Conservation

So, in practice, can ecotourism contribute to

conservation?

Or is it simply a marketing ploy, a case of environmental opportunism, a buzzword?

Eco-Tourism defined as:“Environmentally responsible travel and visitation to

relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features – both past and present) that promotes

conservation, has low visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local

populations. “

–World Conservation Union’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Area—

Ecotourism Paradigm

Generation of RevenuePotential Direct Value:

Tourism earned approx. $188, 518 million for developed countries , 4-22% brought in by nature tourism (1995)

Potential Indirect Value:Soil conservation of tree cover in India $100-240/haCarbon Sequestration: $2000-4000/ha

Costs to manage w/o eco-tourism$1-3/ha/year recurrently, up to $18.5/ha/year

Environmental Damage costs w/eco-tourism$0.1-1.9/ha/year (in Costa Rica and Ecuador)

Environmental EducationSome eco-tourism definitions require the philosophy of

preservation, (intrinsic vs. extrinsic values) and a biocentric rather than homocentric philosophy.

Eco-tourism functions as a means to make people more aware of the natural world with or without such ethics.

Eco-tourism promotes the adoption of an environmental ethic through passive and active learning

Local InvolvementIncreased employment opportunitiesLocal distribution of tourism revenuesImproved local infrastructure

Proximity to marketsTransportationHealth careCommunications

Local capacity building, local empowermentImproved intercultural relations and appreciation

Biodiversity loss and Eco-tourism

Protection: How Much and Where?At least 12% of terrestrial surface representing all kinds

of biomes needs to be conserved according to the World Commission on Environment and Development.

Currently 5.2% of the earths surface is protectedEco/nature-tourism accounts for 15% of all tourism60-70 % of the world’s biodiversity is located in Brazil,

Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Congo, Madagascar, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Austraila

Negative Impacts of ProtectionHigh opportunity costs due to lost development

alternatives and loss of traditional activitiesLocal activities in protected areas are often illegalConserving extensive tracts of habitat politically difficult

in the absence of sustainable revenue generation.Boundaries, alone, may suggest that surrounding areas

are free for exploitation

GrowthEcotourism is outpacing conventional tourism by 15%

per year.Developing Countries are become more popular

destinationsDemand for undegraded nature will increase

(will either pressure ecosystems or increase value)Costa Rica parks raised admission fees by a factor 0f 10Visitor numbers plummeted by 44%Total revenues increased substantially

The Role of Ecotourism in Conservation

Panacea or Pandora’s BoxOliver Kruger

Meta Analysis of 188 Case StudiesHow are ecotourism case studies distributed over

continents and habitats?What variables are correlated with a study being

classified as sustainable by the author? What is the relative importance of these in a multi factor analysis?

What are the main (+) and (–) effects reported in case studies? Can these be linked to the main reasons for sustainability?

Criteria for CasesCases had to be specific to an area and focus on the

natural resources of the areaReport original observations or dataPublished in natural or social science journalsPurely theoretical studies omittedCases from 1981 to 2001Evaluated on ecological criteria alone*

To sustain or not sustain…

Ecological sustainability: the current practice does not pose a risk to the area or species in foreseeable future

Essentially, does the project meet the minimum requirements to be ecological sustainable?

Variables ConsideredYear, Author Type (social or natural scientist) Author

Affiliation with Institution of Country (yes or no)Continent/Region and Habitat Type (dummy variables = 1

or 0)Type of flagship species (7 categories)

None Fish Reptile Bird

Charismatic BirdMammalChar. MammalWorldwide Flagship

Variables ContinuedLocal Community Involved (yes or no) based on:

Revenue Sharing OccursDecision PowerLocal Employmenturs

Investigation method (Purely observational or repeatable method , 0 or 1)

All of these into Multivariate Regression Analysis to evaluate relative importance

Distribution of Cases by Country, Type

Distribution by Flagship Species

ResultsOf 188 studies, 118 (62.8%) classified as sustainableSignificantly higher than % expected by chance, R2 = .65Dichotomous Dependent Variable (Sustainable or not)Best model had 4 significant predictor variables4 Variables: Flagship Species Type, Local Community

Involvement, Habitat Type, Type of StudyTo check for model robustness, multiple discriminate

analysis done, same variables as predictors, 85% of cases classified correctly

Contribution to ConservationLocal community involvement positively correlatedAfrica, Asia, Central America, and coastline negatively

correlated Flagship species had very low explanatory power in this

model

Differences in Unsustainable Cases

Limitations of this StudyPublisher bias (more likely to publish + reports)Authors of reports might be biasDefinition of sustainable uncertainObviously limited to ecological sustainability, little

indication of economic or cultural sustainability, which could undermine ecological stability in long run

ConclusionsMany factors determine the success of ecotourism

projects, thus third party groups are needed to audit specific eco-tourism packages for sustainability.

Difficult to attain a balance for all stakeholders, all stakeholders must have equal say.

Ecotourism, if implemented correctly, can be successful and sustainable in very specific situations

Preservation through Ecotourism is specifically viable in Temperate Forests, Tropical Forests, and Savannah

Ecotourism and Conservation are Compatible if….Local communities are involved in planning and executing

conservation programs, they must support the project for success

Detailed strategic plans are developed before the project, and monitored throughout (how to market, how many visitors, how resources distributed)

Limit the tourist #’s (economically, this will increase demand, high inelasticity, consumers willing to pay)

Have a larger plan supported by nation- need for consistency of laws and policies

References CitedKruger, Oliver, 2005. The Role of Ecotourism in Conservation: Panacea or Pandora’s Box? Biodiversity and Conservation 14:579-600.

Ross, Sheryl, and G. Wall, 1999. Ecotourism: Towards Congruence between Theory and Practice. Tourism Management 20:123-132.

Stem, Caroline and J. Lassole, D. Lee, and D. Deshler, 2003. How ‘Eco’ is Ecotourism? A Comparative Case Study of Ecotourism in Costa Rica. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 11: 322-346.

Wight, Pamela, 1993. Ecotourism: Ethics or Eco-sell? Journal of Travel Research 5: 3-9.