An intrinsic component of ecotourism is identifying natural resources of the earth that remain unspoiled by human hands, with environmental impact as minimal as possible. It can be argued that enticing groups of people to ecotourist sites that are unspoiled is an oxymoron; that is, sites will become ‘spoiled' by humankind just in the process of visiting them.

In fact, many natural resource sites around the world are managed by private ecotourist companies that have a self-interest in limiting damage to the environment. Ecotourists want pristine environments. They don’t want the glitz, glamour and noise of cities.

In the Nature Uganda report cited earlier, the forest was identified as an ‘unspoilt’ haven for 300 species of birds and 200 types of trees and it highlighted the area’s importance for dozens of species, some of which are found nowhere else in the wild. This is the same Reserve that was saved because of its ecotourist value.