Does flagship species tourism benefit conservation? A case study of the golden snub-nosed monkey in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve  

作　　者：XIANG ZuoFu YU Yang YANG Mei YANG JingYuan NIAO MingYao LIMing 

机构地区：[1]College of Life Science and Technology, Central South University of Forestry & Technology, Changsha 410004, China [2]Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China [3]Administration Bureau of Shennongjia National Nature Reserve, Shennongjia Forest District, Shennongjia 442411, China [4]College of Tourism, Central South University of Forestry & Technology, Changsha 410004, China

出　　处：《Chinese Science Bulletin》2011年第24期2553-2558,共6页

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30870375 and 31071937);the Project of Public Benefit for the Forestry (201104073);the National Basic Research Program of China (2007CB411600)

摘　　要：Tourism has been widely used as a conservation strategy that directly compensates local people or management authorities, thereby contributing to development and creating incentives to preserve the landscape. Reserves or parks that are inhabited by flagship species may be able to generate more revenue through tourism than those without such species because flagship species have great potential for raising funds and creating publicity for conservation goals. In this paper, we examine flagship species tourism focused on observing the golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve (SNNR). After the program was launched in 2006, both the number of tourists and amount of revenue received by SNNR increased as the general trends of tourism revenue in the country also increased. As a result, SNNR significantly increased rein- vestment in tourism and conservation infrastructure. Furthermore, after senior politicians visited the golden snub-nosed monkey, they abruptly changed their attitudes toward biological conservation, as indicated by an increase in both regular and additional funding for the species conservation. We conclude that flagship species tourism may not only generate revenue for conservation and management but also can improve officials' attitudes toward preserving biodiversity. However, it is important to ensure the continued safety and sustainability of such programs, from both the human and animal perspective, and we suggest stricter measures are introduced to reduce the risk of aerosol disease transmission from tourists to the monkeys.Tourism has been widely used as a conservation strategy that directly compensates local people or management authorities, thereby contributing to development and creating incentives to preserve the landscape. Reserves or parks that are inhabited by flagship species may be able to generate more revenue through tourism than those without such species because flagship species have great potential for raising funds and creating publicity for conservation goals. In this paper, we examine flagship species tourism focused on observing the golden snub-nosed monkey （Rhinopithecus roxellana） in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve （SNNR）. After the program was launched in 2006, both the number of tourists and amount of revenue received by SNNR in- creased as the general trends of tourism revenue in the country also increased. As a result, SNNR significantly increased rein- vestment in tourism and conservation infrastructure. Furthermore, after senior politicians visited the golden snub-nosed monkey, they abruptly changed their attitudes toward biological conservation, as indicated by an increase in both regular and additional funding for the species conservation. We conclude that flagship species tourism may not only generate revenue for conservation and management but also can improve officials＇ attitudes toward preserving biodiversity. However, it is important to ensure the continued safety and sustainability of such programs, from both the human and animal perspective, and we suggest stricter measures are introduced to reduce the risk of aerosol disease transmission from tourists to the monkeys.

关 键 词：国家级自然保护区 物种保护 旅游业 金丝猴 神农架 旗舰 保护生物多样性 案例 

分 类 号：S863[农业科学—野生动物驯养]