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This paper considers the potential of ecotourism as a form of environmental education for sustainability. It reviews current concepts of education for sustainability and research on the educational impact of ecotourism, and points to a gap between the aspirations of education for sustainability and the outcomes of current ecotourism programs. The paper further argues that a critical approach to environmental education through ecotourism is the most appropriate form for contemporary concepts of sustainability, and illustrates how this approach can be applied to environmental education using a strategy of critical discourse analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs that restructuring the economy for sustainable development requires economists and ecologists to work in tandem. There is a need to develop an eco-economy, one that respects the principles of ecology, one that can be integrated into the ecosystem in a way that will stabilize the relationship between the two, enabling economic progress to continue. Though there are several policy instruments that can be used for restructuring the economy, restructuring the tax system is the key to eliminate crippling economic distortions. Unlike before, natural capital is a scarce resource today. Therefore the goal should be to restructure the fiscal system so that the prices reflect the truth, protecting the economy's natural supports. Fiscal policy should be used to encourage environmentally constructive activities, so as to steer the economy in a sustainable direction.

As the World Summit on Sustainable Development approaches, it is timely to assess our actions on behalf of a more ecologically viable world and the barriers that remain to our realization of this goal. Globalization and sustainable development have emerged as key discourses to evaluate our social and environmental prospects. On the critical issue of limiting trade and economic growth, we find that globalization and sustainable development are not the polar opposites they are frequently depicted to be. Rather, both discourses share a common emphasis on development and efficiency as tools of sustainability. The convergence of the two discourses has placed both in opposition to the arguments of ecological justice. In the evaluation of our performance since UNCED, a pressing task is to bring the insights of ecological justice to bear on efforts to address our interrelated environmental and social conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]