Documentaries on eco-tourism

A series of six weekly eco-tourism documentaries produced by the Biological Conservation Research Foundation are to be televised on Net Television and Super 1.

The foundation was able to produce the documentaries after winning the NGO Eco-tourism Award 2002 which brought with it funds of Lm3,000.

The six documentaries focus on "Maltese Eco-tourism: its meaning and its sustainability".

They cover the countryside of the Maltese islands, underwater life around Malta and Gozo, sea surface activities around the Maltese islands, fishing villages and culture and the cliffs of the Maltese islands.

Apart from the foundation members, the project involved several other entities, such as local music groups Jason Paul Band and Etnika, who contributed original music to the documentaries.

Conservation biologist Adriana Vella said that eco-tourism in the Maltese islands should not be seen as a way of increasing tourist numbers, but rather to encourage the drawing up of monitoring and management strategies to sustain the island's natural resources.

Dr Vella said that from studies of nature parks abroad, it was evident that simply putting an eco-tourism label on a nature site or tour could often result in the deterioration of a park.

The management of eco-tourism needed financial backing by various entities for it to become a long-term reality.

Dr Vella said eco-tourism year was an ideal opportunity to stress the value of the natural heritage and encourage everyone in Malta to support initiatives to improve the life-supporting biodiversity protection.

The foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental environment group which aims to assist local conservation research and awareness.