IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)

The link between protected areas and tourism is as old as the history of protected areas. Though the relationship is complex and sometimes adversarial, tourism is always a critical component to consider in the establishment and management of protected areas. These guidelines aim to build an understanding of protected area tourism, and its management. They provide both a theoretical structure and practical guidelines for managers.

Protected areas are conservation instruments created to protect a country’s natural resources. But, protected areas also constitute important tools for equity development among the populations settled within and around protected areas. This publication provides tools, techniques and recommendations to facilitate protected areas planning, management and administration to seek greater social equity, particularly among women and men.

Communication and co-operation among all conservation bodies and concerned individuals are vital to effective conservation and to securing the funding and other resources needed. Only by forming productive links among all protected area organisations and initiatives in the region can the aim of the East Asia Action Plan be realised.

The East Asia Action Plan (IUCN, 1996) recommended exchange programmes as a means of improving protected area management capacity in the East Asia region. The experience of exchange programmmes from around the world shows that they can bring great benefits when executed and managed effectively. This report reviews and summarizes past experience world-wide in protected area-related exchange programmes, and analyzes its relevance to East Asia.

These guidelines address one of the most critical issues which protected area planners and managers face in the East Asia region: obtaining the funds needed to ensure the survival and success of protected areas. The publication explains how protected areas can generate more finance to help meet their needs, and contains brief case studies. It also includes a list of potential funding sources in the region.

Protected areas are vital for life on earth. They safeguard biological and cultural diversity, help to improve the livelihoods of local communities, provide the homelands for many indigenous peoples and bring countless benefits to society at large. It is now generally understood that conservation planning cannot just be site-specific; plants and animals do not recognize national boundaries, nor do many of the forces that threaten them.