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17 - Guidelines for best practice in great ape tourism

from Part V - Broader issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2014

By
Elizabeth A. Williamson  and
Elizabeth J. Macfie
Edited by
Anne E. Russon  and
Janette Wallis
Elizabeth A. Williamson
Affiliation:
University of Stirling
Elizabeth J. Macfie
Affiliation:
IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group
Anne E. Russon
Affiliation:
Glendon College, York University
Janette Wallis
Affiliation:
University of Oklahoma
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Summary

Introduction

Tourism based on the viewing of great apes is increasingly promoted as a means of generating revenue for range states, local communities, and the private sector (e.g. GRASP, 2006). This is despite known risks from tourism, including disease transmission, which have caused concern among conservationists and prompted the International Union for Conservation of Nature to publish guidelines on best practices for great ape tourism (Macfie & Williamson, 2010). IUCN is one of the world’s most respected authorities on species conservation, and brings together governments, UN agencies, and NGOs to conserve biodiversity and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

Great apes are of high conservation concern because all species and subspecies are listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN, 2013) and are protected throughout their range by both national and international laws. They are particularly appealing to human observers because they are behaviorally and physically so similar to people. However, their genetic closeness also makes great apes susceptible to human diseases for which they have no immunity (in this volume, see chapters by Dellatore et al.; Desmond & Desmond; Goldsmith; Muehlenbein & Wallis; Russon et al.).

Type
Chapter
Information
Primate Tourism
A Tool for Conservation?
 , pp. 292 - 310
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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