Tourism as a tool for community-based conservation and development

Two buses of World Park Congress delegates, well togged up in safari gear and cameras, dodged the potholes approaching the famed St Lucia Wetlands World Heritage Area. From the bus we could see small roadside stalls selling elaborate, decorative root systems and carved animals. When we dismounted briefly at a river to see hippos, a gaggle of small boys clutching some charming, but crudely carved, rhinoceroses began a vigorous sales pitch which descended into pleading when a sale seemed unlikely. We questioned our guide about the souvenir trade and he regretted that whole trees died in harvesting the roots and that the need for carving wood was decimating the local forests outside the park. The small amount of money for the hours of work involved, the ethical and social dissonance of a poor black child begging affluent Europeans, the environmental damage - surely this was not an example of a protected area delivering sustainable 'benefits beyond boundaries' to local communities.