Boost the resilience of Protected Areas to shocks by reducing their dependency on tourism

Abstract

AbstractNature-based or ecotourism is widely considered a strong mechanism for the sustainable funding of protected areas (PAs). Implemented during the 1990s in Madagascar, nature-based tourism experienced positive growth over the last 30 years with increasing numbers of visits to the parks and reserve safeguarding the endemic biodiversity. Revenue earned from entrance fees to the network of PAs managed by Madagascar National Parks has never been sufficient to finance their management. Political crises and the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, have highlighted the risks for park managers of relying on such earnings when they covered just 1 % of the funding required in 2021. Alternative mechanisms of funding are analysed for all Madagascar’s PAs in order to facilitate sustainable conservation of the localities and protection of the island’s biodiversity.