CROSS-CULTURAL EFFECTS OF PARTICIPATION IN ECOTOURISM

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0213527
• Project Start Date: Mar 5, 2008
• Project End Date: Mar 4, 2013
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
750 AGRONOMY RD STE 2701
COLLEGE STATION,TX 77843-0001

Performing Department
RECREATION, PARKS & TOURISM

Non Technical Summary
The research is aimed at identifying the conditions under which ecotourism effectively promotes conservation and development in four subsistence-based communities. Two hypotheses are: 1) economic benefits (employment and income) from ecotourism are necessary but not sufficient for sustaining conservation; and, 2) ecotourism with community participation in ownership and management is more likely to sustain conservation than is ecotourism that focuses solely on economic benefits. The PI is a cultural anthropologist who has conducted thirteen years of longitudinal and ethnographic research on local impacts of an indigenous-owned ecotourism lodge in the Peruvian Amazon. In that case, community participation in ecotourism has led to strengthened institutions for managing common pool resources, while economic benefits from ecotourism have had ambiguous effects on conservation. In collaboration with three graduate students, the PI will compare the case in Peru with other ecotourism projects in Nicaragua, Brazil, and Botswana. In each site, the team will gather qualitative and quantitative data to assess types and levels of community participation in ecotourism, economic benefits generated by ecotourism, and differential impacts of participation and economic benefits on conservation. Four comparable ethnographic case studies will be completed. Also, data sets from individual and household interviews across communities will be combined to produce theory-building analyses of ecotourism effects. Causal conditions in ecotourism that predict conservation outcomes will also be assessed using Qualitative Comparative Analysis.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

50%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
136	6099	3000	100%

Knowledge Area
136 - Conservation of Biological Diversity;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3000 - Anthropology;

Keywords

ecotourism

conservation

community

participation

Goals / Objectives
My long-term research goal is to use theoretical and methodological insights from anthropology to support local strategies for conserving biodiversity in the United States and throughout the world. The purpose of the proposed research is to identify the conditions under which ecotourism effectively protects biodiversity while also benefiting local communities. I hypothesize that economic benefits (new employment and income) from ecotourism are necessary but not sufficient for catalyzing or sustaining local conservation. I also hypothesize that ecotourism emphasizing local ownership and management is more likely to achieve conservation than is ecotourism focusing solely on economic benefits. To test these hypotheses, I will analyze linkages between economic benefits from ecotourism and conservation, while also assessing the value of involving locals as participants in ownership and management of ecotourism operations. My hypotheses are predicated upon ample reading of scholarly literature in environmental anthropology, conservation biology, and development economics, combined with 38 months of ethnographic fieldwork over 13 years in three ecotourism destinations in Amazonia Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. In each of these locations, I have examined how our assumptions about the benefits of ecotourism actually play out in local communities. Do residents perceive and experience real benefits? If so, what are the benefits, and what changes do they trigger? Do residents become more engaged in conservation and development as a result of their involvement in ecotourism? If so, what are the processes by which these changes occur? Few studies have used empirical data to answer these questions. Even fewer have included systematic or repeated assessments of ecotourism-related changes over time. Almost no studies of ecotourism have cross-culturally compared similarities and differences in ecotourism outcomes. The research has the following objectives: Evaluate social and cultural processes of community participation in ecotourism in four study sites: Peru, Botswana, Nicaragua, and Brazil; Identify economic changes associated with ecotourism in each site; Assess conservation ethics and institutions in each site; Find linkages between conservation ethics and institutions in each site with: a) participation in ecotourism, and b) economic changes from ecotourism; Objective #5: Compare the results of Objectives #1-4 across communities. The research is innovative in three ways: first, it will contribute insights and methods from anthropology to a topic of broad concern to biologists, economists, park managers, and the tourism industry; second, it will use ethnographic approaches to evaluate social and cultural changes associated with ecotourism, especially as they relate to local institutions; and, third, it will assess the underlying reasons behind the successes of ecotourism in four study sites. The results of the research are expected to allow scholars and practitioners to understand more clearly the mechanisms by which ecotourism achieves conservation and development.

Project Methods
My previous research in the Amazon has described the ways in which local communities can participate as owners and managers of ecotourism projects. A key finding is that local participation in ownership and management has been critical for building social capital and strengthening local institutions in each site, institutions that now are serving conservation goals as they help regulate use of common pool resources. In the proposed study, I intend to continue longitudinal research in Peru while also expanding the study to compare the case with three other sites. Two of my doctoral students from Botswana and Brazil will compare ecotourism cases in their home countries. A third doctoral student from the United States will conduct research in Nicaragua. In each site, the team will gather qualitative and quantitative data to assess types and levels of community participation in ecotourism, economic benefits generated by ecotourism, and differential impacts of participation and economic benefits on conservation. Four comparable ethnographic case studies will be completed. Also, data sets from individual and household interviews across communities will be combined to produce theory-building analyses of ecotourism effects. Causal conditions in ecotourism that predict conservation outcomes will also be assessed. We will gather qualitative data in the first phase, which we will use to confirm our selection of causal conditions for ecotourism success and the comparative study in the second phase. TWe will use baseline data gathered by the PI and Mbaiwa, respectively. In Brazil, we will depend on archival data provided by the collaborating NGO, Tamar. In Nicaragua, we will rely on recall data. Our first goal in the field will be to test the household interview guide we develop jointly to accommodate cultural and language differences. While the three students are conducting field work in Brazil, Botswana, and Nicaragua, the PI will gather data in Peru. The students and the PI will leave audit trails, documenting how data were generated, with extensive notes and journals explaining decisions, events that occurred, and questions that arose during research. After fieldwork, we will cross-check and code raw data together. In the first phase, we will build ethnographic understanding of our main variables: community participation, economic benefits, and conservation ethics and institutions. We will focus on cultural, historical, and political reasons for variation. For example, variance in ecotourism participation may relate to the creation of a protected area, power relations with tour companies, or the leadership of a few charismatic individuals. Ethnography will explain such processes behind observed variances and build qualitative understanding of our research questions. This phase will result in stand alone case studies. Phase Two In the second phase, we will gather more quantitative data from individuals, households, and communities to conduct multilevel regression analyses and Qualitative Comparative Analysis.

Progress 03/05/08 to 03/04/13

Outputs
OUTPUTS: We have completed field research in all four study sites: Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua, and Botswana. In each site, we conducted household interviews and ethnographic observations of community involvement in ecotourism and conservation activities. We have written manuscripts for submission to peer-review journals in anthropology, environmental studies, and tourism studies. All of the articles focus on individual case studies, and we have summarized the major findings below. We have begun to synthesize the results from across the four sites, and we are now analyzing our findings in comparison with each other. The comparisons are qualitative and in narrative form rather than quantitative or statistical. We intend to produce at least two additional journal articles in the next several months, and these will present the cross-cultural, comparative analysis of community participation in ecotourism. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The study used ecotourism as a window into larger concerns in cultural anthropology about the influence of the market on human-environment interactions. Most studies of ecotourism to date have produced few results that are systematically comparative enough to influence theoretical debates or contemporary policy and practice. In particular, few studies have evaluated the linkages between ecotourism as a form of market integration and resulting conservation impacts in local communities. Similarly, the literature is missing evaluations of the connections between ecotourism as a form of political and social reorganization and the resulting effects on local institutions. Moreover, much of the information available about ecotourism is anecdotal and focused on single cases. We have sought to address these gaps in our knowledge by collecting data on the same variables and trends in ecotourism across sites. Specifically, we have tried to bridge case studies and build theory by sharing methods of data collection and analysis in four cultural settings. The approach is allowing us to start to discern the cultural, social, and economic conditions under which ecotourism works effectively or not for conservation.

Publications

• Hunt, C. and Stronza, A. 2012. Ecotourism in Nicaragua: Incongruous Local Perspectives on Ecotourism in Nicaragua Converge on Ethical Issues. Human Organization 70(4).
• Stronza, A. and Hunt, C. 2012. Visions of Tourism: From Modernization to Sustainability Practicing Anthropologist Summer 2012 34(3).

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Page 2 of 7 We have completed field research in all four study sites: Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua, and Botswana. In each site, we conducted household interviews and ethnographic observations of community involvement in ecotourism and conservation activities. We have written manuscripts for submission to peer-review journals in anthropology, environmental studies, and tourism studies. All of the articles focus on individual case studies, and we have summarized the major findings below. We have begun to synthesize the results from across the four sites, and we are now analyzing our findings in comparison with each other. The comparisons are qualitative and in narrative form rather than quantitative or statistical. We intend to produce at least two additional journal articles in the next several months, and these will present the cross-cultural, comparative analysis of community participation in ecotourism. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Amanda Stronza, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University Carrying out comparative study in Peru on community participation in ecotourism and outcomes for natural resource management, conservation ethics, and the strength of local institutions. Dr. Carter Hunt, Postdoctoral Fellow, Anthropological Sciences, Stanford Carrying out comparative study in Nicaragua on community participation in ecotourism and outcomes for natural resource management, conservation ethics, and the strength of local institutions. Dr. Fernanda Pegas, Research Fellow in Sustainable Tourism, Griffith University, Australia Carrying out comparative study in Brazil on community participation in ecotourism and outcomes for natural resource management, conservation ethics, and the strength of local institutions. Dr. Joseph Mbaiwa, Associate Professor, Okavango Research Institute, Botswana Carrying out comparative study in Botswana on community participation in ecotourism and outcomes for natural resource management, conservation ethics, and the strength of local institutions. Drs. Hunt, Pegas, and Mbaiwa earned their PhDs as part of this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Page 6 of 7 The study used ecotourism as a window into larger concerns in cultural anthropology about the influence of the market on human-environment interactions. Most studies of ecotourism to date have produced few results that are systematically comparative enough to influence theoretical debates or contemporary policy and practice. In particular, few studies have evaluated the linkages between ecotourism as a form of market integration and resulting conservation impacts in local communities. Similarly, the literature is missing evaluations of the connections between ecotourism as a form of political and social reorganization and the resulting effects on local institutions. Moreover, much of the information available about ecotourism is anecdotal and focused on single cases. We have sought to address these gaps in our knowledge by collecting data on the same variables and trends in ecotourism across sites. Specifically, we have tried to bridge case studies and build theory by sharing methods of data collection and analysis in four cultural settings. The approach is allowing us to start to discern the cultural, social, and economic conditions under which ecotourism works effectively or not for conservation

Publications

• Hunt, C. and Stronza, A. 2012. Ecotourism in Nicaragua: Incongruous Local Perspectives on Ecotourism in Nicaragua Converge on Ethical Issues. Human Organization. 70(4)
• Mbaiwa, J. and Stronza, A. 2011. Changes in Resident Attitudes towards tourism development and conservation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana J. of Environmental Management 92(8):1950-9.
• Heyman, W., and Stronza, A. 2011. South-South Exchanges Enhance Resource Management and Biodiversity Conservation. Conservation and Society 9(2):146-158.
• Mbaiwa, J., Stronza, A., and Kreuter, U. 2011 From Collaboration to Conservation: Insights from the Okavango Delta, Botswana Society and Natural Resources 24:400-411.

Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: We have completed field research in all four study sites: Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua, and Botswana. In each site, we conducted household interviews and ethnographic observations of community involvement in ecotourism and conservation activities. We have written manuscripts for submission to peer-review journals in anthropology, environmental studies, and tourism studies. All of the articles focus on individual case studies, and we have summarized the major findings below. We have begun to synthesize the results from across the four sites, and we are now analyzing our findings in comparison with each other. The comparisons are qualitative and in narrative form rather than quantitative or statistical. We intend to produce at least two additional journal articles in the next several months, and these will present the cross-cultural, comparative analysis of community participation in ecotourism. We have continued to revise manuscripts of our findings from this project. Since last year, two more were published, two were revised for second reviews, and one new one is under review. In total, we have produced 11 scholarly publications from the project. The list below includes only newly published or submitted manuscripts since the last report. We compared ecotourism case studies with the intention of evaluating linkages between economic incentives, participation, and commons management. Together, these cases suggests that, at least in the short-term, economic incentives can generate local concern for conservation. Such concern was most evident in the case of Brazil. The Peru and Botswana cases show that also engaging local residents as co- managers and decision-makers can help strengthen local institutions, which, in turn, are the foundation of commons management. Is ecotourism good or bad for the fate of the commons We suggest the need to weigh both economic and social outcomes. The solution for making ecotourism work for conservation is not just to create economic incentives now, but also to think longer term about peoples abilities to act collectively on behalf of their resources. As we continue the analysis in other cases, we will examine the conditions under which ecotourism can strengthen local institutions for common pool resource management. This will entail a shift in the inquiry, from the question of 'How much is ecotourism giving people' to 'How is ecotourism empowering people to govern their own commons' PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
We assessed conservation by describing the presence or absence, strengths or weaknesses of local institutions and capacities to managing common pool resources, like forests, wildlife, coastal habitats, and marine life. We compared economic incentives, levels of local participation in ecotourism management, and conservation in each site. NICARAGUA: The case is an example of ecotourism that offered few economic incentives for conservation and no effort to engage local people in tourism or resource management. Employment is mostly for outsiders, and profits are siphoned to elites. Meanwhile, people have little incentive to follow rules imposed by the tourism company, and now that they are even blocked from the resources they formerly had use of--a local beach--there is little hope for local stewardship. BRAZIL: The case in Brazil shows relatively good economic returns and little participation. Though we found some concern for conservation associated with economic benefits from ecotourism, the linkages are tenuous. Despite efforts to create local buy in, sea turtles are still hunted frequently. Mass tourism development in the region is triggering change within the village of Praia. As the development is driving up the cost of living, people in Praia are increasingly inclined to look for work outside of ecotourism projects of TAMAR. Also, the development is attracting outsiders. We found construction workers and lobster fishermen harvesting sea turtles in numbers, partly for themselves, and partly for tourists. For villagers in Praia, it was hard to find incentive to protect turtles while violators are gaining a profit. This case represents a 'a tragedy of open access.' BOTSWANA: Economic returns from this ecotourism case are relatively high, and we found that new employment and income is associated with shifts away from hunting and livestock, and with some new concern for wildlife management. Local participation in tourism is high as well, and wildlife conservation occurs through a three-way partnership between government, private companies, and local communities. This is an example of ecotourism that has enabled co-management of the commons. Though communities have control over their concessions, they remain in relatively unskilled positions in the tourism industry. PERU: We found high economic returns couple with high participation in tourism management. While the impacts of economic benefits are ambiguous for conservation, that is, new employment takes people out of farming and hunting while new income enables more expansive and efficient resource use, the participatory aspect of this project has strengthened collective action and local institutions for conservation. We recorded the creation of rules about hunting in a community forest reserve, and we describe locally initiated efforts to establish a new community-managed protected area. This is a case of ecotourism providing the incentives as well as institutional capacities for effective, local stewardship of common pool resources.

Publications

• Pegas, F., and Stronza, A. 2010. Ecotourism and Sea Turtle Conservation in Praia do Forte, Brazil. Conservation and Society 8(1):15-25.
• Mbaiwa, J. and Stronza, A. 2010. Effects of tourism development on rural livelihoods in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 18(5): 635-656.

Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: We have completed field research in all four study sites: Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua, and Botswana. In each site, we conducted household interviews and ethnographic observations of community involvement in ecotourism and conservation activities. We have written manuscripts for submission to peer-review journals in anthropology, environmental studies, and tourism studies, and we have presented these results to local stakeholders in each of the sites. All of the articles focus on individual case studies, and we have summarized the major findings below. We have not yet synthesized the results from across the four sites, nor have we analyzed our findings in comparison with each other. We intend to produce at least two additional journal articles in the next several months, and these will present the cross-cultural, comparative analysis of community participation in ecotourism. PARTICIPANTS: Rainforest Expeditions Rainforest Expeditions is a private ecotourism company, based in Lima, Peru. The company is a legal business partner to an indigenous village in Peru, and the partnership between the two in the focus of one of our ethnographic case studies on effects of community participation in ecotourism management. The company offered free lodging and local transportation for our researchers (Stronza, Fitzgerald, and Vincent) as well as office space and equipment in Puerto Maldonado. The managers of the company also collaborated with us as we developed the proposal, conducted research, and presented the findings to the community. H. Oppenheimer Okavango Research Center The Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Center (HOORC) is part of the University of Botswana. The Center supported the work of one of the participating graduate students, Joseph Mbwaiwa. They provided funding for his PhD and field research in the Okavango, Botswana. They also provided in kind support in the form of an office, computer equipment, and field supplies (Range Rover and camping equipment). While carrying out the research Mbwaiwa was a faculty member at HOORC. Fundacion Pro-TAMAR. TAMAR is a non-governmental organization in Brazil. It supports sea turtle conservation through research and ecotourism. The organization collaborated with one of the project members, Dr. Fernanda Pegas, as she carried out field research in Praia do Forte, Brazil. The directors and staff also provided feedback on the research plans and helped disseminate results. Morgan's Rock Eco-Resort Morgan's Rock is a tourist resort in southwestern Nicaragua and one of the focal points of the study. The company offered lodging and meals to one of the team members, Dr. Carter Hunt, during field research. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Nicaragua: We compared the attitudes and perceptions of three groups of individuals representing different degrees of involvement with ecotourism. We found neither a positive nor a negative linear relationship between the level of experience in tourism and the attitudes of locals towards it. In early phases of tourism development, new economic opportunities, whether assessed individually or collectively, dominate the perceptions and attitudes towards tourism development. Yet as exposure to tourism increases over time, the deficiency of opportunities for equitable and empowering participation in decisions related to tourism development among local residents and employees leads to the more negative reactions seen in the stage-based models. Brazil:For more than two decades, ecotourism in the fishing village of Praia do Forte, Brazil, has provided jobs and income to local people in exchange for reduced harvesting of sea turtles. We found ecotourism-related employment and income have been somewhat stable and reliable, if not especially lucrative. The average income of respondents who worked with the sea turtle project was lower than that reported by people not working with the project. Though the majority of local residents supported sea turtle conservation, it was unclear how feelings would waver with new developments in the region. As the cost of living in the village increases, especially in relation to mass tourism development around the village, people may be increasingly inclined to look for work outside of sea turtle ecotourism. Botswana: We studied community partnerships in tourism through the Community-based Natural Resource Management Program program. We found that such partnerships improved local stewardship of wildlife by: helping secure village land tenure, fostering recognition and support for local institutions, and generating material benefits from safari tourism. These changes, in turn, were associated with favorable attitudes about wildlife conservation. Though the foundations for co-managing wildlife are in place in the Okavango, a number of challenges remain. These include a lack of management capacity, relatively little attention to disparities within communities, and a narrow focus on conservation. Peru: Ongoing, ethnographic on a joint venture ecotourism project between a private company and a local community show three outcomes that support management and three outcomes that challenge it. The outcomes in favor of management include: direct economic returns that act as conservation incentives, strengthened organization resulting from participatory management of ecotourism, and expanded networks of support from outside actors. Outcomes that are challenging the potential for collective action include: direct economic returns that enable expanded individual production and extraction, a new spirit of individual entrepreneurship that threatens to debilitate traditional social relations and institutions, and a conservation ethic that fosters dualistic thinking about people and nature and the zoning of places where resources are used vs. where they are preserved.

Publications

• Hunt, C. and Stronza, A. 2009. Bringing Ecotourism into Focus: Applying a Hierarchical Perspective to Ecotourism Research. Journal of Ecotourism 8(1):1-17.
• Mbaiwa, J. and Stronza, A. 2009. Challenges and Prospects for Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism In Jamal, T. (ed) Handbook of Tourism Sage Press.
• Stronza, A., and Pegas, F. 2008. Ecotourism and Conservation: Two Cases from Peru and Brazil. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 13:263-279.

Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Research is still underway and only preliminary research results have been disseminated. Some of the work was shared with conservation and development practitioners at the World Bank. This was part of the Protected Areas, Property Rights and Sustainable Tourism Learning Event at the World, which focused on Responsible, Sustainable Tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean, Washington, DC, April 15, 2008. A URL link to this event is here: http://go.worldbank.org/5VW0PQLQE0 The preliminary results were also presented in Cheltenham, England at the International Association for the Management of the Commons: Stronza, A. Commons Management and Ecotourism: Ethnographic Evidence from the Amazon International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) Conference, University of Gloucester, UK, July 16, 2008. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Research is still underway and there are no significant outcomes or impacts to report. The PI has initiated collaboration with the World Bank offices in Peru to apply the results of the research to new ecotourism developments near the InterOceanic Highway in southeastern Peru.

Publications

• Hunt, C. and Stronza, A. 2009. Bringing Ecotourism into Focus: Applying a Hierarchical Perspective to Ecotourism Research Journal of Ecotourism.
• Brightsmith, D., Stronza, A., Holle, K. 2008 Ecotourism, Conservation Biology, and Volunteer Tourism: a mutually beneficial triumvirate Biological Conservation 141(2008):2832-2842.
• Stronza, A., and Pegas, F. 2008 Ecotourism and Conservation: Two Cases from Peru and Brazil Human Dimensions of Wildlife 13:263-279.
• Stronza, A. 2008 Through a New Mirror: Reflections on Tourism and Identity in the Amazon Human Organization 67(3):244-257.
• Stronza, A., and Gordillo, J. 2008 Community Views of Ecotourism: Redefining Benefits Annals of Tourism Research 35(2):444-468.