ACCOMMODATING ECOTOURISM IN MULTIPLE-USE PLANNING OF COASTAL AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

Coastal and marine areas the world over provide food, transportation, recreation, and energy resources to increasing numbers of people each year. As demands for these resources rise, the potential for user conflicts is radically heightened This situation can be avoided or counteracted by instigating proactive multiple use planning. Multiple use zoning plans can only exist in a concrete management framework: marine and coastal protected areas provide just such a foundation. Nature-based or ecotourism can be encouraged in coastal protected areas aimed at achieving sustainability. Well-planned tourism provides economic and political incentives for management and for conservation, and may bring additional benefits to local communities and regional economies. Examples where nature-based tourism has been or is becoming successfully integrated into multiple use planning can be found in Quintana Roo, Mexico; the Lesser Antilles; and Australia, among other areas.