On #Earthday2020, in the midst of the #Covid19 #lockdown, No.35 of the #BrightenYourDay videos takes us on a wildlife-viewing drive around #Chitwan National Park in #Nepal in 2017. The video highlights the biodiversity of this beautiful park and the success of tourism there (though sharing a 4x4 with a noisy, excited crowd is sometimes frustrating for a naturalist who wants to sit still and watch for hours rather than minutes!). Species seen include:
Greater one-horned rhinoceros with attendant mynah birds; Sloth bear strolling along the track; peacock almost displaying; barking deer and spotted deer in the same shot, nicely showing their differences; plus a canoe-load of happy tourists being punted over the Rapti River as the sun sets.
In the current pandemic, however, with tourism suspended almost everywhere, this happy memory serves to illustrate the fragility of conservation success if it is based on the revenues from ecotourism... how long can the protection of the rhinos and other wildlife continue in the absence of income from visitors' entry fees? How sustainable are all the jobs in hotels, transport, local crafts, musicians, farmers (growing vegetables for lodges), etc.?
It seems the world must come up with other methods of financing conservation, such as payment for ecosystem services, or paid remote viewing using #VR, if we are to maintain a functioning biosphere that doesn't depend on tourism or public donations to conservation charities - though in the interim, these revenue streams are often all we have to keep these amazing species and habitats safe.
For a glimpse of how virtual travel might work, check out www.vEcotourism.org​ or download the free vEco Tours app for use with or without a VR headset.