Ecotourism blues

So what is ecotourism anyway? it is my job, i know that, and i talk about it all the time here at work... But whose idea of Ecotourism is the truest? How much should we make way for Chinese culture in formulating Ecotourism here, and how much should we stick to the forms developed in the west given that these ideas might be seen as the purest and most original form??? At least, we must care for the environment- seriously- not just as a economic tool to be exploited- but something of inherent value. Such a simple concern for the environment is not necessarily the norm in China, though there are cultural traditions related to conservation, the general trend of the culture is towards ruthless economic pragmatism which inherently implies exploiting nature for all it's worth... In my training i have raised such parallels as exploitation of nature and exploitation of women in Chinese culture- a controversial idea which certainly raised a few eyebrows... Anyway, In the rush to catch up with the developed countries, China can hardly be blamed for placing economic outcomes first, as it is often pointed out here, Western countries themselves developed heavy polluting industries for a long time in the earlier phases of their economic development. After i criticised a Mao quote i one of my training, 'man must conquer nature', in the next class a middle-aged man made a strong point of disagreeing with me (it was refreshing to finally get some dissent!) by saying that Western economies had followed the same model of exploitation of natural resources in order to raise their standard of living in earlier times. As some economists point out, it wasn't until western countries reached a per capita GDP of $5000USD that they started the environmental clean up process (e.g. air pollution in London), while China's GDP stands at just over 2500$US. Some might even go so far as to say climate change is some kind of conspiracy to slow the growth of China and maintain the Wests economic hegemony... if this was the case, it seems like the Chinese government is not falling into the trap so far. Some would even say that exploitation is the ay of the world, it is the 'right' and natural way, and can be done sustainably. Either way, I often use climate change as an example of the folly of simply exploiting nature for all it is worth- nature is all-wise and powerful and bound to come back and bite you on the arse. But we can't go back to the stone age here... once again, a balance needs to be struck, and i think imbalances in parts of society are reflected in imbalanced, inharmonious outcomes in other parts of society, human life and nature.
Big environmental initiatives are taking place here where political expediences allow- such as the huge reforestation program that has occured in the upper Yangzte river basin in response to the devastating floods in 1998 that killed several 000's of people downstream. Others point out the expediency of this policy as a tool to integrate Tibetan minorities into the mainstream as they are forced out of traditional nomadic grazing lifestyles on lands that are replanted, and instead are forced to move to the city to find work.
So to look more at the relevance of such questions here in Jiuzhaigou...
One of the big factors for future development of Ecotourism, which will determine how many visitors (especially foreigners) the park can attract is the potential for wildlife-viewing. But in Jiuzhaigou, this is not a simple equation. Sure, there are animals around in the mountains, but in 5 months here, i have only seen pheasants and squirrels and birds (apart from farming yaks and pet cats) inside the park. The idea is to get a system of recording sightings, their number and location, and rewarding the locals inside the park when animal-sightings increase- i.e. sharing of the reward of consequential increased tourist visitation. Such is the amount of work necessary and the potentials rewards not clear. Not only that, but this is China after all, and perhaps the native ways of doing things is somehow what works best here...
It seems some poaching does still go on. A friend from Chengdu recently saw a freshly killed civet cat on sale at the medicine shop at the park entrance.... At least i know for sure that alot of illegal herb collecting goes on, the conservation department does alot of patrols to prevent this.
Another question is the economic/cultural/social contigencies of the styles of ecotourism that are adopted in this area. The current preference of park management seems to be for high-end luxury ecotourism, with 5* accomodation and high entrance fees, and local people supplying service roles. From my perpsective though, such a model denies the potential for egalitarian social interaction, and meaningful cultural exchange between the local people and international visitors. The high-end model is basically catering to rich people for economic reasons, while reducing locals to service roles, thus also potentially undermining their self-esteem and traditional cultural values. Middle-class visitors who could not afford the high-end luxuries, but who are interested more sincerely in learning about Tibetan culture, treating locals as equals and thus supporting local peoples self-esteem aspirations would be left out.
So, for what it is worth, i am at least trying to persuade park directors not to follow a model that solely looks at economic returns and thus undermines social and cultural outcomes. They might figure that it is the administration's job to bring in cash while protecting the environment, leaving the social and cultural stuff to the communist party, but i disagree....
So hopefully homestays will be on the accomodation agenda instead of simply 5* 'eco-resorts'...

Lately i've been reading Kerouac's 'on the road'. what a surreal, enlivened, existentialist and exciting adventure of a book. Ummm makes me hanker for the road again. won't be long now, just a few loose ends to tie up here in the next week and i'll be off again...
P.s. in fact, i've been off- to the world largest buddha, a mystical mountain, sacred caves, Asias largest waterfalls etc. etc.- and now back again already- you'll hear about this in the next blog
PEACE OUT