Next up to fill in the development blanks is Carolyn Wild. Carolyn is president and owner of WILD International, a tourism consulting company with offices in Ottawa, Canada, and Adelaide, Australia. She is recognized internationally for her expertise in ecotourism and community development, including work with Aboriginal groups and in developing countries. Her field experience extends from Algeria to Zambia and from the Canadian Arctic to the Australian Outback. Her focus is on assessing tourism potential and benefits. Carolyn’s love of nature is contagious and inspires others to recognize the benefits of tourism for long-term economic development and the protection of natural and cultural heritage.

The bold text below shows how Carolyn filled in the development blanks. We invite readers to fill in the blanks themselves by using the comment function below. Or ask her a question. Here goes:

In an era of limits, the new definition of development is: we understand the limits better and what the impacts will be if we exceed them, so hopefully a definition of development now includes all the inputs and resources needed for a given output including our ways of living, building and respecting people and planet.

If I were casting a sequel of Nightmare on Development Street, my choice to play Freddie Krueger would be some corporate mogul without a conscience...... before they all died there really used to be streets lined with elm trees instead of development.

As part of the development agenda, water is elemental - and a highly prized commodity.

As part of the development agenda, tourism is a little quirky because it takes the people to the product (destination) and can therefore be a catalyst for change in mindsets, actions, and benefits thanks to such things as cultural interactions and appreciating nature - although the balance is currently often lopsided in terms of who benefits (hosts or guests).

Continued or increased dependence on the automobile will lead to continued and increased dependence on the automobile.

The population explosion will lead to mass migrations, epidemics, ecosystem degradation, wars and just maybe some international action or perhaps only local initiatives to live within the resources (natural capital) of a region.

The most likely millennium development goal to be achieved is none of them in full, but many are interrelated; my hope is that through demands for gender equality in all approaches to the millennium goals, women will have increased leverage making achievement more likely especially in poverty reduction and universal education.

The most difficult millennium development goal to achieve is all of them.

The most glaring thing missing from the development agenda is education of all those in developed countries who do not see their actions/inactions and consumption patterns as related to global issues and the millennium goals.

My favorite development success story is all the little accomplishments of the many individuals and small groups and cooperatives in any number of developing countries: for example, a woman in South America now has a new source of income from her crafts; villagers in Africa have built an extra hut for travelers to stay in; a fisherman relying on declining stocks now takes tourists whale-watching; a community protects its local forest and forest resources; volunteer tourists contribute instead of taking from a community; etc.

The sentence I would like to see others complete is: what is your relationship to nature and the natural resources and processes that sustain us (air, food, water, shelter, beauty, creative inspiration...) and how often are you aware of it? 

* Press officers: If you would like to have someone from your organization or company Fill in the Development Blanks, please leave a comment in the space below or contact Bill Hinchberger directly.