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In Search of Eco in Bahia, Brazil

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Green tourism, Sustainable travel. Nature tourism. What a conundrum this new genre of travel has created.  Eco-tourism, or some variation thereof, is what`s happening now.  At its purest, it`s a sincere effort to preserve the planet.  At its most crass, it`s a strategy to lure the conscious, the curious and that stretched tourist dollar.  Officially, The International Ecotourism Society defines it as "responsible travel to natural areas, which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of the local people."   

On a recent trip to Bahia on the Northeast coast of Brazil, a state best known for its sanctified, African capital city of Salvador where spirituality and joi de virve are palpable, I ventured off my normal path to experience the other Bahia - the Bahia of mountains, valleys, peaks and caves - of stunning waterfalls and crystal clear streams in search of this thing called eco-tourism.

Starting out from Salvador, straight up the coast about forty miles north past some of the country`s most beautiful beaches is Prai do Forte.  A former fishing village, the tourist resort is headquarters for Project Tamar, a sanctuary for the protection and preservation of sea turtles whose reproductive cycle has been constantly interrupted by man.

Sea turtles live an average of 400 years and have existed for over 150 million years so there is much to learn from them. 

Visitors to Tamar learn about the sea turtle through multi-media presentations, demonstrations and by observing live turtles in tanks throughout the park.  This is also where the largest nesting population on the Brazilian mainland exists.  Eggs laid on beaches all along the coast are retrieved and brought to a specially designed den where they remain until the spawning season, between September and March.  I`m told a highlight of a trip to Tamar is witnessing the new-born turtles leave the den at dusk to follow the glow from the horizon to the sea, something I managed to miss.

Because of Project Tamar, thousands of sea turtles have been released to the sea and economic alternatives for the local community have been created.

Source: Ebony Magazine