Description
Whale watching has been hailed by environmental non-governmental organizations like Greenpeace and the International Fund for Animal Welfare as a responsible form of tourism that has the potential to enhance conservation outcomes for cetaceans, while also supporting the economic development of coastal communities. Tourism research suggests that while it is possible for whale watching to provide these benefits, it may also have considerable costs to members of host communities and cetaceans. My dissertation sought to gather data on the economic, ecological, and social impacts of whale watching in the Caribbean in order to evaluate the industry's performance in the region. My project thus took the form of three sub-projects. The first used an ordinary least squares analysis to examine the relationship between Caribbean country characteristics and whale watching expenditures. This analysis showed that a country's level of development changes the strength of correlations, that mass tourism development is negatively associated with whale watching profits, and that cetacean biodiversity and whale watching regulations designed to protect cetaceans both had positive relationships with the whale watching industry. In the second sub-project, I developed an index of Caribbean cetacean vulnerability to the negative impacts of whale watching with a traditional literature review informed by systematic methods. The index illustrated that both target and non-target species had vulnerabilities, and that regulations addressing these issues in the Caribbean were lacking overall. Considerable gaps in data were also identified. Finally, I used qualitative interviews in Dominica and the Dominican Republic to gather information on resident perceptions of whale watching. This analysis revealed overall positive perceptions of the industry in both countries, but also uncovered considerable levels of social conflict surrounding whale watching. Taken together, the results of my study suggest that better regulatory structures, investment in the local community, and efforts to maximize cooperation are needed in order for the Caribbean whale watch industry to better serve local communities, while mitigating its impacts on cetaceans.
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Details
Title
- Is whale watching a win-win for people and nature?: an analysis of the economic, environmental, and social impacts of whale watching in the Caribbean
Contributors
- Raschke, Bonnie Jean (Author)
- Kinzig, Ann (Thesis advisor)
- Andereck, Kathleen (Committee member)
- Gerber, Leah (Committee member)
- Minteer, Ben (Committee member)
- Perrings, Charles (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2017
Subjects
- Wildlife conservation
- Social Research
- Environmental sciences
- Caribbean
- cetacean conservation
- Ecotourism
- resident perceptions
- Whale watching
- Whale watching--Economic aspects--Caribbean Area.
- Whale watching
- Whale watching--Environmental aspects--Caribbean Area.
- Whale watching
- Whale watching--Social aspects--Caribbean Area.
- Whale watching
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
- thesisPartial requirement for: Ph.D., Arizona State University, 2017
- bibliographyIncludes bibliographical references (pages 314-347)
- Field of study: Environmental social science
Citation and reuse
Statement of Responsibility
by Bonnie Jean Raschke