Ecotourism And Community Development:a Case Study In Myanmar’s Inle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary

Ecotourism is increasingly recognized as a community development tool with significant economic contribution. The ecotourism industry is experiencing increasing popularity as the demand grows for tourism that is environmentally sensitive, informative, and beneficial for local communities. Generally, Myanmar, as in other developing countries, has been promoting its21protected areas as ecotourism sites, and there have been only a few studies about ecotourism and community development. In this research, Inle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary (ILWS) was selected as a case study in order to assess the current status of ecotourism, also to evaluate the existing tourism-park-community relationships and impacts at this site where it is being promoted as a regional development strategy. Data was gathered by employing mostly qualitative methods consisting of questionnaires, informal and formal interviews, and private talks and observations. The finding illustrated that ecotourism in the Inle Lake has impacted local livelihoods and other environmental, economic, social, and cultural factors in both positive and negative ways. However, the positive effects of ecotourism were found to be more significant than the negative effects. Importantly, local communities expressed optimism about the future of ecotourism and have claimed that any negative consequences cannot discourage their desire for continuing the future ecotourism development. Through an evaluation of the existing tourism-park-community relationships, opportunities and constraints are identified. Ecotourism development was found to be at an early stage in the study area, despite only other types of tourism such as nature-based tourism and cultural tourism have developed as amainstream for many years. Tourism activity has not contributed revenues towards conservation to date and as a result, tourism has yet to raise funds for management or conservation activities. Socioeconomic benefits for the local community have been limited. Controversial activities will come in the form of increased employment opportunities from the development of ecotourism. This is especially important because many of the threats arising from the need of the local community to use natural resources for their livelihoods. For this study, the combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was used. Triangulation, in terms of both data sources and methods was used wherever possible to limit personal and methodological biases. Further recommendations are offered for the policy planners, both of the government and the administrative bodies, as well as for the local communities of the Tnle Lake. These are followed by the additional suggestions for further studies.