Sustainable Transformative Economy: Community-Based Ecotourism

Abstract

Ecotourism has a high potential impact on remote communities, by improving economic opportunity and natural resources conservation, and is increasingly accepted as an alternative livelihood for rural people. This study examines ecotourism development from the perspective of participation and economic impact for the Bousra people in Cambodia. A total of 237 households were selected as the sample size. Data collection was carried out with face-to-face interviews and analyzed using logistic regression and ordinary least square methods. Results revealed that local households depend mostly on agriculture (i.e., crop plantation and farming) and utilize ecotourism as a secondary source of income. Most households acknowledged ecotourism had a positive impact on environmental, social, and economic perspectives, while some signaled negative backlash due to depleted natural resources and impact on local culture. Household participation in ecotourism was not significantly affected from assistance issued by government or non-governmental organizations. However, causal relationships were found based on household demographic factors, attitude to environmental conservation, and village life. It was shown that the percentage of people involvement in ecotourism is high, but their income percentage is low due to education, skill, and capacity to expand. As a low-impact alternative to standard commercial tourism, community-based ecotourism has potential in becoming a transformative form of economics for local communities.

Land-Use Changes of Historical Rural Landscape—Heritage, Protection, and Sustainable Ecotourism: Case Study of Slovak Exclave Čív (Piliscsév) in Komárom-Esztergom County (Hungary)

“…The issue of ecotourism in general, e.g., [15][16][17]20,[26][27][28][29][30], and the sustainability of ecotourism, e.g., [31][32][33][34], is currently being studied by a number of authors.…”

Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Community Resilience: Empirical Evidence in the Nickel Mining Industry in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

“…They found that resilience can be measured and evaluated by considering socioeconomic dimensions. The "success" of rural communities depends on the development of local resources (including businesses, human capital, land, and natural resources), local control over these resources, and how these resources are used [45].…”

Special Issue Sustainable Interdisciplinarity: Human–Nature Relations

“…A synopsis of the Special Issue consists of the following contributions: Xie et al [13] conceptualized the use of Ostrom's [14] social-ecological systems framework in the context of nature reserves in China by presenting a novel approach (i.e., the hybrid psycho-economic model) and interlinking collective forest management via a dynamic analysis of three case studies. Kim et al [15] examined the notion of sustainable transformative economy based on community-based ecotourism in a remote area of eastern Cambodia. This contribution examined ecotourism development from the perspective of participation and economic impact.…”