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Nature-based tourism, which includes visits to protected areas, is a growing trend. This may include consumptive and non-consumptive activities, with nature-based tourists being motivated to experience local culture and nature. Thus, tourism can contribute economically and socially to communities associated with protected areas, with the outcomes being both benefits and costs to local people. We carried out a systematic literature review to document and characterise the outcomes of nature-based tourism for people living in and around protected areas (terrestrial and inland waters). We evaluated 89 papers published from 1996 to 2020, most of which were conducted in low- and middle-income countries. The main benefits were employment, business opportunities and income, and the main costs were acculturation and abandonment of traditional lifestyle/practices, price inflation and conflict/crime. While most benefits were economic, most costs were socio-cultural. We found that benefits were most frequently experienced individually and costs experienced mostly at the collective or community levels. Inconsistencies in reporting of impacts suggests that future research should take a more consistent and systematic approach to evaluating benefits and costs of nature-based tourism from both the demographic and geographic perspectives, be more inclusive, and pay equal attention to objective and subjective measures of costs and benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustained growth in agricultural productivity has become an ideal model and a political goal of agricultural development in China. Local participation is essential for the implementation of sustainable agriculture strategy. We conducted a case study in Hailun County, an important grain production base in China, to find ways to motivate farmers to participate in sustainable agriculture. We obtained data from semi-structured interviews of 98 households using participatory rural appraisal methods. Logistic regression models were used to explore factors that underlie farmers' attitudes towards agricultural production and their environmental awareness. Results indicated that low agricultural economic efficiency could result in less enthusiasm for agriculture among local farmers. This is a potential risk for China's food security and sustainable agricultural development. The backward development of the rural economy limited improvement of farmers' environmental awareness. Moreover, poor rural labour quality implied a lack of local participation in sustainable agriculture. Suggestions for sustainable agricultural development include establishment of a reasonable market and agricultural subsidy mechanisms, basic and vocational education for young adults, effective agricultural instruction and environmental education agencies and two-way communication mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory of the commons encompasses two interpretations: one based on 'manifest customs', whilst the other relates to 'latent customs'. The former asserts that individuals behave as rational economic units, pursuing their own profit based on economic mechanisms, whilst social restrictions relating to the use of resources within communities act to prevent the total destruction of the natural environment. In contrast, the latter holds that people behave according to the morality or ethics embedded within the society, and that this contributes to sustainable resource management. A field survey conducted in West Java as part of the present study revealed that a system of communal ownership of lands and resources is widely practiced on land that is strictly private property, including paddy fields, cultivated swiddens, gardens and so forth, facilitated by the distribution of land, lending and borrowing of land and collaborative labour systems. This customary management system is considered a prime example of the commons resource management. Furthermore, communal lands were also seen to play a significant role in the distribution of land and resources amongst community members to supplement daily needs. In addition, these customary land-use systems, as the commons, are considered to contribute towards mitigating the gap between rich and poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the biggest challenges for protected area management in most of Africa has been moving from an exclusive and colonial system to a participatory one that takes into consideration the interest of the local people. Lobéké National Park, situated in the southeast comer of the Republic of Cameroon has been at the centre of an 'experimental process' of putting in place a collaborative management system through local communities (Bantus and Baka pygmies) and private sector involvement in design and implementation of innovative collaboration platforms for management of natural resources of the area. As part of the process, five community hunting zones were established where these communities carry out subsistence hunting to meet protein needs and also lease their territories during particular periods of the year for sport hunting. The income generated was used for various development activities in the villages. This pioneering process has also been expanded to include collaborative conventions signed between local communities and various stakeholders operating in the region. It is hoped that the present initiative in Lobéké will be implemented for other protected areas being established in southeast Cameroon and on a national basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]