Drifting Rhinos and Fluid Properties: The Turn to Wildlife Production in Western Zimbabwe

This paper presents and analyzes a number of tensions that arose in the shift from extensive livestock production to wildlife ranching and tourism in a dispersed community of white farmers in western Zimbabwe. It sketches the broader context of that shift and considers some of its effects, including those on the small (black)farmers of neighbouring Communal Areas. The tensions highlighted and manifested between the ranchers of Mlilo include the necessary movement from a characteristic view of wildlife as 'vermin', destructive of the conditions for livestock (and crop) production, to an appreciation that they are an exploitable and valuable resource ('ecological capital'); and how inherited views and practices concerning the boundaries of private landed property are subverted by the demands of wildlife ranching.     

Towards a classification of marine wildlife crime: Marketing strategies to curtail illegal fishing,malicious acts,and waterway pollution

Much effort has been dedicated to fighting wildlife crime with modest results. This paper focuses on marine wildlife crime, which suffers from a certain level of neglect due to terrestrial bias (a predominant focus on land animals). Despite legislative and enforcement efforts, there has been little integration of marketing techniques to curtail marine wildlife crime. For these reasons, we set out to study current issues surrounding marine wildlife crime by conducting interviews with three experts in areas of marine education, research, and legislation. The interviews provide an overview of the threats to marine wildlife, aid in the development of a classification of marine wildlife crime, and provide strategies as to what marketing actions may be useful to reduce it.     

Effects of wildlife crop raiding on the livelihoods of arable farmers in Khumaga,Boteti sub-district,Botswana

Human–wildlife interaction in Boteti district, Botswana is critical. Wild animals destroy agricultural products and threaten human lives. This paper, therefore, assesses the economic effects of wildlife crop raiding on the livelihoods of arable farmers in Khumaga, Boteti sub-district, Botswana. A total of 119 arable farmers were interviewed using open and closed-ended structured questionnaires in this study. Key informant interviews were also conducted through purposive selection. Findings indicate that wild animals destroy agricultural production at Khumaga leading to food insecurity; sometimes farmers can lose the entire field in single elephant crop raiding. The elephant (Loxodonta africana) was reported by respondents to be a problem animal. In conclusion, decision-makers should ensure that farmers at Khumaga are protected and inducted with mitigation strategies that are effective against wildlife to improve arable farmer’s livelihoods and conservation efforts at Khumaga village and in Botswana.     

Who is going to save the Brazilian Amazon forest? Reflections on deforestation,wildlife eviction,and stewardship behavior

The Brazilian Amazon deforestation is the context for this article, approached as a crime against humanity and wildlife. Recently, Amazon forest fires have also worried most of the economically developed nations, generating criticism and demanding that the Brazilian Government be more active in preventing fires and deforestation. It is necessary to guarantee the wellbeing and health of millions of animal species that live in this habitat, avoiding their extinctions and encouraging the preservation of the forest and its inhabitants. Agribusiness, together with illegal timber trade, are blamed for most of the deforestation. In this paper, we present and discuss Brazilian Amazon deforestation data, addressing the role of agribusiness as dependent on good environmental governance. We argue how stewardship behavior needs to become a path to stop deforestation and wildlife eviction and we reflect on what marketers in Brazil and the world can do to better protect the Amazon rainforest. We conclude that the Government, companies, and society must be coresponsible for the protection of the Amazon rainforest through conservation transparency, dialogue, environmental awareness, and sustainability in production and consumption practices.     

An Alternative Management Framework to Limit the Impact of SCUBA Divers on Coral Assemblages

This study investigates the relationship between the level of exposure to interpretive media and the cognition, affect and behaviour of zoo visitors, i.e. what they report knowing, feeling and doing following their interpretive experience at the zoo. Visitors were surveyed at the exit to a particular zoo experience, a recently opened lion exhibit that uses an array of static and face-to-face interpretive media to convey messages about the difficulties faced by lions, particularly when they come into contact with humans. A validated self-report instrument consisting of 29 items was used to capture ten cognitive, affective and behavioural indicators or outcomes of the interpretation. The 288 respondents experienced between one and four different interpretive media, and the results on every one of the ten indicators reveal that visitors' reported cognitive, affective and behavioural outcomes were greater, many with statistical significance, as the number of interpretive media increased. The findings confirm and extend previous research which found that the cognitive impact of interpretation was not only greater with multiple layers of interpretation but also suggested the need for further research with other types of interpretive media on other visitors and in a wider range of sustainable tourism contexts.     

Wildlife tourism as a common pool resource issue: enabling conditions for sustainability governance

Wildlife tourism is potentially a common pool resource (CPR) issue when the following are applicable: it is difficult to exclude tourists; their experiences are affected by others’ activities; and adverse impacts on the wildlife occur. CPRs are typified by non-excludability and subtractability. Relatively few efforts have been made to consider tourism in this way or to use the concept of CPR in tourism management schemes. This paper (1) explores the possibility of wildlife tourism being a CPR issue, (2) derives a list of enabling conditions required for the sustainability of such resources and (3) determines the applicability of the conditions through a case study. Having described the potential for wildlife tourism to be a CPR issue, the enabling conditions explored in the rest of the paper follow: the characteristics of the tourism resource system and its user groups, the associated institutional arrangements and the external environment. The application of CPR thinking to the case study, whale shark tourism in Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia, revealed the contribution of institutional arrangements, particularly those associated with the State Government, to sustainable management. The use of the enabling conditions as a tool for managing wildlife tourism is discussed.     

British Wildlife Tourism Operators: Current Issues and Typologies

The UK wildlife outbound tourism sector is a relatively uncharted area of academic study both in terms of demand and supply. The purpose of this paper is first, to move towards a typology of British wildlife tour operators and their favoured destinations, and secondly, to introduce the relationship between satisfying the consumer and sustainable product/destination management. A systematic review of wildlife tourism brochures and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders indicate a gradual shift from a specialised market offering high involvement in a particular species (usually birds) to a more general market looking for an interesting, but pleasant and relaxing holiday based around a general interest in nature and the environment. Both markets coexist in a complex product and tourist spectrum with neither market being entirely inclusive. Instead there is a degree of movement between one and the other which has led to operators offering a wider range of products to suit the hard-core expert and the novice enthusiast. However, product development and satisfying the consumer implies some difficult management dilemmas such as the use of tape recordings, food provisioning and the constant search for new destinations to offer experienced tourists something different.     

Wild horse-based tourism as wildlife tourism: the wild horse as the other

Wild horses as the focus of tourism occupy a unique position. This is a consequence of their ambiguous status in the natural and cultural landscape, particularly in North America. Wild horses are ecological agents, cultural icons, economic factors and political pawns. The complexity of their management environment has an impact on the tourism and recreational context. Focusing on the western US and western Canada, this article explores a conceptual framework for wild horse-based tourism and highlights unique characteristics of the encounter between wild horses and visitors, drawing on literature and empirical data. It positions wild horse-based tourism within a framework of wildlife tourism and introduces the wild horse as a charismatic animal which elicits strong reactions from visitors who encounter it. While visitors tend to embrace the wild horse as an integral part of its habitat, as a symbol of the western frontier, and an embodiment of freedom, the animal remains an extremely polarising subject in the management debate of public lands in the USA and Canada. The wild horse's beleaguered status in both countries seriously interferes with the realisation of the true potential of wild horse-based tourism. On the other hand, wild horse supporters pin high hopes on this industry's transformative power.     

Tourist satisfaction in relation to attractions and implications for conservation in the protected areas of the Northern Circuit,Tanzania

This study assessed tourist satisfaction and its links with tourist attractions and infrastructure at the following six protected areas on the Northern Tourist Circuit of Tanzania: Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti National Park, Arusha National Park, and Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 185 tourists visiting the protected areas. Satisfaction ratings for the Northern Circuit were high, with 86% of tourists willing to be repeat visitors. Tourists were attracted primarily to wildlife viewing. Although most tourists were not influenced to visit the region by indigenous culture or physical features, 81% of tourists noted that non-wildlife attractions enhanced their tourist experience. A range of ways to develop more sustainable forms of tourism emerged from the work, including lengthening stays, guide/driver capacity building, and partnership working with tour operators to improve marketing, increase satisfaction rates, and diversify the product.