Abstract
Marine recreational tourism is one of a number of threats to the Belize Barrier Reef but, conversely, represents both a motivation and source of resources for its conservation. The growth of tourism in Belize has resulted in the fact that many coastal communities are in varying stages of a socio-economic shift from dependence on fishing to dependence on tourism. In a nation becoming increasingly dependent on the health of its coral reef ecosystems for economic prosperity, a shift from extractive uses to their preservation is both necessary and logical. Through examining local perception data in five coastal communities in Belize, each attracting different levels of coral reef related tourism, this analysis is intended to explore the relationship between tourism development and local coral reef conservation awareness and support. The results of the analysis show a positive correlation between tourism development and coral reef conservation awareness and support in the study communities. The results also show a positive correlation between tourism development and local perceptions of quality of life, a trend that is most likely the source of the observed relationship between tourism and conservation. The study concludes that, because the observed relationship may be dependent on continued benefits from tourism as opposed to a perceived crisis in coral reef health, Belize must pay close attention to tourism impacts in the future. Failure to do this could result in a destructive feedback loop that would contribute to the degradation of the reef and, ultimately, Belize’s diminished competitiveness in the ecotourism market.
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Notes
For the purpose of this paper, the term perception is broadly defined as intelligent discernment or intuitive recognition (see definition in Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2003). In this context, perceptions encompass observations, attitudes, and beliefs about the impacts of tourism.
Available household level statistics dated back to 2000, so chosen sample sizes took into account estimated growth of the communities.
Selection criteria for fishermen were that they had to be full-time commercial or subsistence fishermen for at least half the year. Year-round, part-time commercial fishermen were included if a substantial portion (at least 30%) of their annual income comes from fishing.
The analyses presented in this study were conducted using the statistical program SPSS 11.01.
In all cases, N may vary from values reported in Table 1 due to absent or alternative responses.
Households are included if they are partially or fully economically dependent on tourism. A partially dependent household has at least one contributing individual working full time in a tourism dependent profession. A fully dependent household has all contributing individuals working full time in a tourism dependent profession.
Specifically, strongly agree = 7, agree = 6, slightly agree = 5, neutral = 4, slightly disagree = 3, disagree = 2, strongly disagree = 1.
Respondents, 25%, in Punta Gorda said they valued coral reefs above other resources; 26% in Hopkins; 32% in Placencia; 73% in Caye Caulker; and 73% in San Pedro.
Punta Gorda and Placencia (p ( 0.001 for both variables), Caye Caulker (p ( 0.05 for both variables), and San Pedro (p ( 0.001 for both variables); Hopkins and Placencia (p ( 0.001 for both variables), Caye Caulker (p ( 0.05 for both variables), and San Pedro (p ( 0.001 for both variables); Placencia and Caye Caulker (p ( 0.05 for marine environment in better condition, and p = 0.001 for coral reef in better condition), and San Pedro (p ( 0.001 for both variables); and Caye Caulker and San Pedro (p ( 0.001 for both variables).
Punta Gorda and Placencia, p ( 0.05; Punta Gorda and Caye Caulker, p ( 0.05; Hopkins and Placencia, p ( 0.05; Hopkins and Caye Caulker, p ( 0.05; the rest p ( 0.001.
The small number of communities in the sample means that the opinions expressed in each community have the potential to have strong influences on the strength and direction of the relationship. San Pedro, in particular, has been shown numerous times to have significantly stronger loadings in the agreement category for the graded response questions. In the case of support of conservation (Table 8), for example, Spearman’s rank correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship with the level of tourism in the community when San Pedro was included in the analyses (r = 0.49, p ( 0.001) and no relationship when it was excluded. Although the influence of the strong attitudes expressed by San Pedro residents does not make the non-parametric relationships in the data less meaningful, it is an important consideration for interpreting some of the observed patterns.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Oak Foundation, Boston, MA and facilitated by the Community Conservation Network, Honolulu, HI.
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Communicated by Guest Editor R. Pollnac.
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Diedrich, A. The impacts of tourism on coral reef conservation awareness and support in coastal communities in Belize. Coral Reefs 26, 985–996 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-007-0224-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-007-0224-z