Tiger in the Forest: Sustainable Nature-Based Tourism in Southeast Asia
American Museum of Natural History
New York City
March 20 and 21, 2003

The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation’s 2003 spring symposium explored the role of nature-based tourism in biodiversity conservation within mainland Southeast Asia (specifically Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam). The region harbors a significant proportion of the world’s rare and endemic plants and animals, including several species new to science. As the number of tourists and travel businesses drawn to the region increases, so too does concern for the sustainability of natural areas and local communities, from a biological, cultural, and economic standpoint.

Tiger in the Forest: Sustainable Nature-based Tourism in Southeast Asia provided a forum for biologists, tourism industry professionals, conservation practitioners, governmental decision makers, and community stakeholders to explore ways to address the needs of unique and fragile ecosystems through the economic and conservation potential of ecotourism.

Click here for interactive map.

Support for the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation's Spring Symposium is provided by Daniel and Sheryl Tishman, and John Tishman. Additional funding for this year's Symposium was provided by Eleanor Briggs.

The symposium was a collaborative effort by the American Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and World Wildlife Fund.

Partial travel support was provided by US Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP), a program of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); and by SNV Netherlands Development Organization.

Click Here for access to the CBC's spring symposium archives.