Few countries offer the tourist potential of the Peoples Republic of China, with its unique natural resources, scenic variety, ethnic diversity and cultural heritage as the world's oldest civilization. Although international tourism only began in 1978, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of foreign visitors, which has similar parallels in the domestic sector. Concerns, however, are already being expressed about the nation's environmental wellbeing and the threats posed by tourism to endangered species, sensitive habitats, unique abiotic features and indigenous ethnic peoples.
South West China is especially renowned for the uniqueness and variety of its flora, fauna and indigenous ethnic peoples. In some locations the untouched ecosystems are among the most diverse living assemblies on earth.
Since 1950 the world has witnessed the negative impact of modernity both on SW China's environment, and on the socio-cultural systems of its indigenous peoples. Modernity rather than enhancing their well being is seemingly destroying their environment and indigenous culture and robbing them of their means of life.
Ecotourism and agro-forestry have the potential to support nature conservation, community development, and indigenous cultural identity and rights, but there are dangers of environmental destruction, elite capture, inappropriate tourist infrastructure, and of further "colonisation" , commodification, marginalising and alienating of its indigenous peoples. There is already evidence that the conventional models of "forest tourism" adopted are having a negative socio-environmental impact in the Wolong Panda Reserve, Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve & Hailougou Glacier Park.
Given the seasonal nature of tourism, in SW China, it is unlikely on its own to provide sufficient income to support nature conservation and community development and one suggestion is to combine it with agro-forestry. Very little study has been done to date on the impact of ecotourism, agro-forestry, indigenous environmental knowledge or the development of a suitable endogenous paradigm. The aim of this paper is to review the history of tourism and conservation in China, and examine its legacy, potential, dangers, and challenges and to suggest the development of a sustainable endogenous paradigm.
