SUSTAINABLE TOURISM, PROTECTED AREAS AND LIVELIHOOD NEEDS OF LOCAL-COMMUNITIES IN DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES

During the last two decades, extensive networks of protected areas in many developing countries have stimulated growth in protected area-bas ed tourism. As protected area tourism occurs in isolated and remote ru ral regions, it is often assumed that such regions will experience sti mulation of economic activities induced by tourism from which local pe ople will be able to derive tangible benefits. Evidence suggests that this is rarely the case. Indeed, in the majority of protected areas, b enefits have hardly reached the local community which bears the heavie st burden of protected area management. When a protected area is estab lished and opened for tourism, it is often outsiders who rush in to si phon-off a major portion of the tourism income generated locally. Neve rtheless, there are some pioneering approaches such as CAMPFIRE (Commu nal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources) and ACAP (Ann apurna Conservation Area Project) which have attempted to fulfil livel ihood needs of local communities using benefits derived from wildlife or nature-based tourism. Both projects emphasize a people-centred, par ticipatory democratic approach. Citing various examples from developin g countries, this paper discusses the dependent nature of tourism in g eneral, impact of protected area tourism on local livelihoods, and som e constraints and opportunities for the long-term viability of protect ed areas.