322
The Biology of Sea Turtles, Vol. II
At Playa Grande, Costa Rica, guided turtle walks generate income and awareness
needed to justify maintaining a protected nesting beach in an area of dense tourism
development (Campbell, 2002b). Turtle-based activities, however, do not equate with
true ecotourism. In the case of Playa Grande, for example, tourism development
may be partly responsible for declining numbers of nesting leatherbacks. On the
other hand, tourism at Tortuguero appears to be partially meeting the objectives of
ecotourism (Campbell, 2002b; Peskin, 2002).
Ecotourism in practice has often fallen short of its environmental, economic,
and social objectives (Ross and Wall, 1999). Nevertheless, its perceived potential is
high, and Godfrey and Drif (2001) suggest that “it is almost axiomatic to present
the idea that developing ecotourism is a desirable goal” when undertaking sea turtle
conservation projects. Enthusiasm for ecotourism is often linked to a lack of enthusiasm for consumptive turtle use (Campbell, 2000; Campbell, 2002b). For the purposes of this chapter, it is not the actual success or failure of ecotourism ventures
that is of interest, but the cultural context of and the values associated with turtlebased ecotourism ventures.
In any ecotourism scenario, turtles are valued in a variety of ways. In the example
of Tortuguero, Costa Rica, there are several stakeholder groups interested in turtles.
Tourists travel to Tortuguero to view turtles (Jacobson and Robles, 1992), guides
leading turtle tours earn income (Peskin, 2002), scientists value the species conservation and the research opportunities afforded, and research assistants and participants working for the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) value their turtle
FIGURE 12.2 Viewing nesting leatherbacks in French Guiana, illustrating turtles as tourist
activity. (From M. Godfrey and O. Drif. 2001. Developing sea turtle ecotourism in French
Guiana: perils and pitfalls. Mar. Turtle Newsl. 91:1–4. With permission.)
1123 book.book Page 322 Thursday, November 14, 2002 11:50 AM
The Biology of Sea Turtles, Vol. II
At Playa Grande, Costa Rica, guided turtle walks generate income and awareness
needed to justify maintaining a protected nesting beach in an area of dense tourism
development (Campbell, 2002b). Turtle-based activities, however, do not equate with
true ecotourism. In the case of Playa Grande, for example, tourism development
may be partly responsible for declining numbers of nesting leatherbacks. On the
other hand, tourism at Tortuguero appears to be partially meeting the objectives of
ecotourism (Campbell, 2002b; Peskin, 2002).
Ecotourism in practice has often fallen short of its environmental, economic,
and social objectives (Ross and Wall, 1999). Nevertheless, its perceived potential is
high, and Godfrey and Drif (2001) suggest that “it is almost axiomatic to present
the idea that developing ecotourism is a desirable goal” when undertaking sea turtle
conservation projects. Enthusiasm for ecotourism is often linked to a lack of enthusiasm for consumptive turtle use (Campbell, 2000; Campbell, 2002b). For the purposes of this chapter, it is not the actual success or failure of ecotourism ventures
that is of interest, but the cultural context of and the values associated with turtlebased ecotourism ventures.
In any ecotourism scenario, turtles are valued in a variety of ways. In the example
of Tortuguero, Costa Rica, there are several stakeholder groups interested in turtles.
Tourists travel to Tortuguero to view turtles (Jacobson and Robles, 1992), guides
leading turtle tours earn income (Peskin, 2002), scientists value the species conservation and the research opportunities afforded, and research assistants and participants working for the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) value their turtle
FIGURE 12.2 Viewing nesting leatherbacks in French Guiana, illustrating turtles as tourist
activity. (From M. Godfrey and O. Drif. 2001. Developing sea turtle ecotourism in French
Guiana: perils and pitfalls. Mar. Turtle Newsl. 91:1–4. With permission.)
1123 book.book Page 322 Thursday, November 14, 2002 11:50 AM