )
required all government agencies, and private developers to
comply with all aspects of a document that they produced on
“Development /Action/Lease Procedures”. This document was
produced with the help of IUCN. TANAPA is committed to these
same procedures for all development under its
jurisdiction.
This document provides a
step-by-step procedure for seeking approval to develop roads,
facilities or activities within any national park in
Tanzania.
Interested parties are expected to
prepare a development prospectus as per guidance from the
document. After review by TANAPA those parties that receive
approval have to produce a full project proposal that includes
an EIA. Guidelines for the preparation of this EIA are
contained in the document.
Following the completion and
approval of a full project proposal / EIA, the Interested
party will enter into lease negotiations /agreement with
TANAPA.
Until 1995, there had been no
guidelines and no real approval process and therefore
uncontrolled growth has lead to the degradation to both the
natural and visual environment in Kenya. Hotel and lodge
developments were springing up in the National Parks and
Beaches in Kenya. As a result, The Kenya Wildlife Service
developed a short requirement list that they intended to issue
those developers who would lease property within KWS’s
jurisdiction.
These guidelines were derived from
the various National Statutes i.e. land planning Act, Town
planning act etc. and modified as appropriate to suit KWS
biodiversity management goals.
This regulatory technique never got
off the ground due to increased corruption and incompetent KWS
Staff. There was not a single Architect, Planner or Landscape
Architect to review the plans presented by the
dev.
- WTO, WTTC AND THE EARTH
COUNCIL
WTO,
WTTC and The Earth Council joined hands to produce a
document
“ Agenda 21 for the Travel and Tourism
Industry” which provides a blueprint for securing the
sustainable future of the planet into the 21st Century. The document translates
Agenda 21 (program of action adopted at the Earth Summit) into
a program of action for Travel
&Tourism.
The document is also geared towards
private companies and gives guidance on how they can establish
systems and procedures to incorporate sustainable development
issues as a part of the core management function. Some of the
priority areas included waste minimization, energy efficiency,
management of fresh water resources,
etc.
- THE INTERNATIONAL HOTELS ENVIRONMENT
INITIATIVE (IHEI)
The
International Hotels Environment Initiative (IHEI) based out
of London published the “ Environmental Action Pack for Hotels
”. The IHEI is an international network of hotel companies,
which exists to promote the continual improvement in
environmental performance in the hotel industry worldwide. It
also aims to promote the long-term benefits of good corporate
citizenship and sustainable development as a natural part of
successful business operations.
The aim of the action package to
help the Hotel Operators introduce environmental management as
an extension to the daily running of their businesses. The
Action Pack seeks to help the operators to immediately start
planning and taking simple practical action. Some of the
issues that were included in the pack were energy; solid
waste; water and effluents and
emissions.
1996
The Malaysian Ecotourism Plan was
accepted by the Government in 1996. It was formulated and
adopted by the government to assist both the federal and state
Governments in the development of Malaysia’s ecotourism
potential. The Plan is intended to serve both as an
appropriate instrument within the overall sustainable
development of Malaysia and the economy as a whole, and as an
effective tool for conservation of the natural and cultural
heritage of the country.
The plan was divided in six
parts:
- Policy matters and
strategies
- List of Ecotourism
areas
- Guidelines
- Current state of ecotourism in
Malaysia
- Description of ecotourism situation in
the Asia-pacific region
- Supplementary
Material
The
guidelines form a basis for specific activities and functions
in all ecotourism areas and for management of sites in
specific habitats. These guidelines are available for use
especially by planners, area managers, and the private
sector.
In 1996
IUCN published a book following the IV World Congress on
National parks and protected Areas conference held in Caracas,
Venezuela in February 1992. It is based mainly on papers
presented at the two tourism workshops held during the
congress, although many other sources, as well as research
carried by the author, Hector Ceballos have also been
used.
The publication has been planned as
both a practical handbook and as a reference source, for use
by a variety of readers.
The
International Hotels Environment Initiative (IHEI) published
‘Striving for Excellence” to communicate environmental Quality
in the hotel Industry. The book for written for hotel general
managers and senior corporate management who are in key
positions to influence the success of environmental program’s
and the way in which these are communicated throughout their
operations.
The first section presents
guidelines for successful communication, which can be adapted
to suit local conditions for developing a self-propelled
environmental program. The last section showcases seven best
practices of those hotels that have successfully implemented
environmental management
programs.
1998
The Amigos de Sian ka’an (ASK) the
University of Quintana Roo and the Coastal Resources Center
(CRC) at the University of Rhode Island worked on an
Integrated Coastal Management project along the coast of
Quintana Roo, financed by USAID. The guidelines that were
developed by the ASK and CRC were geared towards developers,
investors, government, and communities interested in
developing the coastal zone in a manner that will mitigate
ecological damage, thereby increasing long-term
gains.
The guide includes practical
measures for the design and placement of coastal
infrastructure. Recommendations are based on principles and
techniques that respect the dynamics of coastal ecosystems as
well as maintaining traditional uses of the shore. The goal of
the Guidelines was to protect tourism investment and preserve
the environment as a core element to the tourist
attraction.
Kenya developed its EIA guidelines
for hotel development in 1998. This was a very detailed
document that laid out all the necessary steps that developers
had to take and all the material that needed to be included in
the EIA.
The Tourism Development Authority
prepared the “Best Practices for Tourism Center Development
along the Red Sea Coast “ TDA had recognized that priority
must be given to guiding private development in ways that
protect Egypt’s natural heritage and insure that tourism can
be sustained far into the
future.
In the Best Practices, TDA defines
well planned and managed –as distinct from haphazard and
destructive – tourism development for the Red Sea coastal
Environment.
They are not presented as a rigid
set of prescribed steps and procedures, but rather as guidance
and assistance in designing successful tourism facilities and
managing the environmental assets on which tourism
depends.
The Caribbean Tourism organization
commissioned Hagler Bailly to prepare a “ Policy and
Regulatory Framework for Sustainable Tourism in the Caribbean”
for consideration and endorsement by the CTO
membership.
It is organized to serve as a
reference document to provide CTO member governments with an
overall framework for policy development at the national level
supported by possible policy instruments that can be applied
in different stages of sector and project
development.
In preparing this document, CTO
recognizes that in order to achieve sustainable tourism across
the region the following elements will need to be in place:
(1) regional consensus on a sustainable tourism policy; (2)
the requisite regulatory framework which can facilitate the
implementation of sustainable tourism development principles;
(3) an action plan that identifies necessary actions for
implementation of the regional policy at the national
level.
Green
Hotelier, the quarterly magazine of the IHEI began issuing
pull out sections in their magazines that focused on
“purchasing Guidelines” for various elements such as “
energy-efficient lighting”, chemicals for cleaning,
environmentally preferable flooring
materials.
E Build , Inc a private
organization, headquartered in Vermont, USA began publishing
guidelines in their monthly newsletter “Environmental
Building News”.
Some of the Guidelines Checklists included that of “Design and
Construction”, Interior and outdoor lighting”, “Paints”
etc. This
newsletter is backed by intensive research and is well
respected in the consultancy
field.
1999
In 1999, the Canadian Tourism
Commission commissioned the preparation of a compendium of
exemplary practices carried out by adventure travel and
ecotourism operators, as a tool to transmitting successful
lessons. The catalogue will enable operators to review the
applicability of a wide range of successful, practical
approaches to their own
operations.
The use and application of
principles and practices learned from the case studies can
lead to other operators having access to an exemplary pool of
successful ideas and actions. The catalogue may thus help to
stimulate grassroots efforts in adventure travel and
ecotourism throughout Canada to improve the sector in quality,
success components and
competitiveness.
B Current Trends in
Ecolodge Guidelines
One of the main trends is the
preparation and implementation of specific guidelines by
various provinces and states. Australia as expected is the
leader and two of its states, Queensland and Western Australia
are at the forin this field.
In March
1999, The Western Australian Planning Commission a state of
the art “Planning and environmental guidelines for Tourism
Development on North West
Cape”.
The purpose of these guidelines is
to:
- Provide state agencies, local
government, community and proponents with clear guidance
regarding tourism development
- Delineate ‘limits of acceptable change”
which will ensure the wilderness experience remains
available and
- Preserve, enhance and protect the
fragile environment of the North West
Cape.
In 1999, Tourism Queensland went
one step further and came out with “ Grow your Ecotourism
Business – A support Kit for Operators” which is a two volume
publication produced to assist existing operators to further
develop their businesses and, importantly , to provide
guidance to individuals, groups and organizations seeking to
develop new ecotourism
products.
The kit is the only publication of
it’s kind in the world, presenting user friendly information
and suggestions on the status of Ecotourism and nature based
tourism in Queensland, best practice techniques across a range
of operational areas, business planning, permitting and
approval processes, interpretation, conservation, marketing
and sustainable design.
The Ministry of Tourism
Development, Environment, science and technology has decided
to revise and reproduce the guidelines, originally prepared by
the Federal ministry of Culture, arts and Tourism, and place
them in the context of Sabah’s environment and Sabah’s
tourism. By making them widely available to the tourism
industry, the industry’s employees, it’s clients, operators,
entrepreneurs and its regulators, the Ministry hopes to
continue their efforts in continually improving and upgrading
the ways in which tourism is carried
out.
The guidelines are intended for all
players in the field of Ecotourism: planners, site managers,
government agencies, trainers, designers
etc.
Guidelines are divided into three
sections:
Part A Guidelines on
Ecosystems
Part B Guidelines on Skills and
Practices
Part C Guidelines on Administration and
management
The other trend in keeping with the
prominence of the World Wide Web is a Web Site that is fully
geared towards providing guidance on various ecolodge
issues:
- TWIN WEB SITE -
AUSTRALIA
In 1998,
The Office of National Tourism prepared an Internet usable
resource directory in the belief that it will be of assistance
to the reader. It covers a wide range of issues, it is not
intended to be a detailed reference but a preliminary
guide.
The Resource Directory aims to
provide a convincing and sensible rationale for developing
low-environmental impact tourism accommodation. It covers a
wide range of issues that need to be considered throughout the
development process of building an accommodation facility such
as: energy, waste, water, building materials, management,
approval process and case
studies.
The discussion of the qualities and
features that make a tourism facility ecologically sustainable
will be especially important for those who are starting out
with little knowledge or background in the
area.
The twelve case studies demonstrate
the principles of sustainable tourism and are examples of
commercial success based on sound environmental
practices.
The Costa
Rican Tourism Institute and the Costa Rican National
Accreditation Commission in 1999 developed the Certification
for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program. It is a program that
seeks to categorize and certify each tourism company according
to the degree to which its operations comply with a model of
sustainability. To this effect, four fundamental aspects are
evaluated:
- Physical-biological
parameters
Evaluates the interaction between the
company and its surrounding natural
habitat.
- Infrastructure and
services
Evaluates the management policies and
the operational systems within the company and its
infrastructure.
- External
clients
Evaluates the interaction of the company
with its clients in terms of how much it allows and invites
the client to be an active contributor to the company's
policies of sustainability.
- Socio-economic
environment
evaluates the interaction of the company
with the local communities and the population in
general. Evaluation
Guidelines:
The Evaluation Guidelines are a set
of best practices in implementing sustainability measures in
tourism businesses. Currently, guidelines have been developed
for hotels only. Other tourism sector business guidelines are
being developed.
The Evaluation Guidelines are not
meant to be taken as definitive CST standards. They are
guidelines that assist the business person design their own
sustainability strategy.
In 1999, TDA prepared a short
manual “ Guidelines for Ecolodge Development in Egypt” to
guide visitors , and others who may be interested , toward a
common understanding of what an ecolodge in Egypt should aim
to represent, and to detail how they intend to classify these
lodges in order to distinguish them from traditional
hotels.
The manual was made into three
brochures:
- Ecotourism and the Egyptian
Context
- Ecofriendly Lodges in Egyptian
settings
- Requirements for ecolodge design in
Egypt.
The
requirements for ecolodge design was divided into three
sections:
- Generic recommendations for the
architecture of ecolodges for planners, architects, and
consultants working in the field of
ecotourism
- Eco-lodge “DOs” and “DON’T’s”, or
guidelines for investors to be delivered to their
consultants, before starting the
design.
- An ecolodge checklist for TDA and
investors.
- TES INTERNATIONAL ECOLODGE GUIDELINES
BOOK
The
International Ecolodge Guidelines to be published by The
Ecotourism Society promise to be the most comprehensive and
far reaching guidelines in the tourism industry, and will help
set the standard for such facilities worldwide. I am the
editor of the book and have co-written two of the chapters on
Site Planning and Architecture
Design.
The Ecolodge Guidelines book is the
culmination of four years of work, which began at the Second
Eco-lodge Field Seminar organized by the Ecotourism Society in
Costa Rica in 1995. The main purpose of the conference and
field seminar was to formulate Ecolodge Guidelines. Many of
the guidelines were compiled from participatory work-sessions
at the conference, which were attended by people from 35
countries. It is the intention of the Ecotourism Society for
these guidelines to be internationally applicable. As such,
the guidelines are flexible enough to be universal and not
prescriptive. It is left upon the user to adapt to the local
situation whether that is in the Amazon, in the Savannah of
Africa or in Mt. Fuji.
Because of the changing nature of
the ecolodge industry, the guidelines as discussed at the
conference have been updated and new ideas and concepts have
also been covered. Age –old concepts and ways of design such
as Feng Shui, Vastu Shaastra and modern concepts like Gaia and
Permaculture are mentioned in detail making this book one of
the most universal as regards guidelines. For more detailed
information on the particular chapters, a bibliography and
Internet sites have been included where you can get more
detailed information. It is our hope that this book will be
published in Spanish and French and perhaps someday in
Arabic.
It is the intention of the society
that these guidelines be also used for other Ecotourism
Facilities like visitor centers, warden’s houses, staff
accommodation and entrance gates. It is also the editor’s wish
that the guidelines be useful in the emerging field of
ecolodge development, but also that the recommendations be
applied in some measure to the traditional hospitality sector,
in order that negative environmental and social impacts be
minimized. These guidelines will help people get a better
definition of Ecolodges, and in so doing, help tourism
agencies to set up criteria to determine whether a lodge is an
ecolodge or not.
These guidelines are designed for
any group out there that is connected to Ecolodges whether it
be a developer, an architect, an owner, a manager, marketing
director, a consultant, government representative, NGO
etc.
The table of contents reveals that
this new document will indeed be comprehensive. General topics
covered are:
- Site Selection, Planning and
Design
- Biophysical
Impact
- Architectural
Design
- Socio-economic and Cultural
Impacts
- Legal and Financial
Factors
- Operation and
Management
- Marketing and
Promotion
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