Tourism

The Tourism Thematic Group is concerned with the cultural aspects of sustainable ecotourism in wetlands.

The Thematic Group’s main aims are:

• Collating case studies on the cultural aspects of sustainable tourism relating to wetlands.
• Developing ‘lessons learned’ concerning culture, ecotourism and wetlands, including suggestions on how these could be integrated into the Convention’s policy and practice, and in turn how wetland-related perspectives could be integrated into relevant fields of cultural policy and practice. 

Tourism  Lead - Jaqueline Kariithi

Dr. Kariithi is an environmental scientist passionate about conservation, tourism and development issues. Her current research interests focus on developing strategies for reconciling livelihood patterns in protected area landscapes. She earned an honours degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of East Anglia and during this time her passion for tourism was nurtured as she wrote her undergraduate research project on Ecotourism development on the Norfolk Broads one of the largest wetland habitats in the United Kindgom. She has also had several years’ experience in the non-governmental organisations and private sector specialising in natural resources management, sustainable tourism in protected areas, working in projects that interrogate the relationship between cultures, sustainable livelihoods and conservation in protected area tourism. Jacqueline further advanced her research interests and joined academia as a lecturer at the School of Environmental Studies, Kenyatta University, Kenya. During time she decided to pursue a doctoral degree in the department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town on the topic of responsible tourism. Upon completion of her doctoral degree, she took an interest in coordinating and advocating for the Ramsar Culture Network’s Tourism Thematic Group and has enjoyed this assignment immensely. Towards the end of 2016, she started a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University and her research explores the linkages between cultural heritage, biodiversity conservation and their impact on livelihoodse in the Mount Elgon ecosystem.