野生物保育學會（Wildlife Conservation Society, WCS）與成功基金會（Foundations of Success, FOS）在2018年2月28日發表的研究報告指出，透過直接付費收益的生態旅遊策略，讓在地居民因遊客觀賞野生動物帶來的經濟補償效益，而降低了非法狩獵情形，並且增加了目擊野生動物的機會。
科學家在寮國Nam Et-Phou Louey國家保護區（Nam-Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area）的研究是採取「直接付費」收益的模式，鼓勵居民減少對野生動物的非法狩獵與貿易，避免野生動物族群數量下降。此模式約定以目擊野生動物數量多寡與種類不同作為導覽收入計算基礎，同時也酌予減少非法狩獵的罰款。這做法的目的是為降低非法狩獵壓力，提高觀賞到野生動物的機會，最終則是增加野生動物族群數量，是以經濟誘因來促成生態保育的手段。
科學家採用這樣的方法並監測了4年，結果顯示非生態旅遊區狩獵跡象多了三倍，而相對的在生態旅遊區則沒有明顯增加。此外，看到野生動物的次數則明顯提昇。一些受脅物種也因為這樣的措施而受益，包括水鹿、赤麂、靈長類動物及小型食肉動物。
「如果生態旅遊或自然旅遊是為了增加這些野生動物的族群量，就必須將社區及野生動物二者的利益直接聯結在一起。」保護區主管Bounpheng Phoomsavath說，「很多計畫聲稱是為了保護野生動物，但常常缺乏這樣的聯結，造成在地居民受益，但野生動物仍持續減少。我們目前的成功在於雙方的利益是直接聯結的。」
如果生態旅遊是生物多樣性保育的策略，一些計畫卻常常被質疑無法證明生物多樣性的威脅已經消除，或是生物多樣性有增加。
這項研究則顯示依照「改變理論」監測效益的重要性，藉以評估一項引導居民對結果存有期待並對應到適應管理的生態保育策略是否有效及效益如何。
科學家說這個案例提供了為達到生態旅遊策略而設計一項直接付款機制的關鍵課題，包括如何綜合生態威脅監測與目擊野生動物資料以評估該策略是否有效、如何制定居民收費標準與野生動物目擊數相連的機制，以及保護特定稀有物種的效益等。
研究報告原文請點閱：https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0186133
英文新聞如下：
WCS Study finds Ecotourism has reduced illegal hunting in Laos
Written by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Published: 01 March 2018
Vientiane – Lao-PDR (February 28, 2017): A new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Foundations of Success (FOS) finds that an ecotourism strategy based on “direct payments,” where local people are compensated for the amount of wildlife seen by tourists, has resulted in a reduction in illegal hunting and an increase in wildlife sightings.
In the study, the scientists tested a new model in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR)’s Nam-Et-Phou Louey (NEPL) National Protected Area (NPA) that used a direct payment approach to encourage villagers to reduce illegal hunting and trade, which is driving wildlife decline. The model included a contractual payment to villages that was directly tied to the numbers of wildlife seen by eco-tourists as well as a reduction in payments for occurrences of hunting violations. The approach was designed to reduce illegal hunting pressure, increase wildlife sightings, and ultimately wildlife numbers, while generating ongoing economic incentives for conservation.
The scientists implemented and then monitored this approach for four years. Results indicated a three-fold increase in hunting signs in the non-tourism sector of the NPA as opposed to no increase in the ecotourism sector. Additionally, an overall increase in wildlife sightings was observed. A wide range of threatened species benefited from the program, including Sambar deer, barking deer, primates and small carnivores.
“If eco-tourism or nature tourism is going to help increase these wildlife populations, there must be a direct link between the incentives for communities and the wildlife itself, “ said Bounpheng Phoomsavath, Director of Nam Et — Phou Louey National Protected Area. “Many projects claim to be benefiting wildlife but they often lack this direct link. Villagers get benefits but the wildlife populations continue to decline. The direct links are the key to our success.”
In cases where ecotourism is used as a biodiversity conservation strategy, projects are often questioned for lack of resulting proof that threats to biodiversity have been averted or conditions for biodiversity have been improved.
“This study illustrates the importance of monitoring along a theory of change to evaluate if and how a conservation strategy is leading to expected outcomes and to inform adaptive management,” said WCS Lao PDR Deputy Country Director Dr. Santi (Joy) Saypanya.
The scientists say the case “provides key lessons on the design of a direct payments approach for an ecotourism strategy, including how to combine threat monitoring and data on wildlife sightings to evaluate strategy effectiveness, on setting rates for wildlife sightings and village fees, and the utility of the approach for protecting very rare species.”
“Design, monitoring and evaluation of a direct payments approach for an ecotourism strategy to reduce illegal hunting and trade of wildlife in Lao PDR,” appears in the current edition of PLOS One. Authors include: Paul Frederick Eshoo and Troy Hansel; Sivilay Duangdala of WCS-Lao PDR; and Arlyne Johnson of Foundations of Success (Bethesda, Md.)
This project was supported by funding from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund, the European Union, the French Agency for Development (AFD), the German Development Bank (KFW), the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)
WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission.
FOS (Foundations of Success)
FOS aims to improve the practice of conservation through adaptive management by working with practitioners to test assumptions, adapt, and learn. To achieve our mission, we work with conservation organizations, donors, and government agencies to help them develop adaptive management systems, facilitate cross-project and cross-site learning, and conduct monitoring and evaluation.
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