Ecotourism Has No Harmful Impact on Biodiversity

A recent study conducted in Manu National Park reveals that ecotourism has no impact on biodiversity. In times when human intervention represents a key element in environmental degradation, the experts' conclusion comes as a surprise.

After analyzing the fate of large mammals in Amazon ecosystems, biologists are now able to state that the presence of people in ecotourism hot spots does not affect the creatures' wellbeing. Moreover, scientists say that expeditions can even preserve the balance of vulnerable regions, reports Mongabay.com.

Despite this, researchers appear to confirm that there are several ways of enjoying the benefits nature has to offer, and some of the trips could actually represent a threat for wildlife representatives.

As they mention various types of ecotourism, they agree that their findings do not suit every kind of recreational activity. All in all, the leaders of the study developed in the Amazon were excited to discover that, in regions highly populated by tourists, they could find the same percentage of large mammals biologists mentioned for the entire park, approximately 85%.

Not even one vulnerable species was missing and this fact made the scientists think twice about the people's rocky relationship with biodiversity.

So far, several researchers blamed ecotourism for going against their environmental preservation strategies, as the human population was considered an important risk factor.

At this point in time, biologists even take into consideration that this kind of traveling is actually in favor of wildlife populations.

Tourists are especially attracted by surfaces located near rivers; therefore, some of the endangered forests already exploited by natives are being spared.

Woodlands are conserved, as travelers focus their entire attention on alligators, the giant otters and macaw clay licks, interesting and easy-to-spot creatures.

“We could not find any way in which the richness of species has been affected. No species sensitive to the presence of humans was lacking and although we were unable to calculate population density, species like the tapir (Tapirus terrestris) or the [white-lipped peccary] (Tayassu peccary) were abundant, even compared to virgin forest areas,” stated Salvador Salvador, lead author of this controversial study.

Even if Salvador highlights amazing results, his findings are only applied to a small area, and the overall discovery might not actually reflect the reality on a larger scale.

The researcher himself recognizes the limitations of his work, since a “safari in Kenya” is quite different than the ecotourism studied in the Amazon ecosystem.