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Coastal communities are among the most rapidly changing, institutionally complex, and culturally diverse in the world, and they are among the most vulnerable to anthropogenic change. While being a driver of anthropogenic change, tourism can also provide socio-economic alternatives to declining natural resource-based livelihoods for coastal residents. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of small-scale cruise tourism on coastal community resiliency in Petersburg, Alaska. Exploring these impacts through resiliency theory’s lens of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, we employed ethnographic research methods that emphasize emic viewpoints to determine how residents see this form of tourism affecting the resiliency of valued community culture, institutions, and traditional livelihoods. Findings indicate that with purposeful engagement in niche cruise tourism involving boats with 250 passengers or less, and an active rejection of the large cruise ship industry, Petersburg exhibits increased adaptive capacity to promote the resilience of valued community institutions and heritage. This work draws needed recognition to the diversity of activities that fall under the label of cruise tourism, including the distinct implications of smaller-scale, niche cruise tourism for the resilience of coastal communities. It also highlights the need to capture emic perspectives to understand the politics of community resiliency.
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Community livelihoods and forest dependency: Tourism contribution in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda
Introduction Communities living adjacent to protected areas in Africa are characterized by high poverty rates and their well-being often depends on park resources. This often results in forest degradation and decline in wildlife populations, for example due to illegal hunting for bush meat. To counter this challenge in Rwanda, a tourism revenue sharing program was initiated in 2005, with 5% (doubled to 10% in 2017) of the park gate fees invested in community development projects. We evaluated the effectiveness of this tourism revenue sharing from 2005 to 2017, targeting communities adjacent to Nyungwe National Park located in south-western Rwanda. Methods We used questionnaires addressed to members of community associations and local government in 24 sectors around Nyungwe National Park. Additionally, data on illegal resource use and socio-economic status of the surrounding communities were obtained to quantitatively triangulate and draw insights from communities’perceptions. Using spatial analyses and spatial regression, we mapped trends in illegal activities relative to socio-economic characteristics. Results and discussion Both the qualitative and quantitative results indicate that the tourism revenue sharing program has not fully succeeded in improving community well-being around Nyungwe National Park. The tourism revenue sharing can consider targeting areas that demonstrate more need and reassessing prioritization of interventions supported by the program to achieve both poverty reduction around Nyungwe National Park and improved conservation outcomes in this protected area.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1828822
- PAR ID:
- 10441812
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Frontiers in Conservation Science
- Volume:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2673-611X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2022.1034144
