A WORLD ecotourism summit will take place in the Philippines in 2002 to assess the global strides in ecotourism 10 years after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

It is expected to draw participants from at least 77 countries which have established high-quality ecotourism destinations and products or are actively supportive of the ecotourism industry.

The world summit is an initiative of the Philippines through the Philippine chapter of the Ecotourism Society Worldwide, according to World Expo 2002 Commissioner General Mina T. Gabor.

It is one of the many activities designed to further advance tourism promotions and environmental protection, causes spawned by the country's winning the bid to host the World Expo 2002 which has for its theme ''Ecotourism: Growing With Nature.''

The Ecotourism Society Worldwide (TES), which is headquartered in Vermont in the United States, has members in about 65 countries. The members--including developers, conservationists, academics, interpretive guides, and tourism officers--represent 40 different professions.

Through its membership program, the TES provides information resources, training opportunities and access to a network of worldwide ecotourism professionals.

In a letter to Gabor, TES president Megan Epler Wood expressed delight that the Philippines had chosen ecotourism as the central topic of the World Expo 2002.

Ecotourism is defined as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of the people.

It is experiencing a major uptrend, with unprecedented growth of travel and tourism to parks and natural areas worldwide.

In Costa Rica, the number of international tourists visiting national parks and gardens has grown in the past six years by an astounding 330 percent. The Annapura region of Nepal, the TES said, has experienced a growth rate of 100 percent in the past decade.

The TES also cited a recent survey showing that about eight million American travelers had taken at least one ecotourism trip, and that another 35 million would take one within the next three years.

With record growths in the nature tourism industry, the need to develop and documents sustainable tourism models is deemed greater.

Epler Wood said the TES' Philippine-based members were excited about the prospect of ecotourism's expanding role in the Philippines' economic and social future.

During her terms as tourism secretary and undersecretary, Gabor noted the emergence of ecotourism as a tourism phenomenon and took particular steps to increase both the local and the global industry's awareness of the important role ecotourism would play in environment protection and economic development.