The socio-economic impact of conservation: the Safe Islands for Seabirds LIFE project

Abstract

Using the Safe Islands for Seabirds LIFE project as a case study, we assessed the socio-economic impact of a nature conservation project on the local community, focusing on the wealth created and the jobs supported directly and indirectly by the project. The Safe Islands for Seabirds project took place during 2009–2012, mainly on Corvo Island, the smallest and least populated island of Portugal's Azores Archipelago. To assess the impact of the project we used a combination of methods to analyse the project expenditure, the jobs created directly as a result of it, and, by means of multipliers, the incomes and jobs it supported indirectly. We estimate that during 2009–2012 direct expenditure of EUR 344,212.50 from the project increased the gross domestic product of the Azorean region by EUR 206,527.50. Apart from the 4.5 jobs created directly by the project, it also supported indirectly the equivalent of 1.5–2.5 full-time jobs. The project also provided the opportunity to preserve and promote natural amenities important for the quality of life of the local community. Our findings show that a nature conservation project can have positive economic impacts, and we recommend the creation of a standardized tool to calculate in a straightforward but accurate manner the socio-economic impacts of conservation projects. We also highlight the need to design projects that support local economies.

Traditional egg-harvesting policies for the endemic Moluccan ScrubfowlEulipoa wallaceion Haruku Island, Indonesia, and its conservation implications

“…The availability of alternative livelihoods for user communities is one factor that encourages community participation in wildlife conservation (Gelcich and Donlan 2015, Royuela et al . 2019, Otero et al . 2020).…”

“…2021), demography, socio-economic status (Royuela et al . 2019, Otero et al . 2020), and alternative livelihoods (Gelcich and Donlan 2015) influence wild species use and conservation.…”

“…Numerous research reports state that using wildlife species contributes to the extinction of countless native species in many regions of the world (Oyegbami et al 2018, Bolam et al 2020, Ceballos et al 2020. Social values, norms (Chan et al 2016, Commercon et al 2021, Manfredo et al 2021, demography, socio-economic status (Royuela et al 2019, Otero et al 2020, and alternative livelihoods (Gelcich and Donlan 2015) influence wild species use and conservation. Therefore, the IUCN recommended, specifically for the megapode group, a study to determine the impact of socio-economic factors on population status, habitat, and sustainable use of eggs in this group (Dekker et al 2000).…”

The potential socio-economic impacts and ecotourism influences for the reintroduction of the White-tailed Eagle on the Isle of Wight

“…To complete this section, the socio-economic impacts include a magnitude of ecological impacts, as one stakeholder believed '…..The eagles disturb the wildlife when they take flight to feeding on the young waders, young gulls and young terms...' The socio-economic impacts of this wildlife conservation reintroduction project includes the assessment on the impact of rewilding upon the local community, focussing on the wealth created and the jobs supported directly and indirectly the reintroduction project (Benedicto Royuela et al 2019).…”

Earth Optimism—recapturing the positive

“…The successes described during the summits represented a fraction of positive developments around the world, and these continue to accumulate. Articles in this issue of Oryx , for example, point to progress in ameliorating negative human–wildlife interactions (Jamwal et al, 2019; Pozo et al, 2019; Scheijen et al, 2019), valuing protected areas (Davenport et al, 2019; Deacon & Tutchings, 2019; Lham et al, 2019), and increasing the potential for biodiversity and human well-being to improve hand-in-hand (Benedicto Royuela et al, 2019; Sardeshpande & MacMillan, 2019).…”