High-end ecotourism and rural communities in southern Africa : a socio-economic analysis.

This thesis argues that at high end ecotourism sites in southern Africa good relationships with local communities are not merely a normative ‘good thing’, but are a likely prerequisite for the long-term viability of both natural resources and the economic ventures that depend on them. Communities are thus active participants in both conservation and tourism. As rising populations increase pressure on conserved land, both conservation and ecotourism will need community support and goodwill. Such rural communities adjacent to protected areas have traditionally enjoyed consumptive use of local resources. Formally set-aside protected areas may help conserve biodiversity, but often impose costs on rural communities, increasing human-wildife conflict and reducing the land available for agriculture and consumptive use. Sustained community support for these areas therefore requires visible benefits. One source of these is ecotourism. Using primary data from over 1800 community interview schedules, collected across six southern African countries (Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe), the thesis seeks to establish the incentives that matter most to rural communities in conservation areas, how ecotourism affects household incomes, and the determinants of community attitudes towards conservation and ecotourism.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

School of Economics

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Snyman, Susan

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Leiman, Anthony

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5689

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/5689