The prioritization of natural-historical based ecotourism strategies with multiple-criteria decision analysis in ancient UNESCO city: Iznik-Bursa case

Ecotourism contains the integration from ecological integrity and economic benefits to environmental and historically sensitive areas. One of the major keys of ecotourism-planning strategies is to ensure the sustainability of unique natural and cultural resources by a balance strategy between protection and use. It causes both the increase of the ecotourism awareness of local people and visitors and the decrease of the environmental problems and visitor pressures on the landscape resources of potential ecotourism areas. For this reason, the study presents the example of Iznik which is an ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman city of Nicaea with its lake, historical walls and gates, churches and early-period mosques, ceramic tiles, and agricultural activities on the southeast of Marmara Region, Turkey. It has been declared to have a different protected area status. However, the number of unsuitable management and uncontrolled economic activities has caused damage to sensitive landscape values. The aim of this research is to define ecotourism criteria for Iznik and it offers ecotourism strategies for the sustainability of sensitive landscape areas. Fieldwork, field observation, interviews and survey study with integrated multiple-criteria decision analysis and strengths-weakness-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis conducted with locals, tourists and experts were performed for this purpose. According to the results, among the 4 main and 15 sub-criteria of ecotourism to be in UNESCO Tentative List, the opportunity for ecotourism-planning strategy was found as the highest priority ranking. This research proposes a framework by using a priority-ranking method for the development of ecotourism strategies in the town.     

Higher education in urban environmental management: a new programme at the Asian Institute of Technology,Bangkok

Environmental management and planning is now considered as a new field of professional expertise. There are even professional associations for interested professionals. To date, urban environmental management has been regarded as a subdiscipline of environmental management, but since the Rio Conference in 1992, with the new focus of urban management on environmental problems, it can itself be considered as a professional field. This paper traces the emergence of the field and tries to identify the new skills required for it. The question of formal training, in higher education, for a new type of professional is raised and discussed. It refers at length to an initiative taken by the Asian Institute of Technology (Bangkok) to propose and offer a new graduate programme in this discipline, and draws on the author's experience of an Asian workshop (Bangkok, May 1993) aimed at defining the need for such a new profession in Asia.     

生态旅游与生态旅游业开发

从生态旅游的定义入手,探讨了开展生态旅游的意义、生态旅游的类型。阐述了生态旅游的项目建设、能源系统建设、交通设施建设、农业系统建设。提出了生态旅游区环境保护的对策     

Development of environmental policy,objectives, and targets

This paper describes a process to develop and establish an environmental policy and its associated environmental targets, objectives, and management programmes. The environmental policy is defined in a statement which addresses the company expectations for programmes that are important to assure adequate environmental protection and define its future commitment towards preventing pollution and continuously improving the effectiveness of its environmental protection programmes. A set of environmental objectives, derived from the policy, define the overall goals which will ensure that the company's environmental performance will remain consistent with the commitment identified in its policy when its environmental management system (EMS) is implemented, Environmental targets reflect the requirements and standards that the company must strive to achieve each objective and minimize any harmful environmental impacts from its production and manufacturing processes or other activities. In addition to defining specific targets, environmental management programmes are also used to guide EMS implementation. These programmes, however, must provide the company with the necessary flexibility to select the most appropriate technologies to enhance its own processes and prudently allocate its available financial resources in areas that return the greatest overall environmental benefit.Though they are expected to allow some discretion in the allocation of resources targeted towards environmental protection, EMS programmes must also provide assurance that the corporation environmental policy, objectives, targets, and management programmes do not result in a facility failure to adhere to all of its certification requirements. The principle and factors described in this article should be considered to the extent that they are necessary and practical.     

Pricing Policy for Tourism in Protected Areas: Lessons from Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Abstract: Protected areas are under increasing pressure to provide economic justification for their existence, particularly in developing countries where demand for land and natural resources is high. Nature-based tourism offers a mechanism to generate substantial benefits from protected areas for both governments and local communities, and ecotourism is increasingly promoted as a sustainable use of protected areas. The extent to which ecotourism offsets the costs of a protected area has rarely been examined. We used financial data from Komodo National Park, Indonesia, and a willingness-to-pay questionnaire of independent visitors to (1) examine the financial contribution of tourism in offsetting the costs of tourism and wider management and (2) assess the effect of hypothetical fee increases on park revenues, visitation patterns, and local economies. Although only 6.9% of park management costs were recovered, visitors were willing to pay over 10 times the current entrance fee, indicating a substantial potential for increased revenue. The potential negative effect of large fee increases on visitor numbers and the resultant effect on local economic benefits from tourism may limit the extent to which greater financial benefits from Komodo National Park (KNP) can be realized. Our results suggest that a moderate, tiered increase in entrance fees is most appropriate, and that partial revenue retention by KNP would help demonstrate the conservation value of tourism to both visitors and managers and has the potential to increase visitors' willingness to pay.     

A study of the Kazdagi (Mt. Ida) National Park: an ecological approach to the management of tourism

In the field of tourism, where environmental resources are the primary attraction, ecotourism is one of the sustainable approaches now considered as an alternative when considering today's increasing environmental problems. Indeed, according to the World Tourism Organisation, ecotourism is the fastest growing market within the tourist industry. The purpose of this study is to determine tourism activities sensitive to the environment, to help tourism in Turkey and neighbouring countries, and to help spread ecotourism by protecting biological species. The Kazdagi (Mt. Ida) area in Turkey is used as an example and case study.     

The implementation of environmental education to promote sustainability: an overview of the processes and challenges

ABSTRACT

This paper interprets aspects of the implementation of environmental education in a Higher Education Institution, situated in a developing country, to promote Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The paper will allow educators to categorise the multiplicity of ESD programmes and projects in higher education institutions, determine their limitations and acceptability, and benefit from the theoretical framework of affective learning in designing new ESD interventions. The paper will also provide an overview of the processes required to establish ESD in developing and developed countries. This paper will further help universities to develop a better understanding of how integration of the three components of sustainable development – economic development, social development and environmental protection – can be incorporated in higher education. The paper explores the challenges for planning the implementation of ESD in an education faculty, outlining the potential lessons learned that could assist in improving ESD efforts in Faculties of Education.     

Reprint of: Linking conservation and welfare: A theoretical model with application to Nepal

Theoretical articles linking conservation and welfare find a negative relationship between these two variables while empirical studies show that land protection may be positively related to welfare. Several authors attribute this empirical result to the development of ecotourism in protected areas. We thus argue that the gap between the theory and existing empirical results is partly explained by the fact that most theoretical models do not account for a productive activity on protected land. Therefore, we develop a theoretical model in which conservation allows developing an alternative sector and show that the relationship between conservation and welfare is U-shaped. We test this theoretical prediction using Nepalese data and find that conservation combined with ecotourism is indeed positively related to local welfare.     

Linking conservation and welfare: A theoretical model with application to Nepal

Theoretical articles linking conservation and welfare find a negative relationship between these two variables while empirical studies show that land protection may be positively related to welfare. Several authors attribute this empirical result to the development of ecotourism in protected areas. We thus argue that the gap between the theory and existing empirical results is partly explained by the fact that most theoretical models do not account for a productive activity on protected land. Therefore, we develop a theoretical model in which conservation allows developing an alternative sector and show that the relationship between conservation and welfare is U-shaped. We test this theoretical prediction using Nepalese data and find that conservation combined with ecotourism is indeed positively related to local welfare.     

Conceptual framework for evaluation of ecotourism carrying capacity for sustainable development of Karkheh protected area,Iran

The maintenance of natural and virgin ecosystems against an unnecessary influx of humans requires a modern and efficient model such as the carrying capacity model to optimize the management and development of ecotourism in these areas. The model is one of the key tools for conservation and sustainability of these areas. The present research attempts to formulate a framework for the ecotourism carrying capacity model for sustainable development of Karkheh protected area in Iran. The information was collected using a citation method as well as, interviews with experts, and visitors, and director of the region with 24 key indicators being regulated by field surveys and library studies. In this study, the network analysis process model, the Pressure-State-Response conceptual model, and Arc GIS_10.5 software were used to determine the potential for the establishment of ecotourism performance in the scale of 1: 50,000. In this research, 70 questionnaires were completed by experts in the field of environment and ecotourism to determine the relative importance of effective pressures. According to the results, the highest values belonged to physical carrying capacity (13,425,681 persons per day), ecological carrying capacity (2,482,226 persons per day), and social and culture (985,706 people per day), respectively. Based on the regional carrying capacity, the physical, ecological, and social carrying capacity index was calculated as 3356, 621, and 246 (greater than one), respectively. According to the results, the region has a high carrying capacity, which can accept visitors.     

Effects of ecotourism on forest loss in the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot based on counterfactual analyses

Ecotourism is developing rapidly in biodiversity hotspots worldwide, but there is limited and mixed empirical evidence that ecotourism achieves positive biodiversity outcomes. We assessed whether ecotourism influenced forest loss rates and trajectories from 2000 to 2017 in Himalayan temperate forests. We compared forest loss in 15 ecotourism hubs with nonecotourism areas in 4 Himalayan countries. We used matching statistics to control for local-level determinants of forest loss, for example, population density, market access, and topography. None of the ecotourism hubs was free of forest loss, and we found limited evidence that forest-loss trajectories in ecotourism hubs were different from those in nonecotourism areas. In Nepal and Bhutan, differences in forest loss rates between ecotourism hubs and matched nonecotourism areas did not differ significantly, and the magnitude of the estimated effect was small. In India, where overall forest loss rates were the lowest of any country in our analysis, forest loss rates were higher in ecotourism hubs than in matched nonecotourism areas. In contrast, in China, where overall forest loss rates were highest, forest loss rates were lower in ecotourism hubs than where there was no ecotourism. Our results suggest that the success of ecotourism as a forest conservation strategy, as it is currently practiced in the Himalaya, is context dependent. In a region with high deforestation pressures, ecotourism may be a relatively environmentally friendly form of economic development relative to other development strategies. However, ecotourism may stimulate forest loss in regions where deforestation rates are low.     

Tourism,an ecological approach in protected areas: Karagöl-Sahara National Park,Turkey

Protected areas are important potential areas from the point of view of ecological tourism because of their natural, historical and cultural richness. In this study, the environmental sustainability of protected areas has been investigated within a sample of the Karagöl-Sahara National Park in Turkey. This national park has, so far, had little exposure to recreational and tourism activities. However, an increase in the number of tourists visiting the park has been observed as a result of the demands of ecological tourism. This area was investigated with respect to ecological planning to prevent intensive usage from causing future damage, as a result of human thoughtlessness, and to protect the park. Additionally, the aim was to determine the usage potential using ecological planning and to propose variations of ecotourism thought to be helpful for the public. The Karagöl-Sahara National Park has valuable natural and cultural resources, and is an area whose recreation-tourism potential has been strongly protected. The national park also has major economic potential for ecotourism.     

Building a global taxonomy of wildlife offenses

Most countries have many pieces of legislation that govern biodiversity, including a range of criminal, administrative, and civil law provisions that state how wildlife must be legally used, managed, and protected. However, related debates in conservation, such as about enforcement, often overlook the details within national legislation that define which specific acts are illegal, the conditions under which laws apply, and how they are sanctioned. Based on a review of 90 wildlife laws in 8 high-biodiversity countries with different legal systems, we developed a taxonomy that describes all types of wildlife offenses in those countries. The 511 offenses are organized into a hierarchical taxonomy that scholars and practitioners can use to help conduct legal analyses. This is significant amidst competing calls to strengthen, deregulate, and reform wildlife legislation, particularly in response to fears over zoonotic threats and large-scale biodiversity loss. It can be used to provide more nuance legal analyses and facilitate like-for-like comparisons across countries, informing processes to redraft conservation laws, review deregulation efforts, close loopholes, and harmonize legislation across jurisdictions. We applied the taxonomy in a comparison of sanctions in 8 countries for hunting a protected species. We found not only huge ranges in fines (US$0 to $200,000) and imprisonment terms (1.5 years to life imprisonment), but also fundamentally different approaches to designing sanctions for wildlife offenses. The taxonomy also illustrates how future legal taxonomies can be developed for other environmental issues (e.g., invasive species, protected areas).     

Urban Wetlands：An Opportunity for Environmental Conservation in China

China's remarkable economic growth and transformation in recent years has been a model for the world, but like all other expanding economies there have been accompanying environmental problems. For more than 5,000 years, however, China has proven that it can cope with problems and remain a vibrant society. China is now turning its attention to the environment through efforts to conserve endangered species, create protected areas, use renewable energy, reforest the margins of deserts, control air pollution, rehabilitate ecosystems, develop ecological agriculture, promote ecotourism, and safeguard its supplies of fresh water. Some of these efforts have had more success than others. The restoration and protection of urban wetlands offers a unique opportunity to meet many of these environmental challenges simultaneously, including the enhancement of the awareness and appreciation of nature and natural processes among urban populations, especially children, upon whom the future of China's environmental movement depends. The United States is facing similar challenges in its urban areas, and some of its recent approaches to dealing with nature in cities may provide useful guidelines.     

The Links between Protected Areas, Faiths, and Sacred Natural Sites

Most people follow and are influenced by some kind of spiritual faith. We examined two ways in which religious faiths can in turn influence biodiversity conservation in protected areas. First, biodiversity conservation is influenced through the direct and often effective protection afforded to wild species in sacred natural sites and in seminatural habitats around religious buildings. Sacred natural sites are almost certainly the world's oldest form of habitat protection. Although some sacred natural sites exist inside official protected areas, many thousands more form a largely unrecognized "shadow" conservation network in many countries throughout the world, which can be more stringently protected than state-run reserves. Second, faiths have a profound impact on attitudes to protection of the natural world through their philosophy, teachings, investment choices, approaches to land they control, and religious-based management systems. We considered the interactions between faiths and protected areas with respect to all 11 mainstream faiths and to a number of local belief systems. The close links between faiths and habitat protection offer major conservation opportunities, but also pose challenges. Bringing a sacred natural site into a national protected-area system can increase protection for the site, but may compromise some of its spiritual values or even its conservation values. Most protected-area managers are not trained to manage natural sites for religious purposes, but many sacred natural sites are under threat from cultural changes and habitat degradation. Decisions about whether or not to make a sacred natural site an "official" protected area therefore need to be made on a case-by-case basis. Such sites can play an important role in conservation inside and outside official protected areas. More information about the conservation value of sacred lands is needed as is more informed experience in integrating these into wider conservation strategies. In addition, many protected-area staff need training in how to manage sensitive issues relating to faiths where important faith sites occur in protected areas.     

Effects of national forest‐management regimes on unprotected forests of the Himalaya

Globally, deforestation continues, and although protected areas effectively protect forests, the majority of forests are not in protected areas. Thus, how effective are different management regimes to avoid deforestation in non‐protected forests? We sought to assess the effectiveness of different national forest‐management regimes to safeguard forests outside protected areas. We compared 2000–2014 deforestation rates across the temperate forests of 5 countries in the Himalaya (Bhutan, Nepal, China, India, and Myanmar) of which 13% are protected. We reviewed the literature to characterize forest management regimes in each country and conducted a quasi‐experimental analysis to measure differences in deforestation of unprotected forests among countries and states in India. Countries varied in both overarching forest‐management goals and specific tenure arrangements and policies for unprotected forests, from policies emphasizing economic development to those focused on forest conservation. Deforestation rates differed up to 1.4% between countries, even after accounting for local determinants of deforestation, such as human population density, market access, and topography. The highest deforestation rates were associated with forest policies aimed at maximizing profits and unstable tenure regimes. Deforestation in national forest‐management regimes that emphasized conservation and community management were relatively low. In India results were consistent with the national‐level results. We interpreted our results in the context of the broader literature on decentralized, community‐based natural resource management, and our findings emphasize that the type and quality of community‐based forestry programs and the degree to which they are oriented toward sustainable use rather than economic development are important for forest protection. Our cross‐national results are consistent with results from site‐ and regional‐scale studies that show forest‐management regimes that ensure stable land tenure and integrate local‐livelihood benefits with forest conservation result in the best forest outcomes.     

Strategies for the sustainable development of Lugu Lake region

Lugu Lake region, containing a plateau lake, and the unique matrichal society of the Mosuo, has become one of the most important areas for ecosystem conservation and cultural heritage protection in China. It is essential to pursue sustainable development in Lugu Lake region. However, rapid increases in the tourism industry have had negative influences on society, the economy and the environment of Lugu Lake region. Extensive concerns have been raised by numerous ecologists, economists and social scientists over recent years. Using systems analysis of major societal, economic and environmental problems, this paper advocates goals for realising sustainable development. A double-layer management model has been developed of regional ecosystem services, composed of natural ecosystem management and macro-control of society and the economy, and has been used to analyse the importance and feasibility of ecotourism development in Lugu Lake region. Constructive management measures and development strategies are then proposed to achieve sustainable development in Lugu Lake region.     

Benefits of Studies of Overwintering Birds for Understanding Resident Bird Ecology and Promoting Development of Conservation Capacity

Abstract:  Funding of ecological research and monitoring of Neotropical migratory birds on their overwintering grounds has benefited both migratory and permanent-resident species. Using examples from our work in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, we demonstrate that ecological research of overwintering migrants often provides information about the ecology and demography of little-known tropical resident birds. Critically important long-term monitoring in Puerto Rico with a focus on winter residents has provided information on the relationships between annual rainfall and fluctuations in resident bird populations and survival rates. It also has alerted local biologists to declines in resident bird populations, including a decline apparently driven by the entry of a brood parasite. But migrant-focused research may also have had an underappreciated effect on the development of conservation capacity and conservation efforts in host countries. Investments in research on Neotropical migrants overwintering on Hispaniola have resulted in a huge increase in field training of students and wildlife professionals, promoted conservation awareness at local and national levels, played an important role in the growth and professionalization of key environmental organizations, spawned a growing ecotourism industry for bird-watching, and driven national park management planning and conservation efforts for all bird species. We encourage funding organizations and agencies to consider the broader impacts of funding migratory-bird research and monitoring efforts, and we encourage researchers in the tropics to use protocols that provide the most information about all the birds that use the study areas involved and to be aware of important opportunities that they may have to build capacity in host countries.     

Progress and challenges in consolidating the management of Amazonian protected areas and indigenous territories

Effective management refers to the ability of a protected area or indigenous territory to meet its objectives, particularly as they relate to the protection of biodiversity and forest cover. Effective management is achieved through a process of consolidation, which among other things requires legally protecting sites, integrating sites into land‐use planning, developing and implementing management and resource‐use plans, and securing long‐term funding to pay for recurrent costs. Effectively managing all protected areas and indigenous territories in the Amazon may be needed to avoid a deforestation tipping point beyond which regional climatic feedbacks and global climate change interact to catalyze irreversible drying and savannization of large areas. At present, protected areas and indigenous territories cover 45.5% (3.55 million km²) of the Amazon, most of the 60–70% forest cover required to maintain hydrologic and climatic function. Three independent evaluations of a long‐term large‐scale philanthropic initiative in the Amazon yielded insights into the challenges and advances toward achieving effective management of protected areas and indigenous territories. Over the life of the initiative, management of sites has improved considerably, particularly with respect to management planning and capacity building, but few sites are effectively managed and many lack sufficient long‐term financing, adequate governance, support of nongovernmental organizations, and the means to withstand economic pressures. The time and money required to complete consolidation is still poorly understood, but it is clear that philanthropic funding is critical so long as essential funding needs are not met by governments and other sources, which could be on the order of decades. Despite challenges, it is encouraging that legal protection has expanded greatly and management of sites is improving steadily. Management of protected areas in other developing countries could be informed by improvements that have occurred in Amazonian countries.     

美、日、英、法等国的环境管理体制概况及其对我国的启示

本文简要介绍了美日英法四环境管理体制的状况，分析了四国在环境管理体制建设方面的有益经验及其对我国的启示。