PfB knew that tourism could bring them a considerable income to help with the preservation of their forest. In 1996 there were 592 million international tourist arrivals and about a quarter of these journeys were ‘long haul flights’. Tourism can be a valuable source of local employment and foreign exchange for the developing countries, which often have just what tourists from the richer countries want – unspoilt countryside, wildlife, ‘exotic’ culture, beaches and clear waters. But unless carefully controlled, as in the Rio Bravo forest, it may not bring the expected benefits.

	check out our list of problems with tourism

Above: Skyrail photograph from their website. The Skyrail cableway in Queensland, Australia, was constructed so that tourists could see the rainforest from high up in the trees. Although it was designed to be ‘environment friendly’ protesters tried to stop it because they said it was damaging for the forest and desecrated the Aboriginal cultural and spiritual heritage. What do you think? check out the Skyrail website and read this news item about the protests against it.