Using tourism economic data for analysis, reporting and influencing decision-making

The main objective of tourism and recreation economic analysis have been used for public relations objectives. Common objectives of tourism economic analyses have been to increase support for raising PA budgets, for building partnerships, and for influencing local policies and planning decisions.

 

These types of uses require lower levels of detail or accuracy compared with other studies focused on evaluating management alternatives for specific PA issues, like decisions about new investments, facilities or services. For instance, park managers may wish to use this tool for the purpose of adaptive management and/or integrate economic impact evaluation with a livelihoods or social analysis of the PA that reveals non-monetary benefits and costs. In such cases, the study should be designed to allow for estimation of local level impacts.

 

At the same time, government administrators may wish to compare the national level value of a park with other land uses or parks in similar regions. What is important is that major stakeholders are consulted prior to the design phase so that chosen measures and their relationship to the park reflect what is desired to be known by the intended audience.

The presentation of the results should be focused on the purpose of the report and the audience. Figures and examples facilitate the public understanding. In order to support presentations,

PA managers should communicate the TEMPA results in order to raise awareness among policy-makers, conservation and commercial stakeholders, local communities, and the public at large of the value that PAs serve not just for conservation but also as engines for benefit-sharing.

 

Results should be communicated in terms that are understandable to the intended audience. Normally, a summary and glossary of economic terms is helpful for most audiences. The most common measures are sales, income, jobs, GDP and taxes; formal definitions of the measures are also needed to clarify these terms and the measurement units. 

Tourism Economic Model in Protected Areas (TEMPA) assessment tool

As part of a larger effort to assess the socio-economic impacts of GEF-funded Protected Areas, the Tourism Economic Model for Protected Areas (TEMPA) was developed to help guide project managers and others in the collection, analysis and display of tourism spending data using an easy to use spreadsheet-based tool, which is also provided. Despite the fact that economic impact analysis has been applied in many countries, such as, USA, Canada, Australia, Finland,  Namibia, and South Africa, this preliminary version of the tool and accompanying spreadsheet represents an initial step in a longer process of testing and refining TEMPA in a wide range of protected area categories globally. At present, TEMPA has been tested only in one selected park in Southern Africa, and nationally for Brazil. Results show significant direct and indirect economic gains from parks at the local and national level. It is hoped that the widespread use of tools such as TEMPA can continue to build from this effort to highlight the important multi-faceted role that protected areas play in supporting nature and livelihoods.

 

Estimating the economic effects of visitor expenditure

 

Economic Effects = Number of Visitors * Average spending per visitor * Economic multipliers 

 

To complete the analysis, the manager undertaking a park study needs to collect or estimate the following:

 

  1. the number of visitors who visit the parks and surrounding area;
  2. the average spending per visitor in the region, and;
  3. apply economic multipliers to measure the ripple effects of expenditure within the region (TEMPA).

The TEMPA model assists the manager with entering data and calculating the economic impact of a park. Setting up the calculations to estimate the economic effects of tourism expenditure may seem rather daunting, especially to people with little experience in economics and the analysis of economic data.  Therefore, the model that will do most of the work, and is likely to surprise with how easy it is to use.

Road Map for Sand dam implementation

Practical implementation steps include:

  • Site selection and community involvement;
  • Engineering and design;
  • Water use assessment;
  • Excavation and construction;
  • Operation and maintenance (establishment of water management process, including: Water committee, care takers and provision of trainings)
  • Monitoring and evaluation

 

  • The presence of communities (nomads or permanently during dry period)
  • The slope of the river beds: the most suitable locations have a slope between 2 to 4 percent)
  • Average width of the river, which should not exceed 25-50 meter
  • The rivers should be underlain by bedrock
  • Strong raised river banks 

The sand dam construction process is always unique for each site since it depends on topography, availability of local materials and community participation.

Strengthening PELUM Kenya Zonal Networking

Following the Devolvement of Kenya in 2010, PELUM Kenya devolved itself in to six networking zones namely: Central Rift Valley Zone, Lower Eastern and Coastal Zone,  Nairobi/Central Zone, Upper Eatern and Northern Kenya Zone, Western Zone and Nyanza Zone.

PELUM Kenya has therefore been focusing on a zone during implementation of the Green Action Week campaigns as a way of promoting horizontal networking. The members of a zone are involved in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the campaigns with one of the member organizations being the lead member organisation and in close coordination by PELUM Kenya secretariat and zonal staff. This provides a platform for learning and sharing among Member Organizations

  • Joint planning and implementation of the campaign activities
  • Coordination by a lead member organization
  • Cross learning and sharing among the Zonal Member Organizations
  • Creation of synergies to enhance achievement of results
  • There is need to engage in early planning for all the activities that include a number of member organizations working together
  • There is need to undertake effective joint planning including levelling of expectations and capapcity building on the intended results from the inititive to foster joint learning and understanding on the campaign results

 

Improved water use practices in urban areas

The purpose of this component was to raise awareness among the urban population in order to promote water-saving practices to meet pending social demand. A call was made to the population to save water and avoid, for example, watering gardens, washing cars, the so-called portable pools that require 7,000 liters of water to be filled, an amount equivalent to 15 days of family consumption, according to figures provided by the National Superintendence of Sanitation Services - Sunass.

Simple and key messages were transmitted, some of which were: a family (of six members) in the cities should consume between 15 and 18 cubic meters per month, however, the real consumption is between 20 and 25, "so families are wasting the liquid".

The adoption of changes in household consumption habits was promoted, for example, introducing a bottle of water in the toilet tank, which would save up to two liters of liquid per flush. Consider taking five-minute showers and turning off the faucet while soaping up. This could save up to 40 liters of water.

  • The support of the regional government is important because guidance and political backing is needed, but also the participation of business associations, consumer associations, trade unions, among others.
  • A communication campaign designed for the specific type of audience (social, cultural, etc.) is required to be effective. For example, problems were highlighted, but practical and immediate solutions were also provided.
  • Inter-institutional alliances, such as EPS Sedam, Sunass, etc.
  • Campaigns must be appropriate to the context and target audience. While it is important to draw attention to the problems, it is equally important to provide practicable solutions.
  • To achieve attitudinal changes about water use, collaboration between public, private and civil society actors is required.
Evidence: Hydro-geological study of qochas functioning.

The experience was complemented with the hydrogeological study of the functioning of the qochas and pastures in the recharge of aquifers in the Huacrahuacho micro-watershed. For this purpose, monitoring was carried out by analyzing the isotopic concentrations of Deuterium (H2) and Oxygen 18 (O18), which allows determining the dynamics of the water masses in the subsoil, including the interrelation between the reservoirs (qochas) and the springs in the nearby areas. The study was conducted by the Peruvian Institute of Nuclear Energy (IPEN). It also mentions the benefits of recovering diversity (agrostological variety), improving the beauty of the landscape, revaluing traditional knowledge, and strengthening the organization. This information was disseminated through communication strategies aimed at the local population to motivate continuity in the implementation of the actions.

  • Be clear about the indicators of hydrological benefits, for example, the regulation of base flows in springs in the lower part.
  • The support of an institution specialized in the subject is necessary, since it is necessary to have the capacity and credibility to be able to gather the evidence.
  • In order to record information in situ , it is necessary to count on skilled and trained people from the area; in this case, the action of the promoters or peasant leaders of the area, called kamayoc (Quechua term).

  • Hydrological monitoring makes it possible to verify the effectiveness of water recharge practices.
  • A hydrogeological monitoring system requires a control network in various upwelling zones, since there is no single recharge site.
  • The monitoring system makes it possible to identify areas conducive to recharge, but also to rule out places and practices that do not favor water recharge.
  • It was very important to have partnerships with local research institutions that could develop the required studies.
  • In several cases, the scientific studies corroborated the perceptions of the villagers regarding water flow; however, it was not always possible to identify where the water from an infiltration qocha will emerge, nor is it possible to predict precisely how long it will take for it to emerge.
  • An appropriate system for communicating the results of monitoring and evaluation is needed to motivate the implementation of the actions being promoted.
Key elements for ecosystem conservation are also anthropic

As part of PAMIC, great consideration on the dynamics of landscape transformation is being made. There is an attempt to identify and conserve those elements that are key for ecosystem conservation, whether they are of natural or anthropic origin. In PAMIC´s philosophy, conservation does not mean maintaining pristine ecosystems. On the contrary, conservation includes restoring managed landscapes and using sustainable practices. This allows the maintenance of the whole socio-ecological system through a sustainable use of the land, as demonstrated by shade-grown coffee production, agro-silvo-pastoral and community forest management projects, which support both livelihoods and ecosystems. 

  • Confidence in the social and environmental benefits of sustainable community management
  • Institutional learning about the long term limitations of the "do not touch" vision of conservation as a means of conserving ecosystems;
  • Network of actors with knowledge on land use and water management 
  • Long term mentoring of the producers;
  • It is vital to make use of existing local cooperatives to generate, lead and manage the introduction of new approaches to existing productive activities
  • When communities feel that their productive activities are not being threatened, they are more willing to get involved and undertake self-organized initiatives for the sustainable management of ecosystems.
  • Likewise, when they identify the project as a window of opportunity to obtain support and possible financing to improve their productive activities, the commitment and interest to sustainably manage the ecosystem increases.
Promotion of livelihoods diversification and food security

The aim of this building block was to promote diversification of families´income and their sources of food through the reforestation of riparian zones using fruit trees and other species of economic importance. People from participating communities were trained on nursing and looking after young plants. In particular, women´s groups were the ones who were trained to carry out delicate activities of caring for seedlings and planting them.

  • Good knowledge on the area, the community, and its people´s needs so that support is better directed to support local ways of life;
  • Nurseries that have been stablished for the development of specific plants of economic and nutritional importance
  • Innovation-friendly local producers who are willing to be the first ones to modify their practices
  • Committed and consistent support from experienced, local NGOs
  • Capacity development to support the diversification of food and income sources was deemed to be more important for the long-term sustainability of the solution than capacity development through conditional monetary transfers. This is because the former can drive active participation in the solution in the long-term, especially when, as in this project, awareness-raising about the importance of ecosystems for livelihoods and wellbeing has been a success.  
Building grey & green infrastructure to combine cattle raising and hydrological fluxes

"Without a good water flow, no mangrove system can sustain itself" - said a local NGO field expert. Hence it is important not only to open channels to restore water flows, but also of keeping alive the dynamics of these flows in the long term. One of the activities that most affects wetlands is livestock. The farmers, seeking to provide firm ground for their cows, cover the channels and drain water bodies. In doing so, cattle farming has been affecting marshes and mangroves directly or indirectly. On way to reduce the impact of this activity is to combine the productive interests of the multiple farmers in the area, with the protection of water flows, by building three elevated bridges in piles for the passage of livestock in strategic sites. Also, "living fences" were established around the reforestation areas to keep the area safe. For these fences, plants and trees of economic use were used for the benefit of the communities.

 

  • Awareness-raising about the importance of maintaining the hydrological flux while continuing to raise cattle in the rehabilitated area;
  • Innovation-friendly local producers who are willing to be the first ones to modify their practices
  • Creating and maintaining channels within the mangrove system for facilitating natural flows between salt- and freshwater sources is a key component for reducing salinization problems, as well as making sure that a healthy mangrove is maintained;
  • Conservation and livelihoods are two sides of a same coin. For those ecosystems in which communities live, you cannot have one without the other.  
  • It is better to be realistic and keep in mind that productive activities will not disappear from the area, so it is better to combine impact activities such as livestock with restoration activities and maintenance of hydrological flows. Being flexible can bring many more benefits.
Using government schemes for sustainable management of private and community land

Taking advantage of project funds, and the existence of two government schemes to support sustainable management and protection:

i) Private Protection Areas (APC, for its acronym in Spanish), and

ii) Environmental Management Units (UMA, for its acronym in Spanish).

 

In Veracruz, the APCs represent a scheme of voluntary conservation, in which the local population joins the efforts of the state to strengthen the protected natural spaces of the region. At the APC "El Pajaro", INECC together with the local grassroots organizations initiated a series of actions to manage 25 ha of mangroves. The strategy involved participatory work with the people of the communities to increase awareness of what it means to have a healthy mangrove, and continued with capacity development activities on how to manage it.

 

The management plans for the UMA of the mangrove ecosystem owned by the Tarachi ejido (local government unit) included the provision of equipment and infrastructure, and training to carry out the following activities:

i) reforestation with native species;

ii) establishment of a conservation protocol and standards to be followed by local communities; iii) establishment of guidance on economic activities that could be developed without affecting the ecosystem.

  • Sufficient economic and human resources to be able to employ local communities to carry out rehabilitation work;
  • Support of the community to maintain the improvements that have been achieved in the wetland;
  • Sufficient evidence to demonstrate to the communities that the collective work carried out in the APC and the UMA is bringing broader benefits for the areas and activities adjacent to said management units.
  • Private Protection Areas (APCs) need to offer greater benefits to land owners who join voluntarily.
  • Project activities can set a good precedent for encouraging the state to strengthen existing management schemes;
  • The APCs can function as spaces of experimentation in good practices, but it is necessary to involve both the community and the local authorities;
  • Good management of the NGO network and the long-term presence of field workers necessary for capacity development is essential;