Measuring the Economic Value of Wildlife Watching Tourism in Africa

Abstract

African countries have long promoted biodiversity conservation through the sustainable use of natural resources and there have been major achievements in the protection and recovery of wildlife populations. The dramatic increase in poaching and illicit trade of wildlife products since 2005 often referred to as ‘wildlife crime’ – threatens to undermine these conservation achievements and endangers some of the most iconic species to become extinct within only a few decades – most prominently, elephants and rhinos, but also other big mammals such as lions and gorillas as well as smaller species. Furthermore, wildlife is also threatened by the increasing loss of habitat and loss of range, among other pressures.