Community based ecotourism and conservation, provision of sustainable livelihoods

Abstract

New ways of thinking about the goals and objectives of National Parks have emerged over the last two decades. Concepts like international environmental issues; human rights; conservation and development, have contributed to a significant evolution of thinking about Protected Areas and people living in the adjacent areas. For example, National Parks and Protected Areas have long been seen as important methods of conserving biological diversity; currently they are also being seen as options to attempt to link biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development.

Tourism is one approach that is being promoted to bring socio-economic development to local people and enhance conservation, especially in developing countries. Community-based Eco-tourism (CBET) seeks to link conservation, rural development and participation in this tourism development. It attempts to ensure that tourism development is managed and run by the community members. Moreover, CBET aims to protect the local environment and support local livelihoods by providing alternative income.

In Cambodia, the government is supporting tourism as a strategy to reduce poverty. A research and evaluation of a CBET project aims to critically examine how this is happening on the ground in Chambok commune, adjacent to the Kirirom National Park. The research will use the Sustainable Livelihood Approach to provide a theoretical framework, and will use an ethnographic approach and observations, semi-structured interviews and participatory workshops, to understand the local community, their culture and traditions, their relationship with the environment and how ecotourism impacts on these and how they turn impact on ecotourism.