130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

from tourism [15] and it is reasonable to infer that
the draw of wildlife has been behind much of the
increase in tourism in similar areas of high biodiversity.
For example in South Africa where safari
opportunities are a major attraction, tourism
accounts for 7.7% of GDP [18] and in Namibia, the
communal conservancy scheme implemented
by the government has generated an increasing
contribution to the national economy between
1990 and 2011 [19] .
Other than direct payments in the form of
entrance fees to national parks, costs for a tour
guide and accommodation, indirect payments
can also be important in supporting the local
and national economy through the purchase of
products and services from other sectors both
by tourists and by residents whom the tourist
income has benefitted [15] . Provided that certain
measures are in place, the influx of visitors to view
wildlife can provide economic relief to the often
poor rural communities [15] . The TAMAR project in
Brazil is one such enterprise which has achieved
success in attracting tourists to visit marine turtle
nesting sites, resulting in both socio-economic
and conservation benefits [20] . The project incorporates
the training and employment of local people,
extending the benefits from visitors to the wider
community, and implementing marine turtle
research for conservation [15] . However meeting the
demand of the tourist industry can often mean
relying on foreign investment and in some cases,
part of the economic benefit is appropriated to
other countries [15] .
In more developed regions, there has long
been an interest in wildlife related activities and
this sector is fairly well established. Preliminary
findings in the USA suggest that hunting, fishing
and wildlife watching for recreation accounted for
1% of national GDP in 2011 and such activities are
considered pivotal for local and national economic
growth [21] . Wildlife watching was the most popular
activity, more popular than sport fishing and
hunting combined. At the EU level, a 2011 study for
the Commission estimated the economic value of
the benefits provided by tourism, recreation and
employment supported by Natura 2000, a network
of nearly 26,000 protected sites in the EU. The study
suggested that expenditure related to tourism and
recreation supported by Natura 2000 sites was
between €50 and €85 billion in 2006, supporting
between 4.5 and 8 million full-time-equivalent
jobs [22] .
At the national level, there is a considerable
economic opportunity for wildlife related activities
with an existing and interested market. In the
UK for example, over half of the adult population
of England visit the natural environment at least
once a week [23] . In Scotland, no less than 56% of
all travel is nature oriented [24] and it is having
clear economic benefits. Work commissioned by
Scottish Natural Heritage estimated that total
annual visitor spending attributable to naturebased
tourism (including outdoor activities other
than wildlife watching) is £1.4 billion with 39,000
associated full-time-equivalent jobs [25] . The opportunity
for real economic benefits from wildlife
resurgence, and the nature tourism that can
be generated from that, seems to be realistic in
several areas of Europe.
The presence of a key charismatic species can
act as a great incentive for people to take part in
wildlife watching and sometimes to pay a lot of
money for the privilege. For instance, a permit to
see the Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei) of the
Virunga mountain range of Rwanda, Democratic
Republic of Congo and Uganda costs each international
tourist between $400 and $750 [26] , which
has the benefit of generating local and national
revenue. In addition, the presence of regular
visitors and monitoring is one of the reasons
contributing towards the survival and potential
recovery of this threatened population [27] . There
are issues surrounding revenue-sharing amongst
all stakeholders but whilst there are still challenges
to be overcome [28] , this example shows that there
are individual species that provide enough of a
draw to attract high numbers of visitors.
Similarly, the recovery of charismatic species
in Europe could prove to be an economic opportunity
as well as an ecological one. As the Abruzzo
region of Italy started being marketed as bear and
wolf country, due to recent resurgence in populations,
the number of tourists to the area increased
even though the likelihood of actually seeing
any individuals of those species is still low [29] . The
Brown bear (Ursus arctos) is also the flagship species
for the Somiedo Natural Park in northern Spain
and has attracted increasing numbers of tourists
to the local area almost exclusively due to the use
of the bear as a means for promoting tourism [30] .
An assessment of wildlife watching in Finland
suggests that the number of visitors increased by
90% between 2005 and 2008 with the majority of
tourists drawn by the presence of predators such as
Brown bear and Wolverine [31] . In economic terms,
preliminary results estimated a turnover from
this sector of €4–5 million in 2012 with wildlife
watching and photography as the main reason for
an estimated 73% of tourists who visited Finland [32] .
In Cevennes National Park in France, the reintroduced
Griffon (Gyps fulvus) and Cinereous vultures
(Aegypius monachus) have provided new bird
watching opportunities for tourists, attracting
80,000 visitors per year. It was also estimated that
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