Contingent valuation and biodiversity: measuring the user surplus of Kenyan protected areas

The financial returns to Kenyan tourism demonstrate the importance of the country's tourist potential to its economic development. Protected areas and their inhabitants are the principal focus of the tourist industry, the nations's main foreign exchange earner, and a source of wonder and value for a global population of non-users. It might be expected that such assets would be accorded some degree of security with sufficient funding to safeguard current and potential economic benefits. Yet park use is haphazard, and there is frequently little coincidence between those that benefit and those that pay for the continued existence of such areas. Growing economic and demographic pressures which threaten to swamp protected areas only emphasize the implicit subsidy currently paid by Kenyans to support conservation for the benefit of the world at large. In this climate the case for conservation depends on the measurement and capture of economic benefits. Using a contingent valuation survey of expressed preference this study estimates the consumer surplus attached to current non-consumptive use of protected areas by foreign visitors at some $450 million per annum. This sum alone is more than double the best available estimate of opportunity cost and appears to justify current resource use. The estimate is additional to current financial returns from tourism and makes no allowance for other direct and indirect benefits and potential returns from consumptive uses. Measured consumer surplus contains some margin of willingness to pay that could be captured through the current fee structure. Moreover, park fees represent the most accessible market mechanism to finance revenue sharing and additional park investment before potential recourse to emerging global market institutions.     

The Obvious Aspects of Ecological Underprivilege in Ankarana, Northern Madagascar

On the basis of research conducted in the Ankarana region of northern Madagascar, I discuss the speculating that Malagasy participants in the local sapphire trade do about foreign ecotourists who come to this region. Although some have been promoting international ecotourism in the region as a viable means to a sustainable future for local people and ecosystems, others, including many of the observers discussed here, see the rise of the ecotourist trade and the increasing presence of its clients in Ankarana as signs of foreigners' long-standing interests in Malagasy resources. I argue that to understand the perspectives of these critical observers, it is necessary to appreciate what they take to be obvious about ecotourism and the conservation projects with which they are commonly associated.     

世界生态旅游区划

生态旅游区划是揭示全球尺度生态旅游资源与生态旅游业空间布局的重要手段,有助于从整体上把握世界生态旅游的发展。本文在探讨生态旅游区划定义与理论依据的基础上,提出生态旅游区划的理论基础是地域分异规律与生态学原理,并根据全局谋划、综合分析、主导因索、与行政区协调、兼顾自然区划等原则。将世界生态旅游地域系统划分为6个生态旅游洲、29个生态旅游大区、71个生态旅游区以及若干生态旅游地。文章还对各洲的生态旅游特点进行了阐述。     

Tourism and Infant-Directed Aggression in Tibetan Macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Huangshan,China

ABSTRACT

Previous studies of habituated Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mt. Huangshan, China demonstrated the negative impact that some tourism management strategies had on monkeys' annual infant mortality, but data on precise causes and perpetrators of infant injuries were not available. We worked at the same site and recorded rates of aggression that older monkeys directed toward group infants as a function of tourist numbers and proximity. We found a negative correlation between the number of people on the viewing platform and the frequency of monkeys' aggression toward the group's infants, but the effect is slight. We noted that infant-directed aggression (IDA) was more likely to occur in the provisioning zone where tourists bounded the monkeys on two sides, despite the fact that infants spent very little time in that location. The alpha and beta males engaged in more IDA than expected, while the other three adult males, adult females, and juveniles exhibited less IDA than expected. Males' IDA included biting, chasing, grabbing, and pushing. Adult females bit and grabbed mostly their own infants in the contexts of punishment and weaning. Juveniles' IDA was uncommon and consisted mostly of open-mouth threats. To minimize the severity and frequency of male-toinfant IDA, we recommend that sections of the tourist viewing platform be closed off so that tourists do not surround the monkeys, particularly when infants are near the viewing platforms and tourist numbers are few. The rule against tourists feeding monkeys should also be strictly enforced, so that altercations between the highest-ranked males and other group members, particularly infants, are less likely to occur.     

基于内容分析法的生态旅游内涵辨析

随着生态旅游的流行与快速发展对生态旅游这个术语的概念也不断的增长扩散.由于缺乏对其内涵的科学认知和梳理,生态旅游概念的应用具有泛化的危险.不断涌现出的大量有关生态旅游的概念给学术研究和旅游管理带来了许多困惑.运用内容分析的方法对中外旅游文献近10～15a内有影响力的40个生态旅游概念进行了分析,提炼出生态旅游概念中最频繁出现的能代表其内涵的6个标准,它们是：以自然为基础、对保护的贡献、当地社区受益、环境教育、道德规范与责任和可持续性.通过对这些标准的识别,结合先前的生态旅游概念,本文对生态旅游的概念在操作层面上进行了重新架构,将生态旅游这一术语定义为：生态旅游是以可持续旅游和伦理道德规范原则为指导,在旅游过程中强调环境教育、影响管理和社区受益,并为其所依赖的环境保护做贡献的负责任的自然之旅.     

基于适宜性分析的黄河首曲地区生态旅游功能区划研究

黄河首曲地区具有突出的生态功能和较高的旅游价值,研究选取距水域湿地距离、草地覆盖情况、森林覆盖情况、海拔高度、坡度和偏远程度6个表征地区自然性的标准,采用GIS技术与层次分析法相结合的方法对黄河首曲地区生态旅游适宜性进行了分析,并结合首曲自然保护区要求对研究区进行了旅游功能区划。研究区生态旅游适宜性可划分为五级,Ⅰ级适宜度最低,适合开发一般的生态旅游或大众旅游,V级地区适宜度最高,原生态景观价值突出,但环境敏感性也高,宜发展严格生态旅游,以最大化保护生态环境。出于协调旅游功能与生态功能的统一以实现地区生态景观可持续利用的目的,研究区被划分为3类功能区、8类功能亚区,且均具有各自特殊的主导和辅助服务功能。研究最后根据各功能区、亚区的特殊服务功能提出了相应的调控措施,以促进生态旅游的合理性规划及未来可持续发展。     

Variation in behavioral responses of the South American sea lion to tourism disturbance: Implications for tourism management

Due to the highly predictable patterns of occupancy on land, pinnipeds are one of the main marine resources observed by tourists, which, in turn, could strongly perturb their behavior. We analyzed the behavioral responses of the South American sea lion (Otaria byronia) to the presence of tourists and its variation according to temporal (2012 vs. 2013 austral summer months), spatial (breeding vs. nonbreeding sites of the colony), and age/sex class (adult males vs. subadult males vs. females) factors, and determined the relationship between the degree of responses by sea lions and the distance of the vessel to the colony, visitation time, and tourist behavior. We recorded 1,232 boat visits during 2012 and 2013. Subadult males were the age/sex class most affected in the breeding site, followed by adult females at the nonbreeding site. More disturbing conduct by tourists, longer visitation time, and vessels closer to the colony caused greater responses by sea lions. The established minimum distance from the colony is not enforced, generating an adverse response by sea lions. We recommend the development of management plans with the local coastal communities to decrease the impact of ecotourism on the species and enhance the sustainability of this industry.     

湿地公园研究体系构建

湿地公园是湿地保护性利用新方式,也是生态旅游和生态文明建设新载体,目前国内外兴起湿地公园建设热潮,为湿地保护性利用带来了新机遇。但作为新兴研究领域,目前湿地公园专题研究滞后于其建设与发展,研究基础理论薄弱、研究内容系统性不强、研究方法简单、研究体系不完整,对公园建设的实践指导不足。构建湿地公园研究体系具有重大的理论意义和实践价值。 在对国内外研究总结分析的基础上,力图从研究理论体系、研究内容指标体系和研究方法体系等层面对湿地公园研究体系进行初步构建。提出湿地公园生态系统的概念,并将其组成结构研究体系、功能研究体系、影响评价体系和管理体系等作为研究内容的指标体系;对现有研究方法述评分析,构建了以基础理论探讨、规划研究、试验研究和空间分析为主的研究方法体系;指出了未来应注重的研究方法及发展趋势;最后结合部分实证研究对体系进行了充实完善。以望为推动湿地公园专题研究进程做出贡献,为湿地公园科学管理提供参考。     

我国保护地生态旅游发展现状调查分析

了解我国保护地生态旅游发展现状,为制定我国生态旅游政策和推动旅游资源与环境保护提供理论支撑.调查结果显示,我国大多数保护地开展了生态旅游,现状特征主要是:(1)有一定的生态旅游市场规模,生态旅游产品趋于多样化;(2)基础设施的生态兼容性不够;(3)环境解说系统普遍建立,但专业化程度较低;(4)生态环境状况良好,但环境管理体系仍需完善;(5)社区参与经济效益好,但参与深度有限;(6)我国保护地生态旅游从业人员数量不足,且导游在生态旅游方面的专业素养亟待提高;(7)生态旅游管理受到重视,但相关措施有待完善;(8)资金投入不够、管理体制未理顺是阻碍我国保护地生态旅游发展较为普通的问题.     

基于三角模糊数的自然保护区生态旅游评价

从生态环境特征、资源影响力、社会经济影响3个方面,选择地形、气候、生态脆弱性、典型性、环境影响、经济效益等16个指标,构建评价模型,运用三角模糊数方法,进行沙坡头国家级自然保护区的生态旅游评价。结果显示:沙坡头国家级自然保护区的生态旅游资源丰富,整体发展良好,发展生态旅游将会对保护区的文化、经济、配套基础设施等方面产生积极影响。将三角模糊数应用于自然保护区生态旅游评价模型,克服了定性指标难以量化、可比较性差的缺点,可以为生态旅游评价提供新思路、新方法,具有一定的应用前景,对生态旅游评价具有新的借鉴意义。