FORWARD by Madison Donohue
The results of Rural Action’s dedication to understanding, promoting, and implementing sustainable, asset-based economic development go beyond mere metrics or short-term actions. These outcomes often take the form of long-term initiatives that require years of commitment, advocacy, and belief. In 2015, Joe Brehm, then Director of the Environmental Education program, and Brian Vadikin, then Chief Program Officer, joined forces with a shared vision of how ecotourism could enhance environmental literacy, foster stewardship, and contribute to regional economic growth. The position paper that follows has served as the blueprint for what has evolved into the Appalachian Understories initiative, six years after it was writen.
INTRODUCTION
The Hocking Hills State Parks attract 3 million visitors per year 1 because of their sandstone gorges and hemlock forests, generating $163.6 million from tourism in 2013. 2 That same year, only 2.43 million visitors spent time in Costa Rica, but they generated $2.25 billion through tourism-related activities.3 Why do tourists in Costa Rica stay longer and spend 15 times more than visitors to the Hocking Hills region? Is it because Costa Rica has sea turtles and monkeys? The country’s incredible biodiversity is surely one factor, but Costa Rica also has a deep, comprehensive strategy to capitalize on ecotourism that includes large-scale conservation planning and environmental education. This paper describes that strategy and how Rural Action and partners can apply its best practices to Appalachian Ohio. For nearly 25 years, Rural Action has been a regional leader in understanding, communicating, and carrying out sustainable, asset-based economic development. We have learned that lasting development occurs as a result of education, community engagement, restoration of natural and built assets, and the creation of infrastructure to connect those assets to markets. The integration of ecotourism interests us because it can increase environmental literacy and stewardship while growing the regional economy.
THE COSTA RICAN MODEL
Costa Rica’s natural resources, along with pro-conservation policies, foreign investment, and an institutionalized environmental education program, have led to a robust tourism industry responsible for generating 4.6% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product in 2013. The various subsectors of the tourism industry, including ecotourism, cultural tourism, adventure tourism, and traditional “sun and beach” tourism, account for close to 100,000 jobs, or about 4.4% of the labor force.4 One main draw for international visitors is Costa Rica’s extensive national park system and biodiversity. Though roughly the size of West Virginia, Costa Rica has 28 national parks and more than160 protected areas, spanning 26.3% of its land base.5 Estimates show that Costa Rica is home to about 500,000 distinct species, the equivalent of 4% of the world’s total biodiversity.6 Systematic preservation of land and species grew rapidly in the 1990s to form the foundation of an economy based on ecotourism.7
Figure 1. An interpretation of the Costa Rican model, which integrates environmental education and conservation to promote a strong, local ecotourism economy.
Along with a thriving ecosystem, the key element of the Costa Rican model (see figure 1) for sustainable ecotourism development is education. The strong environmental component in Costa Rica’s education system prepares students to fill various niches in the tourism sector upon graduation from secondary school. In 1995, Costa Rica made environmental education mandatory in all public and private schools, with the objective of adopting an environment-oriented culture to foster sustainable development.8 Formal environmental education allows students to gain expertise in science, ecology, and natural history, which enables them to guide hikes and interpret local flora and fauna. In a select number of state high schools, students can specialize in ecotourism, which includes the study of environmental education, environmental management, ecology, ecotourism, and English. Tenth grade students pursuing the specialization receive 240 contact hours with these topics, in addition to typical secondary school subjects.9 Further, these schools are well connected with public agencies and private companies related to ecotourism, which allows students to complete internships in high school that give them concrete work experience in ecotourism-related fields.
The image to the right is of the rustic lodging at the El Silencio cooperative in Costa Rica’s Central Pacific region. The co-op participates in Rural Community Tourism [turismo rural comunitario] and offers inexpensive lodging, cultural events, and tours of its palm plantation and wildlife sanctuary. Photo courtesy of authors.
Because Costa Ricans see income opportunities as directly connected to biodiversity and environmental integrity, they highly value local natural areas. Students who have received environmental education better understand how to steward natural areas and possess the tools to sustain this conservation strategy. Many resorts and eco-lodges in Costa Rica model sustainability practices, including water and energy conservation, reforestation, and the prohibition of non biodegradable chemicals. The Institute of Costa Rican Tourism offers a Certificate for Sustainable Tourism that measures the implementation of sustainable practices; 41 hotels and lodges have earned the highest level of accreditation through the program.10 The country’s beautiful natural environment is a large draw for international tourism, but the success of the ecotourism industry would not be possible without conservation, infrastructure, and an environmentally literate workforce.
GROWING APPALACHIAN OHIO THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
While Appalachian Ohio does not harbor monkeys or sea turtles, it possesses the environmental and cultural resources to develop an ecotourism sector. Appalachian Ohio also has several viable career paths in natural resources because of the relative abundance of public land and land management agencies. The region’s 32 counties contain all but three of Ohio’s 21 state forests and the Wayne National Forest, totaling more than 400,000 acres of publicly owned land. State parks such as Burr Oak, Lake Hope, and Shawnee have become popular local destinations with comfortable facilities. Protected areas provide habitat for a self-sustaining population of bobcats, the nationally declining cerulean warbler, and other forest-dependent neo-tropical migrant birds. Wild turkey and whitetail deer thrive in the region, forming the foundation of a robust hunting industry. While regional economic impact data from ecotourism does not yet exist, 2013 sales from all types of tourism in the Southeast Ohio region totaled $1.58 billion.11
Increased engagement with the region’s natural and heritage assets will benefit communities through increased visitation, new events and tours, and entrepreneurial efforts rooted in the local environment. In fact, the regional Winding Road brand, which aims to offer travel experiences for learning, adventure, and engagement, identified 22 distinct tours in a mock catalog produced for 2015. However, local involvement in the creation of a tourism development strategy is the only way to ensure there is broad ownership of proposed solutions. Rural Action and regional partners such as the Ohio Hill Country Heritage Area have begun engaging with stakeholders to advance the development of the sector. This intentional community engagement also safeguards against any projects that contradict the collective vision and direction of the community strategy, such as tourism that negatively impacts the environment or quality-of-life in communities.
Rural Action believes our primary opportunity for contributing to this effort is through further investment in environmental education programs that can grow job opportunities in ecotourism, natural resource management, and other jobs dependent on the environment. Since at least 1998, Rural Action has prioritized improving environmental literacy among students and adults.12 In fact, in 2013 we collaborated with 98 regional teachers and reached 3,095 students. Through strategic environmental education initiatives, Rural Action and our partners can prepare students and community members to engage in the tourism economy. We can draw from our experience with the Wealth Creation Initiative, sponsored by the Ford Foundation, to map and clarify value chains—networks of economic actors that can address a market opportunity for specific goods and services while creating local and regional wealth.13 Additionally, we can map career paths for students who become passionate about natural resources so that they are prepared to fill local jobs with agencies such as the Wayne National Forest and Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
Significant growth in the tourism sector will require multi-year collaboration among partners. In the interim we have identified several steps Rural Action can take to foster ecotourism development:
∙ Continue to increase the uptake of environmental education across the region to increase environmental literacy and awareness of local environmental assets;
∙ Clarify an ecotourism value chain for Southeast Ohio using our experience mapping out value chains in food systems and forestry;
∙ Research and map potential career ladders for students in ecotourism and natural resource fields, such as park warden, field guide, wildlife biologist, watershed conservation specialist, small business owner, etc.; and,
∙ Identify and fill gaps in those career ladders by encouraging the creation of internships, apprenticeships, and certification courses for high school and 2 and 4 year college students.
The image to the left is of young campers going pond dipping in the Huff Run / Mud Run watersheds in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Summer Watershed Camp is one of Rural Action’s primary environmental education efforts, along with in-school workshops and the Appalachian Green Teachers Project. Photo courtesy of Marissa Geib Lautzenheiser.
Further environmental education provided directly or through Rural Action’s Appalachian Green Teachers Project 14 (AGTP) has the potential for immediate benefits, in addition to its long-term goals of improved stewardship and ecotourism job opportunities. One 1998 study showed that the incorporation of the environment as a context for teaching led to a significant improvement in standardized test scores in a variety of fields.15 AGTP has seen similar results: after partnering with a local 5th grade science teacher, the students’ achievement on state science tests improved from 71% passage to 87% in two years. This could benefit other Southeast Ohio school districts, where science scores are generally low. Trimble Elementary School, for instance, saw only 46% of its 5th grade students (up from 37% in 2011-12) and 62% of its 8th graders pass the science portion of state exams in the 2013-14 school year.16 New methods, especially ones that excite students and teachers about scientific concepts and practices, are necessary to prepare these students for higher education or for a career in an environmental field. In addition, successful environmental education programs can lead not only to increases in environmental literacy among the participating students, but also among parents and other adults in the community.17
In particular, we believe a lack of internships and environmental work opportunities for older students is one missing link that hinders young people from strengthening their connections to the region. Higher education students at Ohio University and Hocking College have powerful resources to secure an internship in the area, but there are very few positions available for local high school students. Although younger students may not yet have all the skills obtained through an Associates or Bachelors degree program, they are intimately familiar with the regional ecosystem and have a stronger attachment to place than the oftentimes-transient university students. If we can grow the number of available internships, apprenticeships, or even work-study collaborations with local schools, we believe we can increase the number of students who choose to work in a local, environment-based field—be it in ecotourism, traditional forest management, or entrepreneurial businesses. We will also support existing skill-acquisition avenues like the National Association f orInterpretation’s certification and training program through the nonprofit Ohio Hill Country Heritage Area so that field guides may improve their interpretive tours and hikes. These efforts will complement existing work with younger students to increase environmental literacy, encourage practical skill acquisition, deepen place-based attachments, and show students that the natural environment is an asset and a partner in sustainable economic growth.
CONCLUSION
While Appalachian Ohio does not have the climate or geography to benefit from traditional “sun and sand” tourism that is so profitable for Costa Rica, it does have incredible natural assets and cultural heritage that consistently draw visitors. Rural Action supports the development of tourism as its own sector, but we also believe an emphasis on ecotourism has the potential to increase investment into environmental conservation. By growing education and internship opportunities, our young people will become engaged in processes and programs that enhance natural resource assets and provide wealth-creating benefits to our communities. When communities see that environmental education and protection results in jobs and a better quality of life, we expect that a higher value will be placed on environmental stewardship.
SOURCES
1 Hocking County Visitors Bureau (2013).
2 TourismOhio. (2014). The Economic Impact of Tourism in Washington County, Ohio (p. 22).
3 Costa Rican Institute of Tourism. (2013). Anuario Estadístico de Turismo 2013 [Annual Tourism Survey 2013] (pp. 1– 47).
4 The numbers rise to 12.11% of GDP and 241,500 jobs when indirect revenue is considered. “Turismo genera el 4,6% del PIB de Costa Rica” [Tourism generates 4.6% of Costa Rica GDP]. (2014). El financiero.
5 Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación [National System of Conservation Areas], (2010). Plan estratégico SINAC 2010-2015. (p.11)
6 National Institute of Biodiversity. (n.d.). Biodiversidad en Costa Rica [Biodiversity in Costa Rica]. 7 Blum, N. (2008). Environmental education in Costa Rica: Building a framework for sustainable development? International Journal Of Educational Development, 28(3), 348-358.
8 Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Costa Rica. Ley Orgánica del Ambiente [Organic Law of the Environment], Pub. L. No. 7554 § 3 (1995).
9 Blum, p. 353
10 Costa Rican Institute for Tourism. (n.d.). Certificación para la Sostenibilidad Turística [Certificate for Sustainable Tourism].
11 TourismOhio, p. 22
12 Rural Action Environmental Strategy (1998), p. 11
13 For more information on value chains and the WealthWorks model applied in the nationwide Wealth Creation Initiative, visit: http://www.wealthworks.org/basics/construct-wealthworks-value-chain
14 For more information about the Appalachian Green Teachers Project, see
15 Lieberman, G. A., & Hoody, L. L. (1998). Closing the achievement gap: Using the environment as an integrating context for learning. San Diego, CA: State Education and Environment Roundtable.
16 Ohio Department of Education (2014). 2013-14 School Report Card for Trimble Elementary / Junior High. 17 Vaughan, C., Gack, J., Solorazano, H., & Ray, R. (2003). The Effect of Environmental Education on Schoolchildren, Their Parents, and Community Members: A Study of Intergenerational and Intercommunity Learning. Journal Of Environmental Education, 34(3), 12-21.