Ecotourism under pressure: The political economy of oil extraction and cruise ship tourism threats to sustainable development in Belize
Ecotourism under pressure: The political economy of oil extraction and cruise ship tourism threats to sustainable development in Belize
复制标题
生态旅游面临压力：石油开采和游轮旅游的政治经济威胁伯利兹的可持续发展
DOI：
10.1080/23251042.2017.1308238
复制
发表时间：
2017
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
K. Gould
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
K. Gould
Abstract This paper explores the extent to which ecotourism development provides sufficient economic incentive to preclude ecologically problematic resource extraction. Global demand incentivizes ‘extreme’ oil drilling in ecologically sensitive locations. As deposits are discovered, states are tested in their commitments to sustainable development. Oil discoveries in Belize threaten the socio-environmental dynamics supporting sustainable development in a country dependent on ecotourism, with a state that demonstrated commitment to environmental protection. Incorporation of Belize into a cruise ship-based mass tourism economy simultaneous with oil discovery further erodes incentives for a strong environmental protection regime. At stake is a uniquely biodiverse location including the world’s largest intact barrier reef, and the larger implications for the willingness and capacity of states, private capital, and civil society to protect ecosystems in a fossil fuel and growth-dependent global economy. Based on extensive fieldwork, this research illustrates ways that extractivism is shifting the political–economic dynamics underlying efforts to establish and maintain a more sustainable development trajectory. While the Belizean state has been quick to shift from a commitment to ecotourism-based development to promotion of extraction, the combined efforts of conservation organizations and ecotourism-based private capital have provided a counterweight to the full reorientation of state development strategies.
