Does nature matter? Arguing for a biophysical turn in the ecotourism narrative
公開日 2019年03月05日
国際観光学研究センター（CTR）の専任研究員Abhik Chakraborty講師の論文が、国際学術誌「Journal of Ecotourism」に掲載されました。
?
?
論文タイトル
Does nature matter? Arguing for a biophysical turn in the ecotourism narrative
?
著者
Abhik Chakraborty, Center for Tourism Research, Wakayama University, Wakayama, Japan
?
書誌事項
Journal of Ecotourism, 2019
DOI: 10.1080/14724049.2019.1584201
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14724049.2019.1584201
*Scopus収録ジャーナル
収録誌詳細：https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/14809
?
要旨
This article argues for positioning biophysical nature as the central focus of the contemporary ecotourism narrative. Biophysical environment remains the most important attraction as well as the principal limiting factor of ecotourism due to its relative inelasticity to demand; and against the backdrops of increasing tourist numbers and a shrinking resource base, its condition should become the central concern for assessing ecotourism sustainability. Despite a modest increase of some species numbers, species habitats today are increasingly fragmented, and most ecotourism destinations harbor a long history of resource depletion. The article refers to key concepts and findings regarding the great acceleration of anthropogenic alteration of nature, and by connecting those insights with the central problems of ecotourism, it argues that in the Anthropocene – an era of sweeping changes to the geo-biosphere – a romanticized view of the ecotourism locale as pristine or grand is outdated, and a (re)evaluation of non-human nature, based on its rarity and fragility, as well as dynamism and complexity, is required. Relevant frameworks from Long-Term Ecological Research and landscape ecology are introduced and a checklist for praxis is proposed. It is posited that this conceptual reordering is necessary for developing ecotourism a viable tool for nature conservation.
?
キーワード
Biophysical nature, Anthropocene, fragmentation, ecological scarcity, deep understanding, new value of nature
