世界发展银行-Banking-on-Protected-Areas---Promoting-Sustainable-Protected-Area-Tourism-to-Benefit-Local-Economies_86页_7mb

Banking on Protected Areas: Summary

Core Content

This report, Banking on Protected Areas, explores the economic impacts of sustainable protected area tourism and its potential to benefit local economies while promoting biodiversity conservation. It highlights the critical role of protected areas in supporting both ecological and economic development, especially in the context of the ongoing biodiversity crisis and the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Main Findings

• Biodiversity Crisis: Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, with the 2020 Living Planet Index reporting a 68% average decline in vertebrate species populations since 1970. Over one million species are threatened with extinction, and human pressure on ecosystems is widespread.

• Economic Value of Protected Areas: Tourism in protected areas generates significant economic benefits. The study found that income multipliers are greater than one in all four country case studies, indicating that local market linkages are strong and amplify tourist spending. These multipliers show that tourism can provide substantial returns on public investment, with rates of return ranging from $6.2 to $28.2 per public dollar.

• Tourism Benefits Communities: Tourism benefits both poor and non-poor households, although non-poor households typically capture larger shares of the multiplier. However, when normalized by population, poor households benefit more per capita than non-poor ones in most cases. Tourism also creates substantial job opportunities, with protected areas in Zambia, Nepal, Brazil, and Fiji employing a significant portion of the local working-age population.

• Challenges and Costs: Human-wildlife conflict and fishing restrictions in marine protected areas can cause short-term income losses for local communities. These impacts must be mitigated through compensation mechanisms and community engagement.

• Study Limitations: The study uses a static model, which may not account for resource fluctuations or negative environmental impacts. It also lacks data on broader economic benefits and does not capture all linkages, limiting generalizability of results.

Key Recommendations

1. Protect the Asset

• Formalize Protected Areas: Establish legal frameworks to protect natural assets, which can offset potential losses from restricted resource use by enabling ecosystem recovery.

• Increase Public Investment: Advocate for increased public investment in protected area management through budgets and innovative financing mechanisms like conservation trust funds, carbon finance, and conservation bonds.

• Build Capacity: Develop the skills and knowledge of protected area managers to ensure effective governance and support for tourism and conservation.

• Monitor Impacts: Regularly assess the economic and social impacts of tourism through surveys and data collection to inform policy and planning.

2. Grow and Diversify the Business

• Diversify Tourism Offerings: Expand the number of protected area sites and promote tourism across different regions to reduce pressure on key areas and spread economic benefits.

• Develop Concession Policies: Encourage private sector participation through concessioning, which includes infrastructure management, financing, and service provision. These policies should include clear terms for operations, environmental standards, and revenue-sharing mechanisms.

3. Share the Benefits

• Formalize Benefit Sharing Arrangements: Ensure that benefits from tourism are shared equitably between poor and non-poor households through direct and indirect employment, revenue sharing, and community partnerships.

• Strengthen Income Multipliers: Support local entrepreneurship, skills development, credit access, and procurement to enhance economic linkages and reduce leakage.

• Mitigate Human-Wildlife Conflict: Implement timely and transparent compensation mechanisms and community-based measures like seasonal fencing and livestock corralling to reduce conflict and build trust.

4. Green Recovery

• Promote protected area tourism as a tool for green economic recovery, aligning with global efforts to address biodiversity loss and support sustainable development.

Conclusion

Protected area tourism can be a powerful tool for economic recovery and biodiversity conservation. By promoting sustainable and inclusive tourism, countries can stimulate local economies, create jobs, and support conservation efforts. However, the study underscores the need for careful management, equitable benefit sharing, and addressing the challenges associated with human-wildlife conflict and resource restrictions. The findings are relevant for global policy discussions, particularly at the CBD COP-15, where the role of protected areas in biodiversity conservation is under review.

Country Case Studies

The study is based on four country case studies:

• Zambia: Focused on the Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa National Parks.
• Nepal: Centered around Chitwan National Park.
• Brazil: Highlighted the Abrolhos Marine National Park.
• Fiji: Examined the Mamanuca Islands and surrounding coastal areas.

These case studies provided insights into the economic and social impacts of protected area tourism across diverse geographical and cultural settings.

Funding and Collaboration

The study was supported by global trust funds such as PROBLUE, Window-3, WAVES, and PROFOR. It was a collaborative effort between the World Bank and the University of California, Davis, with contributions from local institutions and stakeholders.

Acknowledgements

The report acknowledges the support of numerous individuals and organizations, including government agencies, local universities, and conservation groups, who contributed to data collection, analysis, and stakeholder engagement. Peer reviewers and collaborators played a vital role in ensuring the quality and relevance of the study.

Conclusion

The study concludes that protected areas are valuable economic assets and that promoting sustainable tourism can help address both the biodiversity crisis and the economic challenges posed by the pandemic. It calls for a holistic and inclusive approach to protected area management, emphasizing the need for public investment, community involvement, and private sector collaboration.