Ecotourism Actually Helps in Wildlife Conservation Efforts

Ecotourism intends to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife. Researchers have now suggested that far from increasing the vulnerability of wildlife to predators, ecotourism actually helps conservation efforts. "There have been some claims that have drawn media attention, saying that nature tourism and ecotourism can hurt wildlife and can even make wildlife more vulnerable to predators and poaching. We wrote to clarify that the opposite is well-known and supported with much research; that tourism can and often does protect large landscapes and the wildlife within those landscapes," said one of the researchers Lee Fitzgerald from Texas A&M University in the US.

The researchers said that in many parts of the world tourism protects wildlife from poaching, which is arguably the much greater threat to wildlife.

They pointed out the world's very first national parks in the U.S. were created with tourism in mind and thousands of protected areas around the planet are at least partially justified by tourism.

The researchers said, "It is difficult to imagine wild animals becoming so tame from their interaction with people they lose their fear of being eaten."

"In Botswana, tour operators are bringing rhinos from South Africa for release into the wild to restore populations. And on the Mara Conservancy along the border of Kenya and Tanzania, ecotourism dollars directly fund anti-poaching measures," said study co-author Amanda Stronza from Texas A&M University.

The researchers explained that strong ecotourism programs keep poachers at bay. If the shield of ecotourism goes away, animals are not poached because they are tame, it is because large areas can then be infiltrated by poachers.

Fitzgerald said, "We wanted to clarify this crucial point because there is no evidence to support the claim that ecotourism and nature tourism make animals vulnerable to poachers."

The article appeared in Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

Source-IANS