The reservations of South Dakota’s nine Native American tribes have consistently been among the poorest areas in the United States, suffering the detrimental effects of rights abuses, loss of traditional land, discrimination and harmful federal policies, both in the past and the present. Unfortunately, mainstream media have too often focused on the high rates of […]
Top European tourist destinations such as Greece, Italy, and Spain are among the worst-hit by the economic crisis that has been tormenting Europe since 2008. Many people have been evicted from their houses and have lost their jobs. Yet even though the situation might seem hopeless to some, others see new opportunities and are trying […]
The irreplaceable historic and architectural treasures of Mali’s great desert city, Timbuktu, are under threat of destruction by Islamist rebels occupying the city. Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, has already suffered several attacks on its religious monuments, including the destruction of several ancient shrines of Muslim saints that the fundamentalist attackers consider […]
Since Cambodia’s return to peace in the 1990s, tourism has boomed with more than two million visitors every year. For many of these travelers, a visit to an orphanage has become an essential part of any Cambodian tour. The directors of these orphanages warmly welcome visitors, and in particular their money. Yet increasingly, abuses have […]
As one of the largest industries in the world, tourism has a significant impact on many societies. Although this impact is most often viewed in economic terms, an increasing number of researchers believes that specific forms of tourism can bring about peace, or at least decrease the possibility of conflict. However, such positive effects are […]
An appeals court in Botswana has ruled that indigenous Bushmen can drill wells for water on their traditional land in the Kalahari Game Reserve. After a legal battle of more than a decade, it seems that the Bushmen can finally return to live on their ancestral lands – that is, if the government accepts the […]
An expert on the ethical side of conservation and tourism development has published a controversial new book strongly criticizing current conservation efforts. In Nature Crime: How We’re Getting Conservation Wrong Rosaleen Duffy claims that the dominating Western approach to conservation damages the environment and criminalizes local people. The current approach is based on separating people […]
Catalonia became the first mainland Spanish region to outlaw bullfighting after the regional parliament passed the ban by a vote of 68 to 55 with nine abstentions. Many heated debates centering on animal rights versus preserving traditional culture preceded the passing of the ban, which will take effect in 2012. The origins of the corrida—as […]
The government of Tanzania has approved a major commercial highway across Serengeti National Park in the direct path of the park’s world-famous wildlife migration routes. Conservationists and members of the travel industry strongly oppose the construction, arguing that such a highway would be devastating to the Serengeti’s fragile ecosystem and would therefore negatively impact Tanzania’s […]
