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Environment and Development Research Group |
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The Prospects for Gray Whale Conservation
and Nature Tourism in Bahia The conservation of biodiversity is regarded as a global resource
management issue of increasing significance, and community-based management
is considered as crucial to any possible solutions. However, ensuring that
conservation succeeds and contributes to sustained development, particularly
in rural settings in developing countries, remains a challenge. The challenge
is thus to identify and assess The Eastern Pacific gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a highly migratory species. Of critical importance for the bearing and nursing of calves are the lagoons and bays of the West Coast of Baja California Sur, where the whales’ presence is the focal point for a rapidly expanding local whale watching industry. The conservation of this gray whale population and the need to develop new economic opportunities for local communities could create conflicts between the main stakeholders. Inevitably, this situation makes it more difficult to reconcile conservation and economic development objectives. The goal of this research was thus to develop and apply a systematic framework for examining the prospects for successful community involvement in resource management. Consequently, the research focused on the conditions characterizing eco-tourism development involving large, charismatic species (e.g. whales). The objectives of this research included evaluating the potential financial attractiveness of nature tourism, examining the tradeoffs amongst resource use activities that compete with nature tourism development, assessing the human and social capital characteristics of local communities, and incorporating the international dimension of the problem. A team of researchers at Publications/Reports: Knowler, D., Williams, P., and
Garcia-Martinez, S. 2008. "Community-Based Management of Gray Whale
Ecotourism in Sawatsky, T. 2008. The Influence of Social
Capital on the Development of Nature Tourism: A Case Study from Bahia Schwoerer, T.
2007. The Economic Value of
Gray Whales to Local Communities: A Case Study of the Whale Watching Industry
in Two Communities in Baja, Mexico. M.R.M.
research project no. 419, |
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situations
where economic, social, institutional and ecological conditions come together
to provide the right circumstances for potentially successful environmental
management. This study developed and applied a systematic and
inter-disciplinary methodology for such evaluations, using whale watching in
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last updated: May 2009 |