Thesis of (Ph.D.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on September 14th, 2009). "Fall, 2009." At head of title: University of Alberta. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduates Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Michigan State University, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-128).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Colorado, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [194]-218).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: William F. Ritter, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (PhD(Tourism Management))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Abstract in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

No description available.

Thesis (MA)--University of Montana, 2009. / "Major Subject: Sociology" Title from author supplied metadata. Includes bibliographical references.

The prospect of using ecotourism to add value to conservation initiatives has frequently been stated. However, there is a general lack of information on the costs and benefits of biodiversity and its management, and how this can be influenced by the ecotourism industry. This study seeks to explore the value of biodiversity from the perspective of ecotourism in a hierarchical series of studies that move from the biome-level perspective down to the value of juveniles in ecotourism. Ecotourism plays a significant role in the establishment and management of Private Protected Areas (PPAs) and hence the opportunity to be added to the conservation estate. The financial opportunity to be found in ‘big five’ areas had led to an uneven biome coverage of PPAs which has resulted in the over-representation of certain areas and a skewed contribution towards national conservation targets. The landscape-use of PPAs have indicated that ecotourism operators are largely driven to achieve successful game-viewing sightings which has influenced management and affected the landscape use of PPAs, the stocking rate of species, the introduction of extralimital species, and management of flagship species. These management decisions are based on anecdotal sources and have been made at the expense of biodiversity and therefore apparent conflict exists between ecotourism and conservation objectives. This is based on lack of information: ecotourism operators, despite the large area they protect, have not realised their potential to contribute to conservation. It is therefore important to develop policy and incentives to motivate the establishment of PPAs in areas of high conservation significance in order to contribute to national conservation targets. Ecotourism should be used as a solution to provide important insights into tourist preferences which contribute to the larger debate of how to establish a balance between managing animal populations to ensure tourist satisfaction while supporting conservation. To ensure sustainability of PPAs, it is strongly recommended to manage PPAs more intensively with regards to PPA size, species stocking rates and landscape use. The presence of juveniles at an animal sighting significantly contributes to tourist satisfaction which suggests that the loss of juveniles may reduce the attraction. This is used to provide recommendations that using contraception to control elephant population numbers should be applied with caution as a management tool as it may be counterproductive by negatively impacting ecotourism. The findings from this study not only contribute to the conservation of biodiversity through the use of ecotourism, but will also ensure sustainability of the ecotourism industry and build capacity for sustainable living.

Please read the abstract in the 00front part of this document / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2000. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / MSc / Unrestricted