Whale-Watching Management: Assessment of Sustainable Governance in Uramba Bahía Málaga National Natural Park, Valle del Cauca

Abstract

As the growth of the whale-watching activity increases rapidly around the world, the challenge of responsible management and sustainability also rises. Without suitable management, operators may try to maximize their own profits by breaking the rules, which may negatively affect cetaceans. In this paper, the applicability of conditions for sustainability governance in humpback whale-watching was evaluated. To achieve this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Uramba Bahía Málaga National Natural Park, Colombia. Results of this study showed that humpback whale-watching is characterized by unevenness in connections with markets, income inequality and the distribution of operators across several villages and cities. The combination of which restricts cooperation between operators. Nevertheless, there are informal agreements among the operators, and some operators are motivated to form associations. Besides, environmental entities have been responsible of regulation in lack of community-based management. However, this still does not achieve effective enforcement of the rules. Stakeholders (communities and government authorities) must mediate trust and reciprocity among operators to improve the situation. It is important to involve all operators to fill gaps in the limited government monitoring capacity and absence of sanctions. This is relevant to continue monitoring the evolution of the whale-watching in this and other Marine Protected Areas, so that the sustainability of the activity is not affected in the future.

A decade of whale watching in an important tourist desitination in the Pacific coast of Colombia: Challenges for proper management

“…A recent published study showed that for 2015, humpback whale-watching activity in Bahía Málaga met only 16% of the conditions for sustainable governance, and it was characterized by unevenness in connections with markets (i.e. price variability and connections with intermediaries), income inequality, the lack of a whalewatching operators' association, and the lack of support from government organizations (Soto-Cortés et al, 2021). Therefore, we encourage the environmental authorities and local people to facilitate the formation of an association.…”

“…Besides, knowledge on whale-watching tourism in Colombia is scarce, as there are currently only a few studies (e.g. Avila et al, 2015;Zapetis et al, 2017;Soto-Cortés et al, 2021). Therefore, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the current state of whale watching in Málaga NNP, how it has changed in time, evaluate the levels of compliance with whale-watching recommendations and identify challenges for the conservation of whales.…”

The role of operators in sustainable whale-watching tourism: Proposing a continuous training framework

“…The sustainability of whale-watching tourism is currently limited by several factors, including poor implementation of scientific recommendations and ineffective communication about the negative impacts of these activities on fauna [25]. There is a wide consensus that a lack of best practices implementation and improper management can impact cetaceans and disrupt tourist experiences [26][27][28][29].…”