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Harmonizing Biodiversity Conservation and the Human Right to Livelihood: Towards a Viable Model for Sustainable Community-Based Ecotourism Using Lessons from the Donsol Whale Shark Project

This paper addresses the following focal research questions: What are the points of tension between the human right to livelihood and biodiversity conservation? Can the ecotourism model be a viable mechanism to address this tension? Assuming it can, what are some of the inherent dangers of the ecotourism model and how can they be effectively addressed? Aware that ecotourism is but one of many recent attempts to harmonize a fundamental right with an equally fundamental environmental need, this paper will first provide in Part One the study’s theoretical framework based on the theories and principles of the field of Human Rights and the Environment (“HRE”). This part will seek to contextualize the scope of this paper’s study by demonstrating that scholars are beginning to recognize that the pursuit of environmental targets is not necessarily inconsistent with the fulfillment of human rights, and that environmental protection can be achieved alongside, and not as a mere consequence of, human development.Once the theoretical affinity between human rights and the environment has been laid, Part Two will validate the same by isolating and juxtaposing a particular human right – the right to livelihood – with a particular environmental interest – biodiversity conservation. This paper will demonstrate that there is a marked tension in the interface between the two, a tension which the ecotourism model seemingly eases. To illustrate this, the various experiences of different countries with ecotourism ventures will be examined, to determine the current state of the implementation and practical execution of the principles of ecotourism. A cursory survey of the literature, however, will reveal that the ecotourism model is far from perfect. It is not invulnerable to perils inherent to any venture of its kind (i.e, environment-based activities with close and heavy exposure to human traffic). This paper will focus on one such peril – the potential for an ecotourism venture to be operated in an unsustainable manner. In the context of ecotourism, the balance between biodiversity conservation and the stability of the livelihood of the host community is very precarious. If left unchecked, the said balance has a tendency to preponderate in favor of the community’s livelihood, leading to the destruction of the biodiversity on which it is based. It is when this delicate balance is disturbed that the ecotourism venture ceases to be sustainable and eventually collapses.In Part Three of this paper, it will be argued that an ecotourism venture can be rendered sustainable if all stakeholders subscribe to a fundamental tenet of HRE – the heavy premium and emphasis on the participatory democracy approach. By involving the community in the conceptualization, administration and monitoring of an ecotourism project, there is a high likelihood that income security for community beneficiaries and biodiversity conservation can both be adequately secured in the long run, thereby ensuring the project’s sustainability. To support this argument, this paper will use the Donsol whale shark ecotourism project as an illustrative case study. The proposition is that, following the community-based ecotourism model put in place in Donsol, an ecotourism project has an increased likelihood of achieving long-term sustainability. This paper will conclude by advancing proposals on how the successes of the Donsol experiment can be replicated in other ecotourism ventures.