Ecotourism as an integrated conservation and development strategy: Econometric estimation of demand by international tourists and impacts on indigenous households on Siberut Island, Indonesia

Integrated conservation and development (ICD) has become a dominant paradigm in management of tropical forests valued for both global ecological and local livelihood services. This dissertation examines ecotourism as a potential strategy for ICD, in a case study of Siberut Island, Indonesia based on econometric analysis of survey data collected in 1996 from indigenous households and international tourists. Several mechanisms for tourism's contribution to conservation are considered, including revenue generation, modification of the local economic environment, and increased appreciation for conservation.;Most tourists surveyed are 'backpackers' on long trips with limited budgets. Young European tourists who are members of environmental organizations are most likely to visit Siberut and other conservation areas. A subset of tourists are attracted by environmental attributes. Remoteness, or cost of access, has a positive influence on all tourists, thus precluding the use of revealed preference models for welfare or revenue estimations. Tourists' responses to stated preference questions indicate that substantial revenues for ICD could be raised through a visitors fee. In addition, Siberut attracts many tourists to the general region, and the resultant economic benefits may increase regional support for ICD on Siberut.;The potential of tourism itself or of tourism-funded interventions to reduce household pressure on the forest is evaluated for the case of rattan, a climbing palm sold commercially and considered over-exploited on Siberut. Reduced form and structural models, developed in the household production framework, show that involvement in tourism has no effect on rattan collection. Furthermore, comparisons of mean responses to attitudinal questions show that tourism does not enhance local support for ICD. The models identify the households that should be the focus of ICD interventions, characterizing them by their fixed inputs, human capital, and production environment. Rattan supply is negatively related to the opportunity cost of household time, while its relation with rattan price depends on the household's adherence to local culture and tradition. The analysis thus confirms both the importance of culture in understanding household behavior and the basic ICD tenet that resource-depleting activities can be discouraged by offering households more profitable uses of their labor time.