Community-based ecotourism (CBET) has become a popular tool for biodiversity conservation, based on the principle that biodiversity must pay for itself by generating economic benefits, particularly for local people. There are many examples of projects that produce revenues for local communities and improve local attitudes towards conservation, but the contribution of CBET to conservation and local economic development is limited by factors such as the small areas and few people involved, limited earnings, weak linkages between biodiversity gains and commercial success, and the competitive and specialized nature of the tourism industry. Many CBET projects cited as success stories actually involve little change in existing local land and resource-use practices, provide only a modest supplement to local livelihoods, and remain dependent on external support for long periods, if not indefinitely. Investment in CBET might be justified in cases where such small changes and benefits can yield significant conservation and social benefits, although it must still be recognized as requiring a long term funding commitment. Here, I aim to identify conditions under which CBET is, and is not, likely to be effective, efficient and sustainable compared with alternative approaches for conserving biodiversity. I also highlight the need for better data and more rigorous analysis of both conservation and economic impacts.

/pdf/is-community-based-ecotourism-a-good-use-of-biodiversity-2u8zlu52f3.pdf

Is community-based ecotourism a good use of biodiversity conservation funds?

Effective conservation requires addressing three fundamental questions whose answers can only be sought in conservation practice: (1) What should our goals be and how do we measure progress in reach- ing them? (2) How can we most effectively take action to achieve conservation? and (3) How can we learn to do conservation better? This essay provides a conceptual framework and research agenda for a conservation science that uses the principles of adaptive management to answer these questions. The framework is based on a general model of a conservation project. The conservation target involves defining the specific area or population the project is trying to influence. This target is affected by direct and indirect threats and opportu- nities; we provide a table of potential direct threats. Conservation actions that are taken to counter these threats can be divided into approaches, strategies, and specific tools; we present a comprehensive table of po- tential approaches. Finally, the practicioners that take these actions include individuals, organizations, project alliances, and networks; we define the specific functional roles necessary to achieve effective adaptive management. We then use this framework to outline a research agenda for conservation science that in- volves defining clear and practical measures of conservation success, determining sound guiding principles for using conservation strategies and tools, and developing the knowledge and skills in individuals and orga- nizations for good adaptive management and thus for making conservation more effective.

/pdf/improving-the-practice-of-conservation-a-conceptual-4c0qnz155z.pdf

Improving the practice of conservation: a conceptual framework and research agenda for conservation science

Does ecotourism contribute towards conservation of threatened species and habitats or is it just a marketing ploy of the tourism industry? Using 251 case studies on ecotourism from the literature, I looked at the distribution of case studies over continents, habitats and flagship species types and what factors influenced whether an ecotourism regime was perceived as ecologically sustainable by authors. Over 50% of ecotourism case studies were reported from Africa and Central America. The overall distribution of ecotourism case studies did not reflect vertebrate endemism, nor overall tourism distribution in terms of tourist numbers and receipts. There were significant differences between continents and habitats with regard to the proportion of sustainable case studies: ecotourism is perceived to be less sustainable in South America and Asia, and in island and mountain habitats. The type of flagship species also influenced whether ecotourism was classified as sustainable or not: ecotourism with no flagship species was rarely classified as sustainable while charismatic bird and mammal species were associated with a higher probability of sustainability. In a multivariate analysis, flagship species type and local community involvement were important predictors of sustainability in ecotourism. Detailed a priori planning, local involvement and control measures were perceived by authors of case studies to increase the success of ecotourism in conservation. They also perceived that ecotourism can only be an effective conservation tool under certain conditions. If these are met, the evidence indicates that ecotourism can make a contribution to conservation.

/pdf/the-role-of-ecotourism-in-conservation-panacea-or-pandora-s-55to1zpz3n.pdf

The role of ecotourism in conservation: panacea or Pandora’s box?

http://www.iheal.univ-paris3.fr/sites/www.iheal.univ-paris3.fr/files/%21%20ecotourism%20%26indigenous%20peples.pdf

Ecotourism and the development of indigenous communities: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Community forestry refers to forest management that has ecological sustainability and local community benefits as central goals, with some degree of responsibility and authority for forest management formally vested in the community. This review provides an overview of where the field of community forestry is today. We describe four case examples from the Americas: Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Bolivia. We also identify five hypotheses embedded in the concept of community forestry and examine the evidence supporting them. We conclude that community forestry holds promise as a viable approach to forest conservation and community development. Major gaps remain, however, between community forestry in theory and in practice. For example, devolution of forest management authority from states to communities has been partial and disappointing, and local control over forest management appears to have more ecological than socioeconomic benefits. We suggest ways that anthropologists can contribute to the f...

/pdf/community-forestry-in-theory-and-practice-where-are-we-now-zvsd9ldb6d.pdf

Community Forestry in Theory and Practice: Where Are We Now?*

A commonly held belief is that if people can benefit financially from enterprises that depend on nearby forests, reefs, and other natural habitats, then they will take action to conserve and sustainably use them. The Biodiversity Conservation Network brought together conservation and development organizations and local communities to systematically test this hypothesis across 39 conservation project sites in Asia and the Pacific. Each project implemented one or more community-based enterprises such as setting up an ecotourism lodge, distilling essential oils from wild plant roots, producing jams and jellies from forest fruits, harvesting timber, or collecting marine samples to test for pharmaceutical compounds. Each project team collected the biological, enterprise, and social data necessary to test the network's hypothesis. We present the results of this test. We found that a community-based enterprise strategy can lead to conservation, but only under limited conditions and never on its own. We summarize the specific conditions under which an enterprise strategy will and will not work in a decision chart that can be used by project managers to determine whether this strategy might make sense at their site. We also found that an enterprise strategy can be subsidized and still create a net gain that pays for conservation. Based on our experiences, we recommend developing “learning portfolios” that combine action and research to test other conservation strategies.




Resumen: Una creencia comunmente difundida es que la gente se puede beneficiar financieramente de empresas que dependen de bosques, arrecifes, y otros habitats naturales cercanos y por lo tanto llevarian a cabo acciones para conservar y usarlos sostenidamente. La Red de Conservacion de la Biodiversidad junto a organizaciones de conservacion y desarrollo y a comunidades locales para probar sistematicamente esta hipotesis en 39 proyectos de conservacion en sitios de Asia y el Pacifico. Cada proyecto implemento una o mas empresas basadas en la comunidad, tales como el establecimiento de alojamiento para ecoturismo, destilacion de aceites esenciales a partir de raices de plantas silvestres, produccion de jaleas y mermeladas de frutas del bosque, tala de madera, o la colecta de muestras marinas para probar compuestos farmaceuticos. Cada equipo de trabajo colecto los datos biologicos, empresariales y sociales necesarios para probar la hipotesis de la red. Nosotros presentamos aqui los resultados de esta prueba. Encontramos que una estrategia de las empresas basadas en la comunidad puede conducir a la conservacion, pero solo bajo limitadas condiciones y nunca por si sola. Resumimos las condiciones especificas bajo las cuales una estrategia empresarial trabajaria o no en un diagrama de decisiones que puede ser usado por administradores para determinar si esta estrategia tendria sentido para su sitio. Tambien encontramos que una estrategia empresarial puede ser subsidiada y aun crear una ganancia neta que pague por la conservacion. En base a nuestras experiencias, recomendamos desarrollar “portafolios de aprendizaje” que combinen acciones e investigacion para probar otras estrategias de conservacion.

/pdf/a-systematic-test-of-an-enterprise-strategy-for-community-2pyv5zrrca.pdf

A Systematic Test of an Enterprise Strategy for Community-Based Biodiversity Conservation

The use of wild species is extensive in both high- and low-income countries. At least 50,000 wild species are used by billions of people around the world for food, energy, medicine, material, education or recreation, contributing significantly to efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. However, overexploitation remains a major threat to many wild species. Ensuring and enhancing the sustainability of use of wild species is thus essential for human well-being and biodiversity conservation. Globally, the use of wild species is increasing due to growing human demand and efficiency, but its sustainability varies and depends on the social-ecological contexts in which the use occurs. Multiple environmental and social (including economic) drivers affect the sustainability of use of wild species, posing major current and future challenges. In particular, climate change has already increased the vulnerability of many uses and is expected to increase it further in the coming decades, while global and illegal trades are, in many cases, key drivers of unsustainability. There is no single “silver bullet” policy to address these and other major challenges in the sustainable use of wild species. Rather, effective policies need to integrate inclusive actions at multiple scales that adopt right-based approaches, pay attention to equitable distribution of access and costs and benefits, employ participatory processes, strengthen monitoring programs, build robust customary or government institutions and support context-specific policies, as well as adaptive management. 

Status, challenges and pathways to the sustainable use of wild species

Sustainable Use of Wild Species is Not a Myth, But Remains Challenging

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A Systematic Test of an Enterprise Strategy for Community-Based Biodiversity Conservation

Status, challenges and pathways to the sustainable use of wild species

Sustainable Use of Wild Species is Not a Myth, But Remains Challenging