Many mountain communities around the world have promoted ecotourism ventures to ameliorate problems of environmental degradation and underdevelopment. Although there is no agreement on what ecotourism is or should be, it is generally believed that this form of tourism in the mountains will foster responsible tourist behavior, conservation of important wildlife habitats and ecosystems, appreciation of local cultures and traditional lifestyles, and provision of sustainable forms of livelihood for people living in remote areas and communities. The present article provides a brief overview of the trends in mountain ecotourism in developed and developing countries, concluding with a proposed framework for designation of mountain ecotourism sites.

“Integrated tourism, to be successful, must promote sustainable development by establishing a durable productive base that allows local inhabitants and service providers to enjoy rising standards of living,” wrote David Barkin in 1996. Ecotourism delivers these results because it aims to ensure ecologically, economically, and culturally friendly tourism. Sustainable tourism can best be achieved when activities are controlled by the local community in which tourism activities are being generated. In ideal situations sustainability, sound environmental management, and ecotourism are closely linked. Tourism activities in Pakistan are currently far from sustainable, as in many other mountain regions worldwide: deforestation, uncontrolled land utilization, unplanned growth of tourism, mushrooming growth of accommodations, and, above all, outmigration of young, energetic people as a result of limited job opportunities and lack of local ownership and participation in tourism ventures make change imperative. This paper recommends strategies and measures that urgently need to be developed at all levels.

Western Sichuan is not only the key region for soil and water conservation in the upper reaches of the Yangtse River, China, but also the homeland of the Zang (Tibetan), Yi, and Qiang minority nationalities. The forest industry was responsible for 78% of the total revenue in this region before the implementation of a central strategy of natural forest conservation, which prescribed limits on cutting and clearing and the return of cultivated land to forest or pastures. This central strategy resulted in less income for local farmers, increasing the gap in per capita GDP between western Sichuan and the rest of Sichuan. Because ecotourism can improve the natural environment and contribute to economic prosperity, local governments focus on ecotourism when developing their economic policies, and most of the local residents support this focus. Western Sichuan is rich in potential ecotourism resources, especially natural reserves. Ecotourism developments such as Jiuzhaigou Valley–Huanglong offer examples of protection of natural resources and prosperity in minority nationality areas.

The United Nations, which designated 1993 as the International Year for the Indigenous Peoples of the World, identified indigenous peoples as “minorities and tribal populations with special problems related in particular to discrimination and deprivation of basic human rights, and with special needs concerning education, health, economic development, and the environment” (United Nations General Assembly resolution 46/128 of 17 December 1991). The UN noted that foremost among the distinctive characteristics of indigenous peoples is the special relationship which indigenous peoples have with the land and nature, and their long-established practices of sustainable and harmonious development.

Although the United Nations failed to mention the potential role of ecotourism in addressing indigenous minority poverty and marginalization, it is an area of significant potential because of its sociocultural “fit” with indigenous society's oneness with the environment. Indigenous ecotourism and the mountainous tropical wet rainforest region of northern Queensland, Australia (Figure 1) may be viewed as “perfect partners” given the interdependency of the biophysical environment and its original Aboriginal inhabitants, which goes back approximately 40,000 years in time. This paper gives a brief introduction to the issues related to Aboriginal rights and tourism in Australia and examines the way in which ecotourism has provided a revitalization of that interdependency and extended the human–bio sphere relationship in new directions in northern Queensland.

Mountains of the Mediterranean have been inhabited for centuries, and mountain villages have served as havens from pirates, disease, and oppressive invaders. These villages are characterized by difficult but enduring subsistence economies that have grown and declined in cyclical patterns, each time adjusting to population growth and abandonment as a result of war or famine. In Greece this pattern changed decisively in the 20th century. Throughout the century 80% of the population shifted from mountain villages to the lowlands or emigrated to the United States, Europe, and Australia, resulting in the massive abandonment of rural mountain areas. As depopulation increased, leaving only aging grandparents, schools and health services were closed, and forests recolonized the slopes traditionally kept open as grazing pastures for sheep and goats.

The village of Dadia in the Rhodope mountains has experienced a reversal of this trend since the 1990s, thanks to major efforts by conservation organizations, the government, the European Union (EU), the private sector, and the local population to introduce ecotourism in the area. Thus, a remote mountain region with a rich history and unique cultural and natural diversity has become a model of successful nature conservation and economic revival.

The Sky Walk–Sky Trek project is located in Monteverde at approximately 1700 m above sea level in the Tilarán Mountains of northern Costa Rica. It has been cited as an example of a totally rural tourism initiative, and its quality has been praised worldwide. The Sky Walk offers visitors—including the disabled—an opportunity to experience different levels of biodiversity in the cloud forest on a series of suspended bridges connected by trails. The Sky Trek is a more adventurous experience, consisting of a series of cables (for sliding across canyons) and trails. Besides having an educational component, the project has made a positive, well-recognized contribution to forest regeneration on abandoned pastureland. Moreover, it illustrates the problems and challenges of community participation in tourism microenterprises. Size is not necessarily a criterion for success in tourism projects: a small-scale tourism project must be creative and responsible and must show familiarity with its product and its customer base.

Finding ways to assess and measure the impact of tourism and its associated development on sustainability is critical to developing long-term sustainability plans for regions such as the Indian Himalayas. Among the methods proposed is ecological footprint (EF) analysis or appropriated carrying capacity analysis. EF analysis estimates the area of productive land and water ecosystems required to produce the resources that a population consumes and to assimilate the wastes that the population produces in supporting itself. This study used EF analysis to quantify the sustainability of Manali, a rapidly growing tourist center in Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, India. It considered the changes in the size of Manali's footprint since the advent of mass tourism in the early 1980s, the direct impact that tourists are having on the size of the footprint, and the challenges of applying this analysis in a developing world context. Data regarding land use, goods and services, and population were collected through local interviews and available data. The results indicate that between 1971 and 1995, the overall EF of Manali town grew from 2102 to 9665 ha, an increase of over 450%; the EF of Manali is now 25 times greater than its size. This indicates that Manali is increasingly relying on outside ecosystems for its sustenance. The article highlights areas of focus for future sustainability planning, including waste management, decreasing fossil fuel dependence, ecofriendly tourism, and creating greater environmental awareness, particularly among tourists.

Tourism has been part of the mountain economy in Sweden for the past century. With the current decline of the extractive industries in this rural area, tourism is taking on new significance for many communities. This article gives an overview of tourism in the extensive Swedish mountain region, with a focus on types of recreational activities and their regionality. The data presented are based on a national sample of participation in mountain tourism. Findings show that 43% of the Swedish adult population (2.66 million individuals) visited the mountains at least once during a 5-year period (1995–1999). Winter activities—skiing and snowmobiling—were the dominant forms of mountain recreation. Tourism activity patterns differ distinctively across the 4 mountain counties: whereas winter tourism dominates in the southern parts of the region, the north receives visitors mostly in the summer. Only 5% of visitors to the Swedish mountains are from outside Scandinavia. In a single year, 9 times as many people visited the Swedish mountains as live there, but despite these numbers the population in the region is continually decreasing.

Forest cover types, tree distribution pattern, species diversity, net woody biomass productivity, and firewood extraction rates were studied along a trekking corridor (Yuksam–Dzongri) in Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, Sikkim, India. For the last 2 decades the area has been facing immense pressure on its natural resources because of an increase in the numbers of tourists and the lack of effective regulation by park authorities. To assess this situation the study sites were categorized as closed canopy (CC) forest and open canopy (OC) forest (disturbed) at upper forest (UF) and lower forest (LF) sites, on the basis of firewood extraction pressure from the community and tourism enterprises. The results showed significant variations in diversity, richness, structure, productivity, and regeneration among different canopy types. OC forest showed greater plant diversity than CC forest. Firewood extraction pressure was remarkably greater in the LF near the major settlement than in the UF. Local conservation initiatives and the interventions of an ecotourism project have had visible impacts on firewood use by the community and on tourism enterprises. Although alarming, the rate of woody biomass extraction was nonetheless lower than the annual productivity rate of the stands. Participatory management and compliance by tourism enterprises with a code of conduct on alternative fuel use along the trekking corridor would help promote the conservation and maintenance of biodiversity.

A comparative study on the impact of pine plantations on soil and vegetation development was conducted in the Ecuadorian Andes (3000–4000 m). Pine plantations of different ages under different types of management were compared with extensively grazed páramo grassland (the most common former land use) and natural forest (the formerly dominant vegetation in much of the life zone). No general impact of plantations was found, although some tendencies were identified that show that soils under pine plantations are drier and less organic. Moreover, the vegetation under pine plantations was similar to páramo grassland, though some examples of regeneration of Andean woody species were observed, as well as examples of plantations where understory was completely lacking. We concluded that the impact of pine plantations cannot be generalized but should be evaluated case by case while care is taken in implementing plantations until more knowledge is obtained about the effects on the ecosystem as a whole, especially considering their ecological importance.

The debate over sustainable development raises the question of regional potential to improve resource management from an ecological point of view. This involves finding substitutes for nonrenewable resources, increasing resource efficiency, and increasing regional autonomy with regard to mass resources. In this context, the question of the possibilities for neighboring highland and lowland regions to find a win–win situation in resource management gains new relevance. Swiss highland and lowland areas served as the study area for the present article. Material flow analysis was applied to quantify the physiological interactions. Energy, human nutrition, and animal fodder served as indicators. Interactions are discussed on the basis of 2 “sustainability scenarios”: (1) a 2-kW society, and (2) a diet with low meat consumption. The results led to the following main conclusions. First, physiological net interactions between the regions are currently very low. The natural resource potentials of the regions cannot be used intensively as objects of exchange. Mass resources such as water, biomass, and construction materials play a minor role in the overall regional economic output. With respect to energy and nourishment, the “global hinterland” as the main supplier is much more important for both regions. Second, in sustainability scenarios, the 2 regions could become complementary in the production of food and fodder. In addition, the highlands could eventually become a supplier of renewable energy. Thus, a high degree of sustainability in resource management can increase interregional resource interaction because of the promotion of regional resource idiosyncrasies.

This paper presents an inventory of landslides and hazard and risk zonation mapping along the Río Grande basin in the Central Andes of Mendoza. The mapping was based on field work combined with interpretation of aerial photographs to provide a practical basis for rational land-use planning. Landslide risk zones were mapped, in view of the natural hazards and the degree of loss to a given element or set of elements at risk along roads and routes because of a particular phenomenon of a given magnitude. Landslides occurred in the study area during 2 periods of the year: in spring after snowmelt and in summer after severe rainstorms. A relationship was found between the lithology and the landslides. In addition, the occurrence of a reactivated landslide and the formation of a dam were detected on the satellite images.

The Banff Centre for Mountain Culture promotes understanding and appreciation of the world's mountain places by creating opportunities for people to share—and find inspiration in—mountain experiences, ideas, and visions.