Dead or alive: The growing importance of shark diving in the Mid-Atlantic region

In the Mid-Atlantic Azores, the emergence of a seasonal ecotourism shark diving industry strongly contrasts with a North Atlantic shark fishery for regional, national and foreign fleets. Shark diving may provide an economic alternative to fishing, promoting an ecological and economical sustainable use of these animals, favouring their conservation. Understanding socio-economic aspects of this new Mid-Atlantic industry is the first step towards its sustainability and ultimately shark conservation. Data were collected by means of questionnaire designed to solicit information on shark divers’ knowledge, socio-economic status, expenditures and expectations, conducted between July and August 2014 on Pico and Faial Islands, to 144 divers. The majority of respondents were male (71%), between 25 and 40 years (41%), mainly from Germany, Holland and Austria, and 44% visited the Azores purposely to dive with sharks. On average, 2.6 sharks were seen per dive and 97% of respondents did not perceive any form of shark aggression or threat. The estimated generated income of shark diving in 2014 for the Azores amounts to 1,983.347€ (around US$2,244.890). Such an amount may easily increase following the current rates of expansion for (eco)tourism in the Azores and the infancy of the local shark diving activity. Finally, it is worth saying that nearly 70% of participants were willing to pay an extra amount until 60€ to ensure that shark diving remains an option and more than half (53%) would like to see that amount invested in conservation.     

Analyzing Beach Recreationists’ Preferences for the Reduction of Jellyfish Blooms: Economic Results from a Stated-Choice Experiment in Catalonia,Spain

Jellyfish outbreaks and their consequences appear to be on the increase around the world, and are becoming particularly relevant in the Mediterranean. No previous studies have quantified tourism losses caused by jellyfish outbreaks. We used a stated-choice questionnaire and a Random Utility Model to estimate the amount of time respondents would be willing to add to their journey, in terms of reported extra travel time, in order to reduce the risk of encountering jellyfish blooms in the Catalan coast. The estimation results indicated that the respondents were willing to spend on average an additional 23.8% of their travel time to enjoy beach recreation in areas with a lower risk of jellyfish blooms. Using as a reference the opportunity cost of time, we found that the subsample of individuals who made a trade-off between the disutility generated by travelling longer in order to lower the risk of jellyfish blooms, and the utility gained from reducing this risk, are willing to pay on average €3.20 per beach visit. This estimate, combined with the respondents’ mean income, yielded annual economic gains associated with reduction of jellyfish blooms on the Catalan coast around €422.57 million, or about 11.95% of the tourism expenditures in 2012. From a policy-making perspective, this study confirms the importance of the economic impacts of jellyfish blooms and the need for mitigation strategies. In particular, providing daily information using social media applications or other technical devices may reduce these social costs. The current lack of knowledge about jellyfish suggests that providing this information to beach recreationists may be a substantially effective policy instrument for minimising the impact of jellyfish blooms.     

Willingness of rural communities to reforest with native tree species in central Chile

Economic development of rural people is not always feasible along with concomitant forest restoration, especially when meager reforestation incentives are oriented to poor rural people who probably are not willing to plant native species in their small plots of land. Forest restoration incentives have been created by the Chilean government to engage poor rural people in reforestation using native tree species to recover degraded lands. Our objective was to compare the willingness of people from rural communities to plant native species if they had to bear the costs or if the government did, and we related the answers to environmental and socioeconomic variables. Of the 217 respondents 53.9% were interested in planting native trees if subsidies became available. Interest decreased if the respondents had to pay for the cost, but only slightly. The willingness to reforest was significantly greater at lower distance from the community to the nearest native forest for those with lower income level, and was higher when there was use of nontimber forest products or wood by the respondents. However, in spite of the positive disposition to plant native trees, only 23% of the respondents were interested in planting on their own land, which is a requirement to receive the economic incentives. Most respondents were willing to plant in open sites and on degraded hillsides that surround their communities. We conclude that despite monetary incentives, benefits cannot reach most rural inhabitants because of their lack of interest in reforesting their own land.     

九寨沟景观游憩价值评估及空间分异

九寨沟作为国家级自然保护区、风景名胜区和世界自然遗产地,面临在有效保护自然资源的同时最大化地满足人类游憩服务需求的挑战。学者已经采用CVM、TCM等不同方法的测算九寨沟游憩价值,并针对测算结果的有效性和信度进行探讨,但以往的研究方法无法测算不同旅游资源的游憩价值贡献。以景观服务为视角,通过景观游憩服务识别的方法,进行不同旅游资源价值评估。同类旅游资源因位置不同、个人偏好不同也会产生不同的价值贡献,以参与式制图的方法进行不同游憩服务点的感知评价,实现游憩价值的空间分异研究。采用参与式制图与条件价值法(CVM)相结合的方法,实现游客对游憩服务点的感知评价和位置制图,并完成游客对游憩服务的支付意愿调研,实现价值空间分异研究,共调研730人,有效样本614。分析发现,2012年九寨沟游憩支付意愿率为72.95%,取旅游者意愿支付平均值354.98元,测算九寨沟自然保护区2012年的游憩价值为9.4亿元,其中价值最高是高山湖泊、瀑布、滩流等观赏水体,为2.9亿元,最低的是观赏植物,为0.47亿元。从空间位置来看,单位价值高的游憩服务点主要集中在几条沟谷两侧,特别是已开发的树正沟、日则沟和则查洼沟。游憩价值的空间分异研究注重不同位置旅游资源价值贡献的强弱对比,以期为九寨沟自然保护区的具体监控管理提供依据。     

Nutritional Consequences of Experimentally Introduced Tourism in Brown Bears

Abstract: Although numerous studies have documented behavioral effects of nature-based tourism on wildlife populations, few studies have determined whether behavioral changes translate to effects on individual condition and population health. This issue is currently a concern for wildlife managers in Alaska, USA, and Canada where bear viewing is a rapidly growing industry expanding into previously undisturbed bear habitats. Rather than record observations at long established tourism sites, we experimentally introduced bear viewing into 2 relatively undisturbed brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations in south-central Alaska. We examined the nutritional consequences of behavioral changes induced by the presence and activity of bear viewers for bears feeding on early summer vegetation and late-summer salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch and O. nerka). We used Global Positioning System collars, monitored food resource availability, and quantified individual resource use and condition for a year prior to and during the introduction of bear viewing. Though bear viewing altered spatiotemporal resource use in all treatments, total resource use declined only when we exposed bears to 24-hour daily human activity. Energy expenditure, indexed as daily travel distances, was significantly higher when bears responded by altering spatial rather than temporal resource use. However, body weight and composition were unaffected by all treatments as bears shifted their foraging to other locations or times. Managers can minimize nutritional impacts of bear-viewing programs by avoiding spatial displacement and providing predictable time periods when bears can access food resources free of human activity. Bears in this study exhibited a high degree of behavioral plasticity, which may be an important factor in identifying flagship species for sustainable ecotourism programs.     

居民对文化林生态系统服务功能的认知与态度

文化林是按照文化传统和风俗习惯来保护和管理的森林,在保护生物多样性的同时也维持了生态系统服务功能.采用半结构式访谈法调查了文化林周边村民对文化林的生态系统服务功能的认知及保护意愿,结果表明:(1)村民认为文化林提供的最重要的服务功能为固碳释养、水源涵养及美学价值,并与最满意的服务功能间存在正相关关系.最期望提高的服务功能是文化功能,例如:生态旅游,美学价值.(2)相对周边其他森林村民对文化林的资源利用较小,主要是非林木产品,平均26.3％的被访村民在文化林中获得过收入,40.6％的被访者获得山野菜、竹子、中药材、薪柴等.但90.1％被访者从其他森林中得到薪柴等林产品,开展旅游村落的村民获得林产品比例相对较小,但管护意愿相对较低.(3)村民对文化林的保护积极性较高,70.4％的被访者愿意花时间来管护森林,距文化林越近、家庭收入越高,管护意愿越高.38.9％的被访者愿意支付费用来维持服务功能不变化,距文化林越近,管护意愿越低的被访者,支付意愿越高.(4)通过了解村民对文化林的态度和认知,对我国农村森林生态系统服务功能和天然林保护具有重要意义.建议大力宣传文化林的生态系统服务功能,尤其是文化功能,并寻找替代生计提高居民收入,雇佣当地男性村民看护森林,充分利用村民的传统知识加强共管力度,完善村规民约,在今后规划中尽量将村落沿着文化林布局,积极支持对文化林的保护和发展.     

应用条件价值评估法对无锡市五里湖综合治理的评价

在政府环境审计项目中,政府审计机关面临着对环境改善效益进行评估的需要。由于环境资源不具有市场价值,目前条件价值评估方法是唯一能对环境物品进行评估的技术方法。首先对条件价值评估方法及其步骤进行了分析,然后将其应用于实际的审计案例,验证其可行性和有效性。案例研究把江苏省无锡市五里湖作为假想市场,以元锡市当地居民和来此旅游的游客为调查对象,利用问卷调查方式针对五里湖环境改善前后公众的满意度、受访者的旅游支付意愿以及对综合整治工程的资助意愿进行调查分析。对452位受访者调查结果显示,受访者对于五里湖环境改善后的满意度确有显著提高;在环境改善后受访者的旅游支付意愿为89．1元（总支付金额22275万元）,与改善前的支付意愿22．6元（总支付金额5650万元）相比有较大提高;对综合整治工程的资助意愿为平均每人140．2元（总支付金额62063万元）;然后从受访者不同的社会经济属性及对自然生态的认识与态度等各种因素,对受访者的支付意愿进行分析显示,对公众满意度影响最显著的因素是家庭年收入和职业,对五里湖综合整治工程的资助意愿影响最显著的因素是家庭年收入和教育程度,而所在地域、性别、年龄及是否参加环保社团对支付意愿无显著性影响。     

Concern about threatened species and ecosystem disservices underpin public willingness to pay for ecological restoration

Public preferences for ecological restoration can be revealed through environmental valuation studies that aim to measure willingness to pay. However, respondents' environmental views will often influence the conclusions drawn from such studies. We conducted a national survey of perceptions of the benefits and perverse outcomes arising from ecological restoration using a dichotomous choice payment card. Using interval regression to estimate willingness to pay, we find that there are respondents who will perceive mostly biodiversity benefits from restoration, with a particular interest in threatened species recovery. We find that this eco‐centric view of the benefits of restoration also increases the dollar amount that respondents are willing to pay to support restoration activities. A proportion of respondents also perceive restoration as having negative impacts, with concerns orientated towards increased fire, decreased farmland productivity, and groundwater availability. Perceptions of the potential effects of restoration on land productivity had a significant negative influence on the amount of money respondents were willing to pay. These findings are useful for targeting outreach in order to garner public support for ecological restoration.     

游客对低碳旅游的认知和意愿——以丽江市为例

低碳旅游是不同于传统旅游产业的一种转型产业模式,是当前旅游业发展的新趋势,同时也改变着旅游者的消费方式。采用问卷调查的方法,对丽江市的游客关于低碳旅游的认知和意愿进行了研究,结果表明:(1)低碳旅游的认知水平程度较高(68.5%),受教育程度、入住酒店星级和年平均旅游次数与认知程度显著正相关。91%的受访者认为公众意识是低碳旅游首先应被考虑的影响因素,大多数游客认为可以通过改变旅游交通(87.5%)和住宿方式(57.5%)来减少旅游业的碳排放。(2)游客对低碳旅游的意愿程度普遍较高(79.5%),入住酒店星级、年平均旅游次数和人均旅游花费与低碳旅游意愿显著负相关。定期旅行的游客对低碳旅游的认知最强,但行为的改变意愿却最弱。不经常旅行的游客则更愿意实现低碳旅游,但实际上对于旅游模式改变的影响也较小。(3)现阶段,低碳旅游的推行实际上也存在一定的难度和问题。46.5%的受访者认为目前低碳旅游流于形式和口号,76%的游客认为目前我国景区的游客普遍缺乏低碳旅游的良好习惯。(4)从政府和旅游主管部门、旅游企业、旅游者三方面提出了发展低碳旅游的相关建议。     

A Survey of Chinese Citizens’ Perceptions on Farm Animal Welfare

Farm animal welfare has been gradually recognized as an important issue in most parts of the world. In China, domestic animals were traditionally raised in backyard and treated as an important component of family wealth. Industrialization of animal production brings forth the farm animal welfare concerns recently in China, yet the modern concept of animal welfare has not been publicized and a comprehensive recognition on how consumers and farmers perceive animal welfare is lacking. Therefore, we conducted a survey on public opinions toward farm animal welfare in China, based on pigs (including sows, piglets, and fattening pigs), domestic fowls (including layers and broilers) and their products. From 6,006 effective questionnaires approximately two thirds of the respondents had never heard of ‘animal welfare’; 72.9% of the respondents claimed that, for the sake of animal derived food safety, human beings should improve the rearing conditions for pigs and domestic fowls; 65.8% of the respondents totally or partly agreed on establishing laws to improve animal welfare; more than half of the respondents were willing, or to some extent willing, to pay more for high-welfare animal products, whereas 45.5% of the respondents were not willing or reluctant to pay more. In summary, farm animal welfare is still in its early stage of development and more efforts are needed to improve the public conception to animal welfare in the process of establishing farm animal welfare standards and legislations in China.     

A Global Perspective on Trends in Nature-Based Tourism

Reports of rapid growth in nature-based tourism and recreation add significant weight to the economic case for biodiversity conservation but seem to contradict widely voiced concerns that people are becoming increasingly isolated from nature. This apparent paradox has been highlighted by a recent study showing that on a per capita basis, visits to natural areas in the United States and Japan have declined over the last two decades. These results have been cited as evidence of “a fundamental and pervasive shift away from nature-based recreation”—but how widespread is this phenomenon? We address this question by looking at temporal trends in visitor numbers at 280 protected areas (PAs) from 20 countries. This more geographically representative dataset shows that while PA visitation (whether measured as total or per capita visit numbers) is indeed declining in the United States and Japan, it is generally increasing elsewhere. Total visit numbers are growing in 15 of the 20 countries for which we could get data, with the median national rate of change unrelated to the national rate of population growth but negatively associated with wealth. Reasons for this reversal of growth in the richest countries are difficult to pin down with existing data, but the pattern is mirrored by trends in international tourist arrivals as a whole and so may not necessarily be caused by disaffection with nature. Irrespective of the explanation, it is clear that despite important downturns in some countries, nature-related tourism is far from declining everywhere, and may still have considerable potential both to generate funds for conservation and to shape people''s attitudes to the environment.     

Arctic Fox Responses to Tourism Activity

As the interest for nature-based tourism activities increases, it is important to provide evidence-based guidelines for wildlife-human interactions to minimize the disturbance caused to wildlife. In Fennoscandia, the endangered arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is subject to increasing tourism interest and some regions recommend a minimum approach distance of 300 m, but the guidelines have not been scientifically validated. We conducted experimental human approaches towards arctic fox den sites to study activity and behavioral changes in response to the approaching observer. The first arctic foxes hid when approached within 300 m, but many had increased their vigilance already at the start distance of 500 m. At approximately 200 m, the hiding probability increased rapidly at dens disturbed and undisturbed by tourism activities. Arctic foxes at disturbed dens allowed the observer to approach more closely before they increased their vigilance and before they hid compared to foxes at undisturbed dens. We confirm that a minimum distance of 300 m might be sufficient for most arctic foxes to refrain from hiding, but a longer distance would be required to avoid causing any disturbance. We recommend a minimum approach distance of ≥300 m to be implemented in all Fennoscandian regions inhabited by the arctic fox. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.     

Using Social Media to Measure the Contribution of Red List Species to the Nature-Based Tourism Potential of African Protected Areas

Cultural ecosystem services are defined by people’s perception of the environment, which make them hard to quantify systematically. Methods to describe cultural benefits from ecosystems typically include resource-demanding survey techniques, which are not suitable to assess cultural ecosystem services for large areas. In this paper we explore a method to quantify cultural benefits through the enjoyment of natured-based tourism, by assessing the potential tourism attractiveness of species for each protected area in Africa using the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. We use the number of pictures of wildlife posted on a photo sharing website as a proxy for charisma, popularity, and ease of observation, as these factors combined are assumed to determine how attractive species are for the global wildlife tourist. Based on photo counts of 2473 African animals and plants, species that seem most attractive to nature-based tourism are the Lion, African Elephant and Leopard. Combining the photo counts with species range data, African protected areas with the highest potential to attract wildlife tourists based on attractive species occurrence were Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, Mukogodo Forest Reserve located just north of Mount Kenya, and Addo Elephant National Park in South-Africa. The proposed method requires only three data sources which are freely accessible and available online, which could make the proposed index tractable for large scale quantitative ecosystem service assessments. The index directly links species presence to the tourism potential of protected areas, making the connection between nature and human benefits explicit, but excludes other important contributing factors for tourism, such as accessibility and safety. This social media based index provides a broad understanding of those species that are popular globally; in many cases these are not the species of highest conservation concern.     

Public Support for Conserving Bird Species Runs Counter to Climate Change Impacts on Their Distributions

There is increasing evidence that global climate change will alter the spatiotemporal occurrences and abundances of many species at continental scales. This will have implications for efficient conservation of biodiversity. We investigate if the general public in Denmark are willing to pay for the preservation of birds potentially immigrating and establishing breeding populations due to climate change to the same extent that they are for native species populations currently breeding in Denmark, but potentially emigrating due to climate change. We find that Danish citizens are willing to pay much more for the conservation of birds currently native to Denmark, than for bird species moving into the country – even when they are informed about the potential range shifts associated with climate change. The only exception is when immigrating species populations are under pressure at European level. Furthermore, people believing climate change to be man-made and people more knowledgeable about birds tended to have higher WTP for conservation of native species, relative to other people, whereas their preferences for conserving immigrant species generally resembled those of other people. Conservation investments rely heavily on public funding and hence on public support. Our results suggest that cross-country coordination of conservation efforts under climate change will be challenging in terms of achieving an appropriate balance between cost-effectiveness in adaptation and the concerns of a general public who seem mostly worried about protecting currently-native species.     

Giant panda reintroduction: factors affecting public support

Reintroducing captive-born individuals of some extirpated flagship animal species is a helpful and remedy measure for promoting biodiversity conservation, and a successful reintroduction relies heavily on public support. However, little information is available on the factors affecting the public support for reintroduction of large carnivore species. In order to evaluate public support and willingness to pay for the Giant Panda Reintroduction Project (GPRP), we conducted 1100 interviews in August 2014 at Huaying city, Sichuan, China, close to where captive-born giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) will be reintroduced. The results showed that local people strongly support this project and that 78.5 % of them are willing to pay an annual contribution. Per capita annual payments averaged USD31, and the potential value of donations to the GPRP in Huaying is about 11 million USD per year. Factors like interviewees’ residential area, occupation, education level, liking of wildlife, level of concern for wildlife conservation, the degree of familiarity with giant pandas, and the frequency of visiting captive giant pandas significantly affected their attitudes and willingness to pay for the project. The notion of “because I love pandas” was the main reason why respondents were willing to pay for the project; respondents’ doubts about the appropriate use of donated funds made them be unwilling to pay for the project. The results suggest that the GPRP is highly and socially acceptable amongst locals due to perceived social, economic and ecological benefits of the reintroduction. These findings clearly indicate, for the chances of reintroduction to be most socially accepted, governments should improve management and accountability when using donated funds, and create more opportunities for the public to engage with giant pandas, thereby encouraging people to become involved in conservation work benefiting conservation for the giant pandas and other endangered species.     

Drivers and socioeconomic impacts of tourism participation in protected areas

Nature-based tourism has the potential to enhance global biodiversity conservation by providing alternative livelihood strategies for local people, which may alleviate poverty in and around protected areas. Despite the popularity of the concept of nature-based tourism as an integrated conservation and development tool, empirical research on its actual socioeconomic benefits, on the distributional pattern of these benefits, and on its direct driving factors is lacking, because relevant long-term data are rarely available. In a multi-year study in Wolong Nature Reserve, China, we followed a representative sample of 220 local households from 1999 to 2007 to investigate the diverse benefits that these households received from recent development of nature-based tourism in the area. Within eight years, the number of households directly participating in tourism activities increased from nine to sixty. In addition, about two-thirds of the other households received indirect financial benefits from tourism. We constructed an empirical household economic model to identify the factors that led to household-level participation in tourism. The results reveal the effects of local households' livelihood assets (i.e., financial, human, natural, physical, and social capitals) on the likelihood to participate directly in tourism. In general, households with greater financial (e.g., income), physical (e.g., access to key tourism sites), human (e.g., education), and social (e.g., kinship with local government officials) capitals and less natural capital (e.g., cropland) were more likely to participate in tourism activities. We found that residents in households participating in tourism tended to perceive more non-financial benefits in addition to more negative environmental impacts of tourism compared with households not participating in tourism. These findings suggest that socioeconomic impact analysis and change monitoring should be included in nature-based tourism management systems for long-term sustainability of protected areas.     

Can a small island nation build resilience? The significance of resource-use patterns and socio-metabolic risks in The Bahamas

Resource-use patterns may entail systemic risks and cascade effects, which consequently inhibit the ability to deliver socioeconomic services. Identifying resource-use patterns exhibiting systemic risks and reshaping their combinations is a potential lever in realizing the transition to a sustainable, resilient, and resource-secure system. Using an island context to assess the quantity and composition of resource throughput enables a more comprehensive analysis of these risks. This article presents the first mass-balance account of socio-metabolic flows for The Bahamas in 2018, to identify socio-metabolic risks and cascading effects. Socio-metabolic risks are systemic risks related to critical resource availability, material circulation integrity, and (in)equities in cost and benefit distributions. We utilize the economy-wide material flow accounting framework to map the material flow patterns across the economy. In 2018, annual direct material input was estimated at 9.4 t/cap/yr, of which 60% were imports. High masses of waste (1.4 t/cap/yr) remained unrecovered due to the lack of recycling. Total domestic extraction (DE) were dominated by non-metallic minerals with more than 80%, while marine biomass makes up barely 1% of total DE. Due to its linear, undiversified metabolism, and heavy imports dependency, the system is susceptible to socio-metabolic risks and cascading effects including low levels of self-sufficiency, high vulnerability to shocks, commodity price fluctuations, threats to sensitive ecosystems, health impacts, and economic losses, among others. A holistic resource management strategy and nature-based solutions that consider the trade-offs and synergies between different resource-use patterns are critical when exploring potential plans for metabolic risk reduction.     

保护地旅游公路的野生动物通道设计原则与技术参数

保护地以其丰富的生物多样性和优美的自然环境为生态旅游的开展提供了基础条件。近年来, 保护地的生态旅游与旅游道路建设得到了飞速发展。旅游公路的修建, 在促进经济发展的同时, 也带来了野生动物致死、基因隔离、栖息地丧失、生境破碎化等一系列生态问题。因此设立合适的野生动物通道作为一种有效方式, 成为缓解公路对野生动物负面影响的主要途径。本文基于动物通道相关研究, 提出通道设计应遵从针对性、科学性、持续有效性、可行性四条原则, 道路生态学与保护生物学相关理论、保护地管理法规与管理规划、关键物种或类群生态学特性与栖息地现状以及沿线地形地貌特征都应作为通道设置的参考依据; 并从通道建设的数量、位置、类型、尺寸、表面设计、配套设施以及后期监测等方面提出了通道建设的技术参数。为长期有效地发挥野生动物通道的生态功能, 建议制定通道建设技术规范, 细化通道技术参数, 积极开展科研监测, 以缓解道路对野生动物的影响。     

Farmer perceptions and willingness to pay for novel livestock pest control technologies: A case of tsetse repellent collar in Kwale County in Kenya

Tsetse-transmitted Animal African Trypanosomosis (AAT) is one of the most important constraints to livestock development in Africa. Use of trypanocides has been the most widespread approach for the management of AAT, despite the associated drug resistance and health concerns associated with drug metabolites in animal products. Alternative control measures that target tsetse fly vectors of AAT, though effective, have been hard to sustain in part because these are public goods applied area-wide. The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) and partners have developed and implemented a novel tsetse repellent collar (TRC) applied on animals to limit contact of tsetse flies and livestock, thereby reducing AAT transmission. The TRC has now advanced to commercialization. A household-level survey involving 632 cattle keeping households, was conducted in Shimba Hills region of Kwale County, where field trials of the TRC have been previously conducted to assess farmers’ knowledge, perception, and practices towards the management of tsetse flies, their willingness to pay (WTP) for the TRC, and factors affecting the WTP. Almost all the respondents (90%) reported that tsetse flies were the leading cattle infesting pests in the area. About 22% of these correctly identified at least four AAT clinical signs, and even though many (68%) used trypanocidal drugs to manage the disease, 50% did not perceive the drug as being effective in AAT management (50%). Few respondents (8%) were aware of the harmful effects of trypanocidal drugs. About 89% of the respondents were aware of icipe TRC, and 30% of them were using the field trial collars during the survey. Sixty-three (63%) of them were willing to pay for the TRC at the same cost they spend treating an animal for AAT. On average farmers were willing to pay KES 3,352 per animal per year. Male educated household heads are likely to pay more for the TRC. Moreover, perceived high AAT prevalence and severity further increases the WTP. Wider dissemination and commercialization of the herd-level tsetse control approach (TRC) should be encouraged to impede AAT transmission and thus enhance food security and farm incomes among the affected rural communities. Besides the uptake of TRC can be enhanced through training, especially among women farmers.     

Tourism and recreation: a common threat to IUCN red-listed vascular plants in Europe

Tourism and recreation are large industries employing millions of people and contribute over US$2.01 trillion to the global economy. Unfortunately they also have diverse and sometimes severe environmental impacts affecting many species, including those that are rare and threatened. To assess the extent to which these industries threaten vascular plants, we reviewed data in the IUCN Red List for 462 Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable European species. Tourism and recreation were listed as threatening 42 % (194 species) of these species from across 50 families, mostly herbs (70 %). They were listed as threatening plants in 9 of the 10 bioregions in Europe and in 25 of the 40 countries assessed. Popular tourism destinations such as the Canary Islands (41 species) and mainland Spain (40 species) had the greatest diversity of species listed as threatened by tourism and recreation. The most common of these threats were trampling (61 species), plant collection (59), the maintenance/construction of tourist infrastructure (43) and habitat degradation due to the urbanisation of tourist sites (13). Additional species assessments and more research on the impacts of tourism and recreation may add to these values. It is clear that these industries pose an important threatening process on plants in Europe based on the IUCN Red List data and hence deserve greater recognition in terms of research, conservation and management.