ICTs in Sustainable Community Development & Ecotourism: Principles & Applications, Slides of Human Development

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Integrating ICTs into ecotourism

and sustainable community

development

1

Format of this Presentation

• Introductory remarks on Sustainable

development and Ecotourism

• Challenges to our communities
• Possible causes of non-sustainable

development

• Priorities for ICT in development
• Knowledge, ICT & Development
• ICT in Sustainable Development & Ecotourism

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Community Development (CD)

A multi-disciplinary process (IACD, 2003)

 focuses on building solidarity among groups of people

who share common interests

 concerned with building the capacity of people to define

and address their problems and visions within the context of their own culture.

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Sustainable Community Development

(Swisher, Rezola & Steins 2006)

 CD becomes sustainable when it results in a community that is environmentally

sound , economically productive , and socially just.

 Sustainable communities recognise that their economic and social structures as

well as the health of their local environment are intertwined.

 Sustainable communities understand that programs and policies that foster only

one aspect of development, be it economic growth, social gain, or environmental

protection, to the exclusion of the other two aspects will not promote sustained

progress for the community.

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Ecotourism (Honey 2008)

 travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strives

to be low impact and (often) small scale

 typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and

cultural heritage are the primary attractions

 a conceptual experience, enriching those who delve into

understanding the environment around them

 gives visitors an insight into their impact as human beings and also

a greater appreciation of natural habitats

 provides funds for conservation

 directly benefits the economic development and political

empowerment of local communities

 fosters respect for different cultures and for human rights.

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Ecotourism

(Harris & Vogel, 2005)

In the context of sustainable community

development, ecotourism is closely associated with

community-based tourism (CBT).

CBT is a mechanism for fostering natural and

cultural resource conservation and community

development.

CBT is often implemented in support of wildlife

management, environmental protection and/or

development for indigenous peoples.

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Challenges to Communities

The challenge facing communities is to integrate environmental, economic

development and the well-being of all people, not just for today, but for countless

generations to come so that development be sustained (IISD 2005).

Communities are also challenged to ensure that the following requirements are

met in implementing any strategy for sustainable community development:

 members of the community believe that they have the capacity to resolve their own

problems and shape their own future;

 community development initiatives are geared towards developing the community’s

capacity to deal with global issues e.g. HIV/AIDS, Climate Change at the local level. (Swisher, Rezola & Steins 2006).

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Challenges to Communities

Franklin & Hosein (2009)

 Communities are also challenged by the globalization and

technological shifts that have stimulated a revolution in the

information and communication industry.

 The centre of this technological revolution is the Internet with

its significant potential for accessing and transferring

information, computer-based communication and innovative

teaching strategies, all at a global level.

 Communities must chart a course towards their sustainable

development and in so doing, adopt/integrate the new information

and communication technologies (ICT).

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Moving forward to SCD

(AlKutbi & Ahmed 2006)

Recognition be given to:

 the Internet is a powerful tool for the promotion of knowledge acquisition and creation;

 building human capacity of individuals through knowledge creation and acquisition is an influential factor in sustainable development that should not be overlooked;

 the low penetration of ICT is related to either poor infrastructure and/or the cost of services;

 the number of Internet users increases significantly as the cost of Internet connection decreases;

 the issue of culture resistance to the sharing of tacit knowledge is complex and difficult to measure since it involves social and physiological elements.

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Priorities for ICTs in development

(Heeks 2005)

ICT for development can be decomposed into two parts, namely:

ICT consumption i.e. the use of technology in applications such

as e-commerce e.g. ATM and e-government e.g. online drivers

licence renewal;

ICT production i.e. the creation of hardware, software and

other components of the ICT infrastructure.

Empirical evidence suggests that the developmental gains from

investing in ICT production are greater than for investment in ICT

consumption.

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Knowledge

 Knowledge resides in each community. It can be created, shared

and utilized in each community.

 Analytical models demonstrate that knowledge is the main engine

of economic development.

 The Internet is a powerful and enabling tool to promote knowledge

acquisition (education and lifelong learning) and knowledge creation (R&D).

 ICT can be used as technologies for facilitating knowledge

acquisition, sharing and utilisation in communities.

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Knowledge Framework for Sustainable Development (AlKutbi & Ahmed 2006)

Recognising the imperative of human knowledge in

SD, the framework involves:

 Online Learning

 Continuous Learning

 Exchange of tacit and explicit knowledge

 Knowledge Creation, Sharing & Utilization

 Human Capital Accumulation

 Sustainable Development.

This framework must however be supported by the

synergy between ICT and Development Strategies as

well as flourishing ICTs.

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ICTs and Development

The potential and role of ICT as a tool for contributing to development has received much attention in the literature e.g.

• Digital Opportunity Initiative (2000)
• UNDP et al. (2001)
• Sandro M. R. (2002)
• Arunachalam (2002)
• Quibria et al (2002)
• Harris (2004)
• Lallana (2004)
• Willard & Andjelkonic (2005)

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A sample of ICT Interventions that have the capacity

to contribute to SCD and Ecotourism

Component ICT Intervention Outcome

Personal empowerment Distance Learning; Blended Learning; OnlineLearning; Flexible Education; Multipurpose Community Telecentres (MCTs);

A learning community

Positive action Social Networks; Free Press; Visual Broadcastingof working conditions; Voice for marginalised

communities;

A fair and just community

Community organizing & volunteer support

Social Networks; MCTs (^) An active and organized community Participation and involvement Community Multimedia Centers (CMCs); MobileCommunications; Flexible Education An influential community

Community economic development

MCTs; ICT applications in Flow of Remittances, Ecotourism e.g. e-CBT, Small & Micro Enterprises (SMEs), Medium Enterprises & Agriculture; Hardware and Software Enterprises; Virtual business clusters; Incubator Programmes

A shared wealth

Social and service development Social Web; Tele-Health/Telemedicine; FlexibleEducation; MCTs; Flow of Remittances;

Dissemination of HIV/AIDS Messages;

A caring community

Community environmental action MCTs; ICTs for Energy efficiency/ Eco-ICTs;^ A safe and healthy community

Community arts and cultural development

ICTs for Local Content; Community Radio; VoIP; MCTs; CMCs A creative community

Governance and development Social Networks; Flexible Education; MCTs;government e- A citizens’ community (^20)