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A presentation made during a World Parks Congress event "Welcome Visitors: Making Tourism Work for Protected Areas and Sustainable Development: Part 1 – Critical Success Factors" that took place on 17 November 2014 in Sydney, Australia. Supported by the IUCN WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group and UNDP
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What you see is what you payProfiting from eco-tourism in Cambodia
Ross Sinclair
Wildlife Conservation Society
Cambodia Program
• Good story…
• About a solution…
• With a happy ending…
• And more to come!
• Making Tourism Work for PA’s
& Sustainable Development!
CambodiaNorthern Plains landscape
(>1 million hectares)
Cambodia
SE Asia
• Large expanse dry deciduous forest in northern plains
• Globally significant populations 25 threatened species
• Two Protected Areas – authorities limited resources
What we had in Cambodia
• Poor rural communities (unclear tenure/user rights)
• Clearance by communities widespread & unplanned
• Hunting threatened species consumption & sale
What we had in Cambodia
• Protected Areas at threat from agricultural concessions
What we had in Cambodia
2008 2012
• Populations of endangered species in decline
What we had in Cambodia
• People who cared/mandated protect – WCS, Government
• Massive tourist market – Angkor Wot, 4.5 million visitors
What we had in Cambodia
• Opportunity for Making Tourism Work for PA’s & Sustainable Development
What we had in Cambodia
• Park, people & NGO - clearly articulated & agreed process to address issues
• Land tenure &/or user rights secured for communities
– Participatory land-use plan that are official government documents
• Focus on additional Income for communities
– Conservation enterprises: eco-tourism and Wildlife FriendlyTM Ibis Rice
• Robust social institutions to manage activities & decision-making
What we did in Cambodia
• Dedicated organization for eco-tourism
• Focused a segment of market – bird watchers
– Now expanded to ‘nature lovers’
• Partnerships with business – tour companies
• Focus on service
– English speaking guides, great lodges, etc.
The business model
• Focus adding value in community
– run guesthouses, guides, service staff, etc.
• Add-ons to capture more tourist $$– donate to nest protection, etc.
• Payments - $30/tourist ONLY if see birds
• Community funds are discretionary
– strengthens committee
The business model
• Populations endangered species increasing
• Nest protection scheme - > 90% success rates
What we found in Cambodia
• Rates of deforestation declined
• Hunting of threatened species greatly reduced
Giant Ibis
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Def
ore
stat
ion
Rat
e (
ha/
year
)
Payment villages Inside PAs Outside PAs
Deforestation rates remain low in villages with Payments
2005: Protected Area started
• PA’s reduce deforestation rates
• Payments reduce deforestation rates further
What we found in Cambodia
• $30/tourist = $2,000-$4,000 (max $15,000) per village
• Employment: average $160 / year
• ~30% households benefit - employment or selling services/products
• All households benefit from social institutions & agreements
What we found in Cambodia
What we found in Cambodia
• Household & community income increased sufficiently to change behavior & generate conservation outcomes
• Households in scheme wealthier at faster rates than outside
BiodiversityPayments
AgriPayments Ecotourism
Paymentprogram
Series1 -0.19956029 0.75201459 0.71430678
ns * *-2
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
Chan
geinHouseholdW
ealthStatus
• Household & community inside
wealthier faster than those outside
What we found in Cambodia
Households are wealthier
Households are poorer
• Business is profitable (Cambodian)
• USD$135,000 profit last year
• USD$150,000 investment back into conservation this year
What we found in Cambodia
• Communities now patrol their Community Protected Areas
– in coordination with park authorities
• Park is now seen as a model for Cambodia
• Value of the park has been demonstrated to higher levels of government
• Political and bureaucratic support for the park is now high
What we found in Cambodia
What happened in Cambodia
Cancelled land concessions
Concessions
ProjectNo project
Conservation
• Existing tourist infrastructure & tourists
• A product (wildlife!) people will pay to see
• Direct links conservation (wildlife) to incentive ($)
• Social institutions capable of change behavior
• Generate enough $ to change behavior
What we learned in Cambodia‘Critical success factors’
• Continue to grow the sector, business & impact
• Tourism projections of 20 million into Cambodia by 2020
• Fastest growing sector in tourism
• Opportunities for impact investing
• Scalable in terms visits and sites
• New guesthouses & infrastructure
• Adding value – merchandising, etc.
Next steps in Cambodia
Bird-Watchers
Wildlife
Village
Attracts
Only pay if see wildlife
No Hunting Land-use Plan
No illegal cutting
The ‘Critical success factor’:What you see is what you pay
Acknowledgement• Johnny Orn & team - Sam Veasna Centre
• Tom Clements, Ashish John & team – WCS
• Ea Skoha & team – Min. of Environment
• Tan Setha & team – Forestry Admin.