ECOTOURISM AND ETHICS IN PROTECTED AREAS: BARTIN-SOGUTLU VILLAGE

Abstract

Ecotourism is a type of tourism that raises the awareness of administration mechanisms in protected areas, aims to use and maintain natural and cultural values without harming them, and contributes to solving the financial problems of the people living in and around that area. The ethics which form the core of the economic, social and political system determine the relationship between human beings and nature, what human behaviours are like, and how human beings perceive the nature. Sogutlu village in Bartin which is in the buffer zone of the Kastamonu-Bartin Kure Mountains National Park has been chosen as the study area. The purpose of the study is to take necessary ethical precautions and to define the ethical boundaries before the ecotourism activities begin. The research has been carried out in five stages: acquisition of data; field analysis; in-depth interviews carried out with the local administrators, questionnaires with local people, results and conclusions. The principles of ecotourism ethics have been identified by using the parameters in 'Global Code of Ethics for Tourism' in order to improve ecotourism in protected areas and as in the local case of Sogutlu. As a result of the research, participating in an effective certification system which applies global ethical codes will help in ensuring the sustainability of ecotourism. It is expected that all stakeholders will show the required sensitivity with regard to ethical principles and will be effective in the protection of the natural-cultural-visual landscape quality.