Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development

The Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development is a non-profit research institution whose mission is to design, monitor, evaluate, and improve ecotourism and sustainable tourism practices and principles. Its policy-oriented research focuses on ecotourism as a tool for poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation, as well as socially and environmentally responsible tourism practices. With offices in Washington, DC and at Stanford University, CESD was launched in 2003 as a bi-coastal institute, offering programs, conferences, courses, and research projects at both of its locations, as well as field research opportunities. CESD uses policy-oriented research to design, monitor, evaluate, and improve ecotourism, as well as to promote sustainable practices and principles within the wider tourism industry. It focuses on ecotourism as a tool for poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation. The Center's activities include:

* Coordinating international research projects, based in Washington, DC and at Stanford

* Writing publications, including books, pamphlets, booklets, and handbooks

* Participating in international workshops and conferences

* Organizing ecotourism courses and seminars, offered at Stanford and other institutions

* Building partnerships with universities and research institutes in developing countries

For information on CESD's Staff, please see the Staff section.

For information on CESD's Board of Directors, please visit the Board of Directors page. Ecotourism has taken on global significance in the 30 years since the term was first used, as shown when the UN designated 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism.

Today nearly every country with national parks and protected areas is marketing some type of ecotourism; lending and aid agencies are funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into projects that include ecotourism; major environmental organizations are sponsoring ecotourism projects and departments; and millions of travelers are going on ecotours. While interest in ecotourism has never been greater, the field has frequently lacked intellectual rigor, as well as broad consensus on definitions.

Most tourism (including ecotourism) programs in U.S. universities are located within management schools for recreation, tourism, restaurants and hotels, leisure studies, and parks. With several notable exceptions, these programs focus on vocational skills and business training. There are, at present, no institutions in the U.S. comparable to the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development. CESD views ecotourism as a development and conservation tool that has the potential to address some of the most complex and compelling social and natural scientific issues of our times. Among the questions CESD addresses through its research and field projects are:

* How can ecotourism help to empower local communities and alleviate rural poverty?

* How can ecotourism truly contribute to the survival of endangered flora and fauna?

* How can ecotourism facilitate cross-cultural learning, while diminishing the exploitation of “host populations”?

* What will ensure that tourism provides both enjoyment and education?

* How can we monitor and protect biodiversity in areas used for ecotourism?

* How can we create harmony, not hostility, between people and protected areas?

* How can we decrease the negative social and environmental impacts of tourism?

* How can we build businesses that are, at once, environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and profitable?

* What process will create consensus-driven standards, with certification and accreditation oversight, for sound ecotourism?