Tourist and Local Resident Preferences for the Northern Yellow-Cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus annamensis) Conservation Program in the Bach Ma National Park, Central Vietnam

Abstract

Successful biodiversity conservation is closely linked to the support received from society. Therefore, a better understanding of public preferences for conservation activities facilitates successful conservation efforts. The objective of the study is to determine the preferences of tourists and local residents regarding the proposed conservation program of the northern yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus annamensis) and its economic value in the Bach Ma National Park, as well as to examine the factors that determine their willingness to pay (WTP) for the gibbon conservation. The WTP was estimated with the dichotomous choice contingent valuation method, and data were collected using face-to-face interviews with 710 participations, including 352 Vietnamese tourists and 358 local residents. The logistic regression model was applied to predict the probability of WTP for the program. A number of factors were found to be significant predictors of WTP that included bid level, visit, awareness, knowledge, distance, family size, and education. The mean WTP amount was estimated at about $US3.81/tourist and $US 2.93/household for one-time support of the gibbon conservation program. A significant difference was also found between the tourists and local residents in terms of the estimated WTP. Our findings suggest that there is a strong public support within Vietnamese society for the conservation of gibbons, which should be considered in the design of social policies for biodiversity conservation and natural resource management. Keywords tourists, local residents, willingness to pay, contingent valuation method, the northern yellow-cheeked gibbon,

Human–long-Tailed Macaque Interactions and Ecotourism Potential in the Gunung Keriang Recreational Park, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia

“…Additionally, the aspect of knowledge regarding primates that interest respondents is investigated. As for the perception and attitude toward primates' section, questions were assigned into five dimensions according to previous studies on human-primate interactions (Kumara et al, 2018;Lee and Davey, 2015;Sengupta and Radhakrishna, 2018;Thanh An et al, 2018). A total of 14 questions were posed to measure the perception and attitude toward macaques in which items 1-2 belong to the dimension of knowledge, items 3-4 belong to the dimension of the value of enjoyment, items 5-7 belong to the dimension of fear and expectation, items 8-11 belong to the dimension of nuisances, and items 12-14 belong to the dimension of attitude toward the macaques.…”

Đánh Giá Hiện Trạng Và Tiềm Năng Cho Phát Triển Du Lịch Ngắm Chim Tại Vườn Quốc Gia Bạch Mã

“…Mặc dù số lượng khách du lịch lựa chọn hình thức ngắm chim ở Việt Nam chưa được thống kê chính xác vì rất khó để xác định phân khúc do du khách thường kết hợp với các chuyến trải nghiệm khác nhau, nhưng con số được dự đoán là rất nhỏ và chỉ tập trung tại một số khu vực nổi tiếng như Khu Tràm Chim, Côn Đảo và Sân Chim Cà Mau. Trong khi đó, Việt Nam có 33 VQG với tổng diện tích trên 10.000 km² [6]. Những VQG này phân bố ở trên khắp cả nước và đóng vai trò quan trọng trong việc bảo tồn thiên nhiên và đa dạng sinh học hứa hẹn sẽ là những điểm dừng chân đầy thú vị và phiêu lưu.…”

An update and reassessment of vascular plant species richness and distribution in Bach Ma National Park, Central Vietnam

“…The establishment of national parks (NPs) is one of the significant initiatives, that have been adopted by many countries, making an essential contribution to those efforts. The NPs are recognized as the most crucial core units for in situ conservation (An et al, 2018), being important for a functional ecosystem, for conservation and protection of the natural environment (Bruner et al, 2001). Vietnam is no an exception.…”

“…In the context of national plant diversity, the BMNP represents the important areas in Central Vietnam due to their exceptional number of endangered and endemic plants. However, the park faces various threats to its biodiversity conservation activities and natural resource management, including the illegal wildlife trade, illegal hunting and lack of funds for biodiversity conservation (An et al, 2018).…”