This long weekend sees the conclusion of another duck-hunting season, with thousands of birds killed for no reason other than ‘fun’. Campaigners against duck hunting want to try and assess the economic potential of regional, nature-based wetlands tourism. Anyone who conducts paid or unpaid tours, or provides accommodation, or gives advice, is encouraged to contact Laurie Levy to contribute to this project: info@duck.org.au Our beautiful waterbirds are one of Victoria’s biggest assets. If we stop letting them be shot, we could boost regional economies by providing services to tens of thousands of birdwatchers, from both interstate and overseas.
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Debbie,
If you want to go overseas as far as the UK then look at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust website http://www.wwt.org.uk/ – Slimbridge is a day out destination even for non-birders and the London Wetland Centre is heavily visited. While these sites are not supporting local communities in quite the way I think you are asking about, they are providing quite a lot of local jobs.
Three of the most popular birding sites in the UK – Minsmere (RSPB), Titchwell (RSPB) and Cley (Norfolk Naturalists Trust) – are also wetland sites and again provide jobs and spinoffs for all these visitors (and there are lots of them) who want Bed & Breakfast, campsites, meals, cream teas, fish & chips etc.
Then there is Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary (Northern Belize): “This rich wetland is perhaps the top bird-watching site in Belize. Home to hundreds of resident and migrant species, it is one of the best spots to see the giant and rare jabiru stork, especially during the dry season. You can spot various heron and kingfisher species here, as well as the yellow-lored parrot and Yucatán jay.” Locals have set up B&Bs for people to stay in.
Rumania – houseboat tourism on the Danube Delta is helping to stop the delta being drained and degraded and providing extra income for locals.
Poland – the Biezbra marshes support local birdwatching guides and B&Bs
Also Kosi Tappu in Nepal – a small birdwathcing lodge here provides many jobs for people in the surrounding villages.
Perhaps the single best example I can think of is the Pantanal in Brazil (and the similar Llanos in Venezuela). Tourism is providing a livelihood here for countless people who would otherwise probably be hunting or would have gone to the big cities. It also provides an outlet for high-quality crafts (mostly by women). Even though the big ranches provide the bulk of the accommodation, there are a huge number of spin-off jobs.
Not forgetting the Okavango Delta in Botswana – many lodges and local B&Bs, plus restaurants etc in Maun, support tourists of every size of wallet and provide a huge amount of income for not only the locals but for the country (second largest earner after diamonds)
Rosemary
I would have thought the WWT at Slimbridge back in the UK would have created several dozen jobs at any one time – and it brings in thousands of people a year to the area…
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I’ll second Kuala Selangor and add Guandu Nature Park in Taipei. And Kapawi Ecolodge in Ecuador of course, with the Achuar people being the owners/managers (it is by the Capahuari River but lodge itself is built out over backwater swamp/billabong/marsh). Helen
< ')////==< ________________________________ Sent: Sat, 27 August, 2011 10:41:05 I'd suggest the Texas Gulf Coast which attracts huge numbers of migrant birders from northern USA every winter. Another is Kuala Selangor in Malaysia. Steve =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org =============================== ===============================
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I’d suggest the Texas Gulf Coast which attracts huge numbers of migrant birders from northern USA every winter.
Another is Kuala Selangor in Malaysia.
Steve
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