Week 8 - Linda Nguyen

Linda Nguyen

ASA 189F - National Aesthetics

Professor Valverde 

2/25/17

     Costa Rica remade itself through the role of the state, particularly on the creation of the national park system (Jones and Spadafora 4). The growth of the ecotourism industry is seen as a co-creation (of the public, private, and tertiary sectors) that involved small entrepreneurial start-up operating private reserves, tours, accommodations, environmental and scientific NGOs. Furthermore, Costa Rica’s natural endowment (which is the emergence of an ecotourism industry such as Costa Rica contains 4-5% of the world’s biodiversity) institutional foundations for tourism; the role of scientists, NGOs, and the national parks; the role of entrepreneurs and firms in the creation of industry; and the overall impact of ecotourism on the country. Without the help of the scientists’ and conservationists’ work, Costa Rica’s rainforests and national parks would not have been created. Expatriate American brought ecological ideas—whether of academic biology or environmentalist conviction—and together with Costa Rican biologists and environmentalists help spread these words widely (Jones and Spadafora 40-41). Moreover, Costa Rica’s stability and openness to foreigners allowed entrepreneurs and Costa Rican nationals to start the businesses that created the industry.

Costa Rica could do more of protecting their ecosystem from accessing and prevent pesticides and fish kills in the Sixaola watershed, in Costa Roca (Polidoro and Morra, 2016). In order for Costa Rica to achieve maximum “national aesthetics,” Costa Rica did an impressive job in rebranded itself as a natural paradise in which is enable many businesses who were not environmental conscientious or environmentally sustainable. Costa Rica could do more of addressing and resolving the greenwashing, which is a serious threat to principled ecotourism business, as well we preserving their own forest and wildlife, maintaining a high level of sustainability in their own operation, and spreading awareness and their messages to tourists (Jones and Spadafora 41)

     The most valuable product of the land and people in my research would be respect for the environment and culture of Bhutan. The Bhutanese are committed to protecting their environment as well as helping one another (in good deeds) according to the Bhutan’s constitution. The slogan my group and I thought that would best brand this product would be “Spiritual in Bhutan” like “Made in American,” for example.  

    

     In relation to this week’s reading and theme of the week on “Costa Rica and Green Tourism,” Bhutan is a great example. While Bhutan does not have diplomatic relations with the United States and many of the tourism entrepreneurs are not expatriate American, Bhutan tries its best to preserve and maintain its environment by having tourism strict to prevent environmental devastation. I think that by adopting Costa Rica’s stability and openness to foreigners will allow both entrepreneurs as well as Bhutanese nationals to start a business that creates the industry, and bringing in more jobs for the Bhutanese locals, thus decreasing the rates of poverty of the Bhutanese people. At the same time, I also think adopting Costa Rica's example of stability is problematic because the Bhutan country and the Bhutanese people and Bhutanese government do not want entrepreneurs that are expatriate American to work for Bhutan. Moreover, I also think that maintaining a high level of sustainability and education to tourists will mass tourism in Bhutan will continue to grow. I think the creation of the national image of education of the Bhutan country would enable many businesses to have a growing demand for environmentally sustainable tourism.  

"Wangchuck Centennial National Park (WCP), located in the northern 

regions of beautiful Bhutan, is the country's largest conservation area."

Question: Can the creation of a national image of a natural paradise in Costa Rica be applicable in other countries? If so, what are the pro and con? Explain.

The tiny village of Nangsiphel in Bumthang, northern Bhutan, has been the first village to try out WWF's new ecotourism project.

"Wangchuck Centennial National Park (WCP) in northern Bhutan is the country’s largest conservation area and a huge draw for tourists, yet many of the region’s residents struggle to make a living. Under a new livelihood development programme, WWF and the Royal Government of Bhutan have developed an ecotourism project – ‘the homestay programme’ – designed to stem the region’s rural-urban migration, and distribute tourist-related funds amongst the rural population."

Image Citation: http://d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/img/2011_11_bhutan06_416848.jpg

Question: Can the creation of a national image of a natural paradise in Costa Rica be applicable in other countries? If so, what are the pro and con? Explain.

Bibliography

Beth A. Polidoro and Matthew J. Morra. “An ecological risk assessment of pesticides and fish kills in the Sixaola watershed, Costa Rica.”

Geoffrey Gareth Jones and Andrew Spadafora. “Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica.”