Ecotourism's Support of Biodiversity Conservation

Spatial characteristics between biodiversity and ecosystem services in a human-dominated watershed

“…the benefits that humans derive from ecosystems -are intrinsically linked: the former underpins most ecosystem services and the maintenance of ecosystem services is often used to justify biodiversity conservation actions, because of the importance of such services in sustaining human livelihoods (Bookbinder et al, 1998;MA, 2005;Naughton-Treves et al, 2005;Egoh et al, 2009). Nevertheless, both biodiversity and ecosystem services are increasingly threatened by human activities (MA, 2005).…”

Prospects for whale shark conservation in Eastern Indonesia through bajo traditional ecological knowledge and community-based monitoring

“…Just as there are culturally driven prohibitions on whale shark exploitation, there may be community cultural beliefs that do not align with ecotourism interests (such as inappropriate tourist apparel and behaviour, or the creation of community dependence on the enterprise to the detriment of other livelihood strategies) (Cárdenas-Torres et al 2007). It is necessary to determine if real benefi ts will fl ow to local communities and whether these benefi ts are distributed equitably (Bookbinder et al 1998;Diaz-Amador 2005;Quiros 2005;Cárdenas-Torres et al 2007). Community dependence on tourism activities may be risky as the number of visitors can also be affected by factors outside the control of the industry (Cárdenas-Torres et al 2007), such as political instability.…”

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

“…In spite of these informational shortfalls, reviews of a series of ecotourism projects in a number of developing nations have attempted to determine the key factors that affect the success of ecotourism in the local communities (e.g., Weshe, 1993;Bookbinder et al, 1998;Doan, 2000;Salafsky et al, 2001: Sinclair, 2003and Krüger, 2005). In summary, they have found that key factors that influence enterprise success include If ecotourism is far more economically advantageous than other forms of consumptive use, this economic advantage should trigger conservation incentives.…”

“…In summary, they have found that key factors that influence enterprise success include If ecotourism is far more economically advantageous than other forms of consumptive use, this economic advantage should trigger conservation incentives. However, the ability of local communities -indigenous communities in particular -to capture the benefits from ecotourism is not always ensured (Bookbinder et al, 1998 (Weshe, 1993).…”

“…Their results suggest that indigenous people have the ability to protect threatened species because of the existence of "specific-species taboos" that prohibit the use of some species, predominantly threatened reptiles and mammals. Bookbinder et al, 1998;Zeppel, 2005;and Brooks et al, 2006), these analyses lack a deeper study of how the particular characteristics of indigenous communities interact with ecotourism and what could be done to improve the likelihood of success of ICDP. In the present paper, we address these issues.…”