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outdoorsAlso in this section: Responsible whale-watching tourism by the World Wildlife Fund More than 15,000 people are watching whales and dolphins every day in the 87 countries now involved in this tourism activity, in comparison with only 31 countries in 1991, according to data provided by the WWF Central America in a workshop on responsible cetacean watching. "Mass tourism or inadequately managed tourism can perturb or harm whales and dolphins, but these animals can benefit if education, research and economic considerations are combined," says Sandra Andraka, Species Officer for WWF Central America, one of the conservation organizations that supports training for cetacean spotting. An "Introductory Workshop on Cetacean Observation Tourism" was held in Costa Rica, with support from WWF, the Fundacion Cethus, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. From March 14 to 16, representatives from the governments and tourism institutes of Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador learned about cetacean biology, how to reduce possible damage to whales during observation activities, guidelines and regulations. They also evaluated alternatives for increasing the income of communities that make a living from this activity, without causing harm to the species; and they began a process for joint oversight of the activity in the region, since these animals do not recognize borders and migrate from country to country. Principal course instructor Miguel Iñíguez from Argentina emphasized that, "The activity should be carried out through ongoing cooperation among tour operators, ministries of the environment, natural resources and tourism, and researchers and conservation organizations." The world has 500 communities involved in commercial cetacean watching, many of which make a living from this activity, and in the Central American region the activity is showing an annual increase of 47 percent. In Costa Rica, there are more than 62 tour operators that participate in this business, and in Panama the activity generated more revenues than visits to the Panama Canal, according to the Panamanian Tourism Institute. "For organizations like WWF, the interest of the ministries of the environment, the tourism institutes and the tour operators is essential for filling the gaps in the knowledge of the subject and achieve proper regulation of the activity in Central America," concludes Sandra Andraka.
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