Tourism revenue sharing policy at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda: a policy arrangements approach

Abstract

Debates on how to deliver conservation benefits to communities living close to protected high-biodiversity areas have preoccupied conservationists for over 20 years. Tourism revenue sharing (TRS) has become a widespread policy intervention in Africa and elsewhere where charismatic populations of wildlife remain. This paper analyzes TRS policy at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), Uganda, from a policy arrangements perspective. It is based on data collected at BINP and three surrounding parishes, using qualitative methods. It concludes that the governance capacity of the TRS policy arrangement at BINP is low due to the structural incongruence of the dimensions of the policy arrangement (analyzed in terms of actors, resources, rules of the game and discourses). Despite the participatory rhetoric of policy reforms, the Uganda Wildlife Authority remains the most powerful actor: it has control over resources and consequently determines the rules of the game. Local communities do not feel adequately compensated for conservation costs. This issue is exacerbated by weak communications with local people, problems of fair distribution locally and nationally, corruption claims and powerful local elites. To maximize TRS’ ability to contribute to conservation through development, inequities in the design of the TRS and dispersion of benefits need to be addressed.

在乌干达Bwindi密集国家公园(BINP)的旅游收入分享政策: 一种政策安排手段(PAA)

关于对那些居住在靠近高度生物多样化的保护区的居民们如何传递保护的好处在超过20年以来一直是保护主义者们津津乐道的话题。旅游收入分享(TRS) 在非洲和其他一些仍存在大量野生动物的地方，是成为了一种广范围的政策调解。该文章从一个政策安排的观点分析了乌干达Bwindi密集国家公园(BINP)的TRS政策。这是基于用质化的方法在BINP和三个周围的行政区里收集的数据。文章总结了在BINP的TRS政策安排的治理容量较低是由政策安排方面(利益相关者，资源，游戏的规则的分析)的结构化不协调造成的。尽管政策改革宣传的是大范围的参与，乌干达野生动物管理机构仍然是最有权力的玩家: 它对资源有着绝对的控制，并不时地决定游戏的规则。当地的居民并不觉得为保护花费而补偿的钱是充足的。该因素的恶化是由于与当地人民的交流不够力度，当地和国家的销售问题，贪污的问题和有力的当地精英。为了将TRS通过发展帮助保护工作的能力增加到最大程度，TRS设计中的不公平和收益分散的不均衡都应该考虑到。

Keywords:

• conservation
• gorilla tourism
• tourism revenue sharing
• policy arrangement
• Bwindi National Park, Uganda

关键词:

• 保护
• 大猩猩为主的旅游
• 旅游收入分享
• 政策安排
• Bwindi国家公园
• 乌干达

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wilber Manyisa Ahebwa

Wilber Manyisa Ahebwa is a Lecturer at the Department of Forestry, Biodiversity and Tourism, Makerere University. His interests focus on tourism, conservation and development. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD at Wageningen University, the Netherlands, with a special focus on Tourism, Livelihoods and Biodiversity Conservation at Bwindi NP, Uganda.

Rene van der Duim

René van der Duim is a Special Professor of Tourism and Sustainable Development at the Department of Environmental Sciences of Wageningen University, the Netherlands, and his research focuses on the relation between tourism, conservation and development in sub-Saharan Africa.

Chris Sandbrook

Chris Sandbrook has research interests in conservation, development and tourism. He has carried out both field research and applied project work in Uganda. Having completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge, he is currently working at the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre.