Blending development with nature through ecotourism

Leopold's land ethic embraces a long-term, respectful relationship between humans and their environment. With this ethic in mind, humans can develop their environment without degrading it, through ecotourism. To do so, the very term "development" needs to be examined and its interpretation defined and justified. "Developing" nature can take on many forms and can be achieved on many scales. Ecotourism aims for a low-impact scale of development that is synergistic with the environment and its local people. "Ethical ecotourism" involves not only local people adjacent to ecotourism attractions in the planning and management of these natural resources, but also awards local people the final decision-making power over developmental options, in accordance with their cultural views. Ultimately, local people determine the effectiveness of natural resource conservation and the success of developing nature through ecotourism.