In 2000, they released their own land and resource protection and management plan aimed at building an economy based on conservation and non-extractive activities like ecotourism.
As is often the case with ecotourism, though, there is a risk of the tourists killing the thing they love by turning up in numbers so large that they harm the habitat.
We are more industry and oil and gas based, but Tobago is very beautiful and is known for tourism, for its natural scenery, and it's actually an ecotourism destination.
On BBC Radio 4's programme, Costing the Earth, Antonia discussed her work in Tajikistan, a country where ecotourism is making a positive impact on both animal and human communities.