INTRODUCTION
Taking into consideration the current demand for ecotourism destinations, it is crucial that the design and development of ecotourism facilities place the integrity of the given ecosystem as a top priority. Through my presentation, I would like to demonstrate how sensitive ecotourism planning and design can lead to conserving biological diversity, and how local communities can benefit from these facilities. My presentation also highlights design issues such as site analysis and planning.
It is important to note that the ecotourism industry is currently at a crossroads in its development. In the last decade, it has generated much revenue for local and regional economies worldwide, provided new incentives for governments and local communities to preserve protected areas and species, and heightened over-all local awareness of the importance of conservation. Unfortunately, it has also led to numerous problems, and placed undue pressures and threats on the natural and cultural resources that sustain it. From these often-costly lessons, we are learning that the benefits of ecotourism can only be sustained through well-planned and carefully integrated projects.
Through the use of examples of participatory projects from around the globe, and by exploring holistic philosophies, I would like to show in my presentation that sensitive ecological planning and design can indeed help to lessen the environmental impact of ecotourism facilities and help conserve both natural and cultural resources.
COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT THROUGH PARTICIPATORY PLANNING
Several recent ecotourism-planning projects are demonstrating that involving the indigenous peoples in the planning process can help towards the conservation of both the natural and cultural resources. Participatory design is most successful when it is incorporated into the lives of the indigenous communities through economic development resulting in some kind of monetary generation.
One such example is the Kapawi Ecolodge located in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
KAPAWI LODGE
An Ecuadorian private company, Canodros has built a partnership with the Native American tribe, the Achuar. The land belongs to the Achuar Indians and by the year 2011, they will own and run the entire operation on their own.
What is unique about this project is the participatory master plan process. People from several communities helped collect the drawings of the area made by the Achuar themselves. The maps contained information about types of soil, forests, water and swamps, and documented the trails used by people. A zoning plan was then made to designate the various tourist, fishing and hunting areas. Modern cartographic process was then combined with Achuar knowledge to make official maps of the area.
Accommodations are in 20 double rooms, each with private bathroom, solar heated showers and electricity is provided by a photovoltaic system. The lodge was created in accordance with the Achuar concept of Architecture: no nails were used.
Through a project like this, the local people have come to realize that this is a better way to make money out of their forests than to sell it to the likes of Exxon for Oil exploration or Macdonald’s for cattle ranching.
LOBOLO
I am the planner, architect, and landscape architect for an ecolodge, which is designed to be developed on one of the most beautiful of the Kenyan Rift Valley Lakes, Lake Turkana. It is here that the earliest fossils of Humankind have been discovered. This has led to one of the major evolution theories, the theory of "Eve". It states that man came from the womb of a woman and we are all descendents from one single African woman. As you would expect, it is being vigorously disputed, by man.
The Turkana is a very proud tribe and amongst the most fierce in Africa. In the beginning stages when we were negotiating with them, they brought their whole clan and while we were having a meeting with their elders, they started dancing and singing at the top of their voices. They brought old men and they brought their women and children who were all dressed up for the occasion!! As you would expect, they did get what they wanted. To say the least, we were overwhelmed by their show of indirect force.
They have been living on the land for centuries and we asked for their help in the siting of the various units and the trails.
Many projects fail simply because designers and developers failed to involve the proper local people and authorities at an earlier point in the development. Many opportunities exist to constructively involve local people in the design and development of an ecotourism hotel. One design technique is to carry out a three-day intensive design charrete consisting of architects, developer, local people and the authorities. Through this two-way participatory approach as opposed to the traditional beneficiary one, local people feel part of the decision making process and the resultant camaraderie may help to foster community pride in the ecotourism facility.
MAYAGUANA
We are in Mayaguana, a 70,000 acre Island that has a total population of 300 inhabitants, kilometers and kilometers of white sandy beaches, thousands of West Indian Flamingoes and pristine natural vegetation.
Our firm recently completed an all island conceptual land use plan which has been sustainably designed and engineered to ensure that there will be minimum negative impact on natural environment and will act as a catalyst for social development and island conservation.
The overall master plan suggests the development of 5 low-impact boutique inns, a village center, a research facility, a protected preserve and an interpretation center
What is innovative about this project is the process that we employed to make sure that all additions to the built environment and island infrastructure will be at a scale that is appropriate to the local ecological and cultural carrying capacity of the island.
We carried out an intensive site analysis of the entire island with the expert help of the local inhabitants. We consulted with world authorities who identified sites of American Indians. 8 sites had been discovered and catalogued. Local divers helped us identify the area resources that the island depends on.
Members of the Island council and leading citizens from all three settlements have made valuable contributions to the planning process. We interviewed several elders of the community to research the history of the island. Apart from visiting their houses, we even socialized with them at local gathering places.
Once the analysis was completed we invited several local people to participate in a planning workshop. The final overall master development plan is the result of extensive fact finding and personal contributions made by many present and past residents of Mayaguana.
With the implementation of scalable development, it is expected that other economic opportunities will follow for local participation and ownership to the benefit of island residents; transportation, food service, crafts, laundry, fishing tours, etc. Mayaguana will be a phased development and the project has been prioritized with respect to those areas requiring the least amount of new infrastructure support.
HOLISTIC APPROACHES TO DESIGN:
The majority of all the site analysis and planning techniques that are being practiced today are objective, and so, somewhat one-dimensional. A subjective approach is needed in order to create a plan that is in total harmony with the existing landscape. A sense of place and the feeling of sacredness are missing from most existing tourism lodges.
Ecolodge sites need to provide the ecotourist with a spiritual communion with nature and the feeling of being 'one with nature'. In the context of the ecosystem theory, holism is based on the concept that non-living components and living components function together as a whole according to well-defined biological laws. Everything is connected: Humans, plants and animals. Whether we like it or not, we are part of the circle of life.
Holistic philosophies are being widely practiced in many parts of the world. Of particular note are the Chinese philosophy of FENG SHUI, the Indian Vedic philosophy of VASTU SHAASTRA. Both these philosophies can help the planner and landscape architect to look for the "sense of place" and for spiritual qualities that can often escape the ordered dimensions of the site assessment process.
Feng shui
The Chinese based the science and art of siting and orienting buildings upon the workings of earth forces which are known as Feng Shui, literally "wind" and "water". Rooted deeply with ecology, geology, astronomy, and hydrology, Feng Shui aims to harmonize nature with the built environment. Feng Shui offers an ancient method of site planning that adds to balance and harmony for those who live on the land and for the earth itself.
The Chinese believe that the earth is cris-crossed with energy lines that affect and are affected by virtually all geographical and topographical phenomena. This means that humans are affected by our environment, and we in turn modify our environment by what we do within it.
Chinese believe that Chi (the Chinese word for energy) pervades every element in the cosmos and is the beginning of all life. Yin and yang are two kinds of Chi with opposite characteristics. Yin is characterized as female; negative, and passive, while yang is characterized as male: positive, and active. Only when yin and yang meet and stay in balance can life begin. Their continually complementary interaction creates the ideally harmonious site.
Vaastu Shastra
In India from time immemorial, eternal principles of Vaastu Shaastra have been applied in the designing of villages, towns, and cities apart from temples, palaces, public buildings and residences. Vaastu is derived from the verb "Vaasa" meaning to "dwell" or "place of residence
Vaastu Shaastra states that every form creates a concentration or dispersal of cosmic and earth energies which are harmful or beneficial to human beings. Therefore, Vaastu Shaastra can bring about harmony between people, nature, and buildings. Since a property represents a fixed form, it will radiate positive as well as negative energies depending upon its shape, properties, direction and location.
Vaastu Shaastra recognizes with simple logic that all people live in an environment influenced by the five basic elements: Akash (Sky), Pruthvi (Earth), Pani (Water), Agni (Fire), and Vayoo (Wind) and followers of Vaastu Shaastra will respect and be in harmony with these forces when building a lodge.
Paraa Lodge, is located in Nortwestern Uganda, just a few miles downstream from Murchison Falls, on the banks of the River Nile. This area has one of the largest breeding populations of the ferocious Nile crocodile.
The existing, very ugly, 30-year-old lodge was in a total mess and had been ransacked by Idi Amin’s army in the early 1980’s. Our job was to prepare an impact study for the rehabilitation and additions and suggest ways to turn the lodge into an ecotourism facility.
What is interesting about this project is that the Hindu client wanted to have the entry from the North East as this is considered auspicious in Vastu Shaastra.
KERALA, INDIA
Our office recently won an international competition to prepare a master plan for a resort town in Vagamon in the Indian state of Kerala. The site is located at the foothills of the western mountains and we intend to use Vastu principles in the planning of this town.
Six Senses
Some modern holistic approaches to design are becoming more and more common. Several projects have demonstrated that "The right approach is the total approach."
I would like to introduce a modern holistic approach to site analysis and design that I have found very useful in the ecolodges that I have worked with. It is the ‘six senses " approach as practiced by Professor Emeritus Clare Cooper Marcus.
She has been for a while advocating the use of the "Six senses" approach in site planning. She professes that in order to become "one" with the site, you need to spend a couple of days and experience the site via each one of the six senses. The designer should take out a notebook and start writing what he/she is sensing and feeling at different locations on the site.
The main objective is for the designer to enter and experience the essence of the site, and how it is for the designer. The most rewarding and productive part of this subjective technique is the final experience, when the designer tries to imagine that he/she is the place — "How does this place feel? Does this place feel happy or invaded to have people in it? Are there parts of this place that feel neglected and lonely? And so on… You may feel childish at first, but give it a try. You may be surprised at what you learn about this place by becoming it.
I would like to share with you a very interesting CASE STUDY of how a well-conducted site evaluation can help the developer make a decision. It is a project that has been taken out from my scrapbook.
VOI SAFARI TENTED CAMPS:
Earlier last decade, I conducted a consultancy for a luxury tented eco-camp in the largest National Park in the world; Tsavo in Kenya. My client and I set up camp and explored the site for two days. When we toured the 50 acre site, I was spellbound. I would like to share with you the sense of place that existed on the small site.
After experiencing all this, I was in a dilemma. It was a great place to have a camp but the development would ruin the area and chase the animals away. Moreover, Fuller’s mantra " If you build a building, you rape the earth" kept on reminding me that I needed to really experience the site. I decided to take the ‘six —senses’ approach to a new level. I felt the need to literally become one with the site to truly communicate with it. Since the river was the reason for this rich biodiversity, I decided to get rid of all my clothes and become a molecule of H2O and jotted down my thoughts as a drop of water.
You see, a bird does not tear down the tree to live in it; she builds a nest that becomes part of the tree. Similarly, the ant does not poison the soil to make its home; it builds a nest that becomes part of the soil. Only humans construct homes that are at odds with their ecosystem.
It became very apparent that the river did not want the development to take place. I advised the client that it would be disruptive to build on this site and look for another site down the river. I am happy to report that todate, no development has occurred on this site.
Lessons can also be learnt from the Native American Indians who have a special spiritual relationship with nature. This is very evident in Chief Seattle’s famous speech to the then of the United States, Franklin Pearce. I quote:
" Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the earth, and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters, the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man — all belong to the same family".
PUNTA MANGLE
Fresh from our drawing boards is a project from the Caribbean Island nation of Dominican Republic. We are currently working on a 64-unit ecoresort and the client H2O Developments initial briefing is for us to design with the triangle in mind.
The spiritual aspect is a very important part of the project & one of the main components of the program is a spa & wellness center. The baby boomers are coming in a big way and we need to get ready for them. We will also be having a small observatory complete with a high-resolution telescope to view the awesome tropical sky at night.
CONCLUSION:
As landscape architects and planners, are we truly the stewards of the land and oceans or are we its destroyer. Can we truly reverse the havoc on mother earth that is being caused by our fellow human beings. In this millenium, we have a lot of work ahead of us. Either we take up the challenge and create a livable, breathable world for future generations or we could take the easy road and be comfortably numb.
There is a lot to learn from the indigenous tribes of the world and their relationship to mother earth. Their landscapes were "one with the land" and I do not see why we should not be able to use these principles for the design of ecotourism facilities.
Ladies and gentlemen, all I can say is that we have a lot of work to do. If we do not act quickly we may soon be that couple who are at a travel agent desperately seeking to go on an ecodestination before they disappear.
Author and Copyright Information
Copyright 2001 by Author
Hitesh Mehta is a qualified Landscape Architect and Architect, and works at E D S A (Edward D. Stone Jr. and Associates) Florida, which has established itself as the leading ecotourism planning and landscape architectural firm in the world. The firm’s experience with ecotourism projects is extensive. Some examples are: Punta Mangle Ecoresort, Dominican Republic; Red Sea Ecotourism Zone Plan, Egypt; Futuro Model Rainforest Ecolodge, Amazonas, Brasil; Sustainable Development of Mayaguana Island, Bahamas; Kissimmee River Save Our Rivers, Florida and El Portal Tropical and Visitor Center, Puerto Rico.
Hitesh is an internationally recognized authority on ecolodges and sustainable resorts and sits on the advisory boards of both the Ecotourism Society and the Brazilian Environmental Society (BIOSFERA). He is currently the editor of a book - "International Ecolodge Guidelines" which will be published in Summer 2001. He has written several papers on the subject, speaks regularly at conferences around the world and co-teaches a course in "Sustainable Tourism" at FIU (Florida International University).
hmehta@edsaplan.com
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