Relationship Analysis of Local Community Participation in Sustainable Ecotourism Development in Protected Areas, Iran

Parvaneh Sobhani, Hassan Esmaeilzadeh, Seyed Mohammad Moein Sadeghi, Isabelle D. Wolf () and Azade Deljouei
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Parvaneh Sobhani: Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Evin, Tehran 1983969411, Iran
Hassan Esmaeilzadeh: Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Evin, Tehran 1983969411, Iran
Seyed Mohammad Moein Sadeghi: School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Isabelle D. Wolf: Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space, School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
Azade Deljouei: School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: Nature conservation efforts cannot succeed without stakeholder participation. The inherent complexity of nature-based ecotourism has made the development of sustainable ecotourism operations a challenge, so it is essential to increase community stakeholder participation. Hence, this study investigates local community participation in Lar National Park (LNP) and the Jajrud Protected Area with the Sustainable Use of Natural Resource Areas (JPA) in Iran and evaluates how this influences the sustainability of ecotourism. This study found that in LNP, sustainable ecotourism development involving local communities is increasing because of the high level of attachment and interest to this part of pristine nature. In the JPA, the relationship between local community participation and ecotourism sustainability is significant too. As a result, natural habitats have been degraded and sustainability has decreased. To conserve these critically endangered natural areas, managers and decision-makers must increase community participation and education to encourage local communities to engage more in developing sustainable ecotourism.

Keywords: ecotourism; tourism planning; sustainable ecotourism; Tehran; Iran (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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