While ecotourism provides clear, direct economic benefits to countries, those benefits are often underestimated, since the numerous inputs required to support the ecotourism industry are difficult to quantify. For example, items such as food, supplies, transportation, public works, infrastructure, and manpower are required to support ecotourism. Additionally, local citizens employed… read more
Poaching
Where did this link between security and wildlife trafficking come from?
The scale and scope of poaching has escalated in recent years. Increasingly, observers are linking poaching to national security interests. Is this link real? Is there a good case to be made for the inclusion of wildlife trafficking in security issues? This blog post explores the evolution of the USG’s… read more
Will taking the guns and ammo away stop poaching?
One of the trickiest challenges in fighting poaching is the tension between arming rangers to combat poaching which could lead to increased escalation and tackling the problem through disarmament. World Wildlife Fund staff cited one of the biggest challenges in combatting poaching is the prevalence of weaponry in range states.… read more
Infrastructure and Guns May Curb Wildlife Trafficking
As I discussed in my previous blog post, the US attempts to curb wildlife tracking through foreign assistance. Specifically, FWS provides $10 million annually to enhance and support wildlife conservation throughout Africa and Asia. The funds support essential wildlife protection activities in 25 African countries, including improving capacity to carry… read more
US Foreign Assistance and Ecotourism
The United States supports wildlife conservation and the development of ecotourism in foreign countries primarily through monetary aid. Unfortunately, data that dis-aggregates ecotourism revenue from tourism revenue is not routinely collected. Thus, analysts encounter difficulty when attempting to quantify US monetary support of the ecotourism industry. Nonetheless, ecotourism is a… read more
‘Death to Poachers!’ and Why Animal-Lovers Rage
In my previous post, Shoot-to-Kill Policy: Injustice in the Name of Conservation, I argued that militaristic shoot-to-kill (S2K) policies are likely ineffective in curbing poaching in the long term. Worse yet, through the guise of wildlife conservation, regimes use S2K’s military ethos to justify arbitrary and excessive violence on human… read more
Shoot-to-Kill Policy: Injustice in the Name of Conservation
“Is it ever OK to defend a policy that can mean the loss of human life in order to protect wildlife?” Save the Rhino International poses this question in an informational piece on shoot-to-kill (S2K) policies, defined as a ranger’s right to fire back at poachers even if doing so… read more
