A new study put out by the Center for Responsible Tourism (CREST) finds that in the Osa Peninsula "Tourism workers earn on average twice as much each month as workers not in tourism ($710 vs. $357). Households with tourism workers average 1.6 times more income than those where no one works in tourism ($784 vs. $503).
In addition, the study finds that "Tourists list visiting Corcovado National Park as their primary reason for coming to the Osa Peninsula; park visitation has doubled since 2002. All residents surveyed (both tourism and non-tourism workers) expressed an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards protected areas which make up 80% of the Osa Peninsula. This appears to represent a substantial shift in the attitudes of Osa residents who historically opposed the top down declaration of Corcovado and other parks and the exclusion of local people who had depended on these lands for their livelihoods."
This is further evidence of the change in attitudes I have observed over the last 30 years in Costa Rica. It first people saw conservation efforts as interfering with their ways of making a living. But now, because of the economic reality that livelihoods are better because of the power of the park to attract tourists, residents' attitudes change in favor of conservation.
If local communities benefit economically from conservation, it will be successful.
For more information about the study, see www.responsibletravel.org
In addition, the study finds that "Tourists list visiting Corcovado National Park as their primary reason for coming to the Osa Peninsula; park visitation has doubled since 2002. All residents surveyed (both tourism and non-tourism workers) expressed an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards protected areas which make up 80% of the Osa Peninsula. This appears to represent a substantial shift in the attitudes of Osa residents who historically opposed the top down declaration of Corcovado and other parks and the exclusion of local people who had depended on these lands for their livelihoods."
This is further evidence of the change in attitudes I have observed over the last 30 years in Costa Rica. It first people saw conservation efforts as interfering with their ways of making a living. But now, because of the economic reality that livelihoods are better because of the power of the park to attract tourists, residents' attitudes change in favor of conservation.
If local communities benefit economically from conservation, it will be successful.
For more information about the study, see www.responsibletravel.org
No comments:
Post a Comment