Tourism governance in protected areas: investigating the application of the adaptive co-management approach

Abstract

Protected areas have become popular tourism destinations; yet these areas are often plagued by poor governance systems, particularly in developing countries. Adaptive co-management (ACM) has been advocated as one approach to improve the governance of protected areas, yet empirical evidence from developing countries is lacking. This study investigates the application of the ACM approach in two protected areas in Bangladesh which are also important nature-based tourism destinations. Using Lawachara National Park and Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary as cases, this qualitative study explored the extent to which an ACM approach was able to support the achievement of key governance principles such as participation, accountability, transparency, power, rule of law, and social learning. It was found that the approach was successful in facilitating the increased participation of a broader range of stakeholder groups, and the collaboration between them. Importantly though, it was the adaptive element of ACM which was found to have made the greatest contribution to improved governance with the approach providing new opportunities for stakeholders to engage in iterative learning. This aspect was found to be of particular importance for the sustainability of the protected areas with stakeholders reporting changes attitudes and behaviour towards protected area conservation.

Keywords:

• Governance
• adaptive co-management
• protected areas
• sustainable tourism
• co-management organizations
• Bangladesh

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Research Training Program (RTP) of Australian Government and University of Queensland Centennial Scholarships. Moreover, the authors are grateful to the respected respondents of Lawachara and Sundarbans Protected Areas for allowing their time and efforts for the research. They also thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their suggestions and critical comments to finalize the article.

Notes on contributors

Md. Wasiul Islam (MSc, BSc) is a PhD student in the UQ Business School (Tourism Cluster), The University of Queensland, Australia. He is also a faculty member in Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Bangladesh. He has working experiences in Bangladesh Forest Department where he was involved in several research projects on nature-based tourism and wildlife management. His research interests include participatory protected area management, governance and nature-based tourism.

Lisa Ruhanen (PhD, GCEd, BBusHons) is an Associate Professor in the UQ Business School, The University of Queensland. She has been involved in over 30 academic and consultancy research projects in Australia and overseas. Her research areas include Indigenous tourism, sustainable tourism destination policy and planning, and climate change. Lisa has worked extensively as a consultant, external collaborator and executive committee member with a variety of divisions of the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Brent W. Ritchie (PhD, DipTour, BA) is a Professor in the UQ Business School, The University of Queensland. He has been involved in over 40 academic and consultancy research projects in Australia, New Zealand, England, Philippines and Japan. His research areas include tourism risk management, consumer behaviour and tourism marketing. Brent is on the editorial board of eight tourism journals, including the Journal of Travel Research.