Indigenous peoples, NGOs and the International Year of Ecotourism

摘要

As the International Year of Ecotourism 2002 opens, there is a great deal of uncertainty about the implications for Indigenous peoples of IYE 2002. Indigenous peoples inhabit many areas of the world which remain unspoiled by progress or development. It is recognized that two of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism industry are ecotourism and cultural tourism. States have therefore been wholeheartedly embracing economic development strategies tied to the tourism industry's development. According to Joan Carling of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance in the Philippines (a regional Indigenous representative body), every administrative region of the Philippines has been directed by the central government to develop local tourism plans and initiatives. The most lucrative areas will be in the lands of Indigenous peoples.