Protected Areas & Tourism

Economic Benefits of Madidi National Park (Bolivia : 2005-2006)

There is much debate over whether natural protected areas restrict economic development or enable it. In this study we assessed the local economic benefits provided by Madidi National Park & Natural Area of Integrated Management, one of Bolivia’s largest protected areas, and also one of the most important globally for biodiversity conservation. We applied this analysis approach previously for Amazonian protected areas near Manaus, Brazil.

Economic Valuation of Marine Management Areas - Abrolhos, Brazil

Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) is currently conducting economic valuation research of Marine areas in Belize, Panama and Brazil. This work is being supported by Conservation International’s Marine Management Area Science program. Valuation of ecosystem goods and services is being carried out within three formally protected marine areas: Gladden Spit (Belize), Coiba (Panama) and Abrolhos (Brazil).

What is the local economic impact of protected areas creation and management? Most of the time, protected areas are considered barriers to economic development, once they impose limits or even completely block traditional use of natural resources. However, this study demonstrated that 10 protected areas located up to 200 km from Manaus city in the Brazilian Amazon promote important income for local economy. In some situations, these incomes can even surpass earnings generated by traditional land use, demonstrating that conservation activities can have an important role in economic development of certain regions.

Payment for Environmental Services in the Atlantic Rainforest

Financial sustainability of protected areas is always a challenge in developing countries. In this project, CSF developed a methodology to implement a Payment for Environmental Services (PES) system focused on water conservation for human consumption in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. This payment system approach is supported by the 47th and 48th articles of the Brazilian National System of Conservation Units Law (which goes by the Portuguese acronym SNUC), which aim to generate income for protected areas management. The project study area was the Guapiaçu and Macacu rivers basin in Três Picos State Park, close to Rio de Janeiro city. This basin provides water for about 1.7 million people.

The Pantanal in southwest Brazil is the world's largest continuous wetland, extending for at least 140,000 km2 and host to a spectacular array of flora and fauna with over 650 species of birds and 80 species of mammals including parrots, toucans, jaguar, maned wolf, giant otter, and capybara. CSF is helping former course participants Leonardo Hasenclever, now with the United Nations Development Program's unit on Pantanal fisheries, and Eduardo Garcia, of the Wildlife and Environmental Education Research Society (Paraná), conduct a contingent valuation study of tourism on the Pantanal Scenic Parkway to determine its potential for generating revenue for conservation. Ninety-nine percent of the Pantanal is privately owned, mostly by large cattle ranches, and in recent years the Pantanal has come under increased threat from deforestation, upland contamination, poaching, overfishing, and uncontrolled tourism.

Abrolhos literally means "eye opener". The Abrolhos reef in Brazil won its name because of its unique coral formations and because its shallow waters are frequented by large numbers of reproducing humpback whales. The peculiar mushroom-shaped coral heads there are composed mostly of species completely unique to Abrolhos. The high degree of species endemism is a result of Abrolhos' total isolation from other coral reefs.

Working with another graduate of our training program, Peruvian biologist Carmela Landeo, CSF is helping examine the real economic impact of roads and logging on Amazonian indigenous communities. Landeo, who works with the Peru office of World Wildlife Fund, is studying changes wrought in the forest and in household incomes as industrial timber extraction draws indigenous villages toward the cash economy. Landeo is studying the communities of Shintuya and Shipeteari, both on the fringes of the Manu National Park.

Paracas National Reserve in Peru is home to several species of sea lions, otters, vast anchovetta schools, blue-footed boobies, Inca terns, pink flamingos, pelicans, dolphins and large stocks of scallops. The large reserve has been bolstered in recent years by a volunteer park ranger program, which brings in students to maintain the protected area, clean the beaches and provide outreach to nearby communities. Despite its many contributions, funding for this program is constantly in doubt. Course graduate Cecilia Rivas, of the Peruvian Grupo de Estudios Ambientales (GEA), used skills she learned from CSF to perform a cost-benefit analysis and quantitatively show that the $8000 annual investment in the volunteers produces more than $32,000 in benefits. The benefits are a combination of services to the protected area and education for the volunteers.

Economic Valuation of Marine Management Areas

Economic Valuation of Marine Management Areas - Coiba National Park, Panama

In 2002, CSF launched the first economic study of Tanzania's national parks. This East African country has some of the most impressive wildlife and landscapes in the world, with famous parks such as Serengeti, Kilimanjaro and Gombe Stream. CSF worked with course graduate Ezekiel Dembe of Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) and other TANAPA staff to develop a strategy aimed at improving the economic performance of the parks without compromising nature protection. TANAPA's ultimate goal is to increase the profitability of the parks system, which will justify the creation of additional protected areas.

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Protected Areas & Tourism

Economic Benefits of Madidi National Park (Bolivia : 2005-2006)

Economic Valuation of Marine Management Areas - Abrolhos, Brazil (Brazil : 2007-2009)

Economic Benefits of Manaus Parks (Brazil : 2004-2005)

Payment for Environmental Services in the Atlantic Rainforest (Brazil : 2005-2006)

Pantanal Scenic Parkway (Brazil : 2001-2002)

Abrolhos Marine Reserve (Brazil : 2000-2001)

Amarakaeri Indigenous Reserve (Peru : 2000-2001)

Paracas Reserve (Peru : 2000-2001)

Economic Valuation of Marine Management Areas - Gladden Spit, Belize (Belize : 2007-2009)

Economic Valuation of Marine Management Areas - Coiba National Park, Panama (Panama : 2007-2008)

Tanzania National Parks (Tanzania : 2002-2003)

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