Conflict and Impacts Generated by the Filming of Discovery Channel’s Reality Series “Naked and Afraid” in the Amazon: A Special Case in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, Ecuador

Abstract

Conflicts and ecological impacts in natural protected areas can arise for various reasons. The behavior of social stakeholders in the face of conflict is the object of study. Their reactions can be varied according to the personal interests of the parties. Conflicts can cause changes in the communities, incomprehensibly affecting the environment and ultimately transforming their lives. Although the environmental impacts have generally been well studied in protected areas, after reviewing the literature, it was observed that very few studies exist on the local economic conflicts that frequently arise. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the socio-ecological conflicts and impacts generated by the filming of the American reality series Naked and Afraid, produced by the Discovery Channel in the Ecuadorian Amazon-a special case in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve. The data was gathered from numerous primary sources, including field interviews with the regional stakeholders involved and a video analysis of the Discovery Channels' Naked and Afraid. The results of our study conclude several interesting insights into various social and ecological conflicts and their resulting impacts on the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve. The first of these concerns the high impacts mainly associated with biotic components in the Reserve. The second set of interesting findings are social conflicts that were caused by the discontent of the Indigenous communities in relation to royalties and compensations left by the filming.

Nature Tourism on the Colombian—Ecuadorian Amazonian Border: History, Current Situation, and Challenges

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Tortugas Charapa un aporte para el turismo comunitario y conservación de la biodiversidad

“…El uso de los recursos naturales en áreas protegidas ha dado lugar a conflictos sociales. Tales conflictos de conservación o conflictos socioambientales pueden definirse como situaciones que ocurren cuando dos o más partes tienen intereses, percepciones, opiniones o emociones opuestas sobre un objetivo dado (Carlos Mestanza et al, 2019;Zoppi, 2018). Esta definición reconoce que pueden ocurrir conflictos entre seres humanos y que, en el contexto de áreas protegidas, pueden surgir conflictos cuando los intereses de conservación de una de las partes se ven amenazados por la posición de aquellos con una visión diferente (Mestanza-Ramon, Cunalata-García, Jiménez-Gutiérrez, & Chacha-Bolaños, 2019).…”

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