ECOTOURISM: AFRICA'S GATEWAY TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?
however, some will say that driving through a game reserve and gawking at animals does not an ecotourist make, unless it benefits the local people or raises awareness or even funds that will ultimately be ploughed back into sustainable projects that contribute towards the longevity of both man and environment.
The proliferation of looming extinctions of animals species such as black rhinos, African wild dogs, Blue cranes to name but a few, contributed towards a massive paradigm shift in the way that governments, society and the private sector viewed the environment, specifically with regard to preserving and enhancing current living conditions for both animal and man.
Some early ecotourism efforts were fraught with human conflict, however noble the initial intentions were. Tribes were moved off their traditional pastoral lands to make way for bigger and new national game parks. Tanzania and Kenya in particular went through a full circle metamorphosis when short sighted attempts at preserving animal space were in direct conflict with the Maasai tribes living on the same land. This resulted in illegal poaching and hunting when these tribes could not let their own livestock graze in the same areas, where wild game roamed. Environmentalists and conservationists had to find a way to both preserve and enhance the way of life of all living creatures, including man, juxtaposed against the pace of progress and demands of the 21st century.
In hindsight, it seems obvious that if local people were given a stake and
