Recently it was announced that one of the leading hotel groups of Thailand, Dusit International which holds properties even in the Maldives as well, had entered into a partnership with World Animal Protection to promote responsible wildlife tourism.
The partnership will enhance the creation of guidelines and policies to promote responsible wildlife protection in tourism by monitoring as well as limiting the impact of the hotel group's operations on natural habitats. The natural wildlife of any given area or region comprises of the animals whether they are land, air or sea-borne and when it comes to Maldives, the archipelagic nation has more of its diverse wildlife below the sea level than above it. For years, preserving and protecting endangered species both above and below the sea have been one of the prominent state-mandated policies.
As such, these policies had acted as catalysts towards the protection of animals such as whale sharks, turtles among other several wildlife creatures found abundantly in the Maldives that are rarely found elsewhere.
A study conducted towards the community perceptions of wildlife conservation and tourism in Zimbabwe, which appeared on the Mongabay.com Open Access Journal – Tropical Conservation Science had discovered that the preservation of wildlife in the context of tourism; and the community perceptions towards the importance of wildlife preservation in tourism were found to be less than favorable because the associated communities did not see any direct or indirect financial benefits from tourism, even though the perceptions towards conservation of wildlife in its own regard were perceived favorably.
The research had also concluded stating that providing various forms of incentives to the communities would encourage conservation and sustainable usage of the natural sources which would enhance tourism as well. Another variable that was highlighted was creating awareness within the communities towards the importance of preservation of nature and wildlife and its subsequent benefits to tourism.
There is no doubt that in the past decades nature-based tourism has become increasingly popular with many of the African countries adopting the concept into their tourism industries. Moreover, it had been reported that wildlife tourism currently supports over 22 million jobs around the world while more than USD120 billion is contributed from nature-based tourism to global GDP.
It is due to these very reasons why wildlife preservation has become more than crucial for other competitive tourist destinations as well.
For instance, Cambodia is motivating communities to conserve "critically endangered bird species" which include the giant Ibis and the white-shouldered Ibis. Meanwhile, birding operator Sam Veasna Conservation Tours incentivizes community-based conservation in the region through proper training programs and employing locals as tour guides and ecotourism providers. A model that can be properly instilled and utilized in the Maldives as well.
Unlike several other global tourism destinations, Maldives is widely hailed for its recognition, admission and acknowledgement of locals into its tourism industry. However, there is still a visible limitation of employing locals in the industry; precisely speaking, the individuals who are directly employed under tourist properties seemingly appear to be motivated for wildlife preservation because of incentive prospects. Meanwhile, other affiliate areas and fields associated directly or indirectly with the tourism industry still require better integration and incentivizing initiatives – be it through state-initiated programs or non-profit organizations stepping in.
However, properly executed tourism can either limit or prevent ecosystem degradation by creating more sustainable livelihoods for the local communities through jobs as well as alternative income sources instead of environmentally-destructive activities such as poaching, reef blasting and excessive big-game fishing without proper catch and release approaches.
Poor job security in Guyana was what led to local villagers illegally harvesting and trading wild animals which had in turn resulted in complete disappearance of rare wildlife creatures such as arapalmas, giant river turtles and giant otters from the region. Should Maldives aim to improve preservation of nature and wildlife, affiliated organizations, associations as well as the government must promote job security within the tourism industry as well as in the overall economy of the country; most notably in the fishing industry.
Moreover, raising awareness should not be only limited to the locals where the tourism industry is booming with close integration with the nature but also, among the visiting tourists as well. This is because tourists or travelers may unwittingly or while being unaware about the environmental repercussions, engage in activities that may harm the natural wildlife in the destinations they are holidaying.
In Chilean Patagonia, interactive panels have been installed along the world's most memorable trekking circuits in Torres del Paine National Park that act as educational murals and billboards for visiting hikers and trekkers.
Maldives can adopt such a system by installing similar panels and boards along the beachside of tourist properties including resorts, guesthouses and even in residential islands
Wildlife tourism has been heralded as an ideal approach towards securing sustainable economic benefits all the while supporting the wildlife conservation and local communities. So, there is no doubt that the preservation of wildlife and the tourism industry go hand-in-hand where one's decline will result in the degradation of the other. Thus, Maldives while already being a champion in natural and wildlife preservation, can adopt other successful models and concepts employed by competitive tourism destinations to expand the country's commitment towards wildlife conservation and community empowerment.
Sign In
