Marcus Veron, a leader of the Guarani-Kaiowa people, said of the forests and plains of Brazil that were his home: "This land is my life, my soul. If you take this land away from me, you take my life." For Veron and most tribal peoples, land and life are inextricably linked: land is a fertile, living entity that has intrinsic, not merely utilitarian value. Their homelands sustain them physically and spiritually, and are known to them intimately: the Yanomami people who live deep in the Brazilian Amazon know the streams and rapids of the rainforest in the same way the Inuit understand the sea-ice of the Canadian Arctic.

Yet so often tribal lands are exploited, in the name of "development" and "progress", for their natural resources. They are logged and stripped of timber, depleted of minerals, and the tribal people who depend on them for their lives are frequently displaced. Tribal lives and lands can also be disrupted by tourism. In Botswana, the government is promoting the Central Kalahari Game Reserve as a tourist destination, and is allowing a safari company to build a lodge that will use large amounts of water. But it refuses to allow the reserve's resident Bushmen to use a single water borehole inside the reserve.

"Visitors will be sipping cocktails in the bar while the Bushmen living nearby are forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to access water," says Stephen Corry, the director of tribal people's charity Survival International. "Many of the Kalahari Bushmen would welcome tourism on their own terms – but promoting tourism while the Bushmen go thirsty is a slap in the face."

The primary question to keep in mind is, "Does the tribe want me to visit them?" "If you are visiting tribal people go to a project they have set up themselves, don't feel you can intrude on tribal people who haven't invited you in," advises Tricia Barnett of Tourism Concern. "But it can be beneficial – once tribal people are involved in the cash economy, one of the better ways they can earn income is from tourism."

• We Are One is published in hardback by Quadrille Publishing in association with Survival International on 16 October priced £30.

Ethical guidance for travellers

Visiting tribal peoples is understandably appealing for travellers who want to experience cultures very different from their own and achieve a deeper feeling for the countries to which they travel. But tourists thinking of visiting tribal areas should consider very carefully the potential effects before deciding to make the trip. Here are some tips:

Don't bring in disease
Care must be taken in areas where tribal peoples' immunity to outside diseases may be poor. Some contagious diseases (such as colds, influenza, etc), which affect tourists only mildly, can kill tribespeople. Please also remember that Aids kills. And if you think you might be carrying swine flu or another infection, don't go.

Do recognise land rights
Tribal peoples' ownership of the lands they use and occupy is recognised in international law, and should be respected regardless of whether the national government applies the law or not (governments are amongst the principal violators of tribes' rights). When in tribal lands, tourists should behave as they would on any other private property.

Don't demean, degrade, insult or patronise
All tourism and advertising which treats tribal peoples in an insulting, degrading or patronising manner (for example, references to "stone-age cultures", "untouched by time", etc) should be opposed. It is demeaning and quite simply untrue.

Do ask permission
The lands lived in or used by tribes should never be entered without the free and informed consent of the tribal peoples themselves. Obtaining this consent may be a lengthy process, requiring respect, tact and honesty. Bribery should never be used.

Do pay properly
Tribespeople should be properly rewarded for their services and the use of their territory. Payment should be agreed in advance with their legitimate representatives (bribery should never be used). Where profits arise from the use of tribal areas, this should be properly explained to the tribes, who may want a share. Anyone who does not accept tribal peoples' own terms for payment should not be there.

Do be respectful
Tour operators should ensure that their staff and clients behave respectfully towards tribal peoples. Any false stereotypes the tourists may harbour should not be reinforced.

Three recommended places to stay

Kapawi Lodge, Ecuador
Kapawi Ecolodge and Reserve lies in the nearly 2m acres of the Achuar people's traditional territory in the western Amazon basin near the border between Ecuador and Peru, and is accessible only by flights over the jungle from the town of Shell. The 19-room lodge is built entirely using traditional Achuar architecture. A wooden boardwalk extends from the river through the jungle to the lodge and out over the lagoon. Small groups are led by a naturalist bilingual guide and a native Achuar guide.

Double rooms in a double cabin start at $695 (£428) for three nights. Transfer from Shell: $174 (£107) return per person.
Contribution to the Achuar community (per person): $10 (£6) entry and $2.50 (£1.50) per night.

Edificio Reina Victoria, Oficina 1
Mariscal Foch E7-38 y Reina Victoria
Quito, Ecuador
Tel: +593 2 600 9333
Fax: +593 2 600 9334

Doro Nawas Camp, Namibia
This lodge near the Aba-Huab River in Namibia's Damaraland region has 16 rooms with a view over the sandstone cliffs and rock engravings of Twyfelfontein, the blonde grass plains, and the Etendeka Mountains. Activities include game and bird viewing and visits to the proposed world heritage site of Twyfelfontein, scene of some 2,000 rock engravings by San people. Doro Nawas is a joint venture between Wilderness Safaris and the Doro Nawas community. In return for responsible management of wildlife populations, the 450 community members act as landlords over the huge conservation area and together hold a 40% share in the Camp.

Rooms start at N$1429 (£120) per person per night, excluding transportation; some activities extra. For details go to www.wilderness-safaris.com/namibia_kunene/doro_nawas_camp/introduction/

Aboriginal Cultural Tours - Yorke peninsula, Australia

Aboriginal Cultural Tours runs dozens of tours, including these one- to five-day tours of rarely seen areas of Adjahdura Land (Yorke Peninsula). The ecologically and cultural sensitive excursions offer an opportunity to live with, talk to and walk the country with direct descendants of the traditional owners and experience their culture firsthand.

Tour dates are on demand and are offered year-round. For booking information and rates contact Aboriginalaustraliatravel.com

• Find more community-owned and fairtrade places to stay in The Ethical Travel Guide 2009, published by Earthscan and Tourism Concern.