Non-consumptive wildlife-oriented recreation: A conceptual framework

Abstract

Recreational non-consumptive use of wildlife has been attracting increasing numbers of people and generating growing economic benefits from tourism activity. More importantly this type of wildlife interaction has potential benefits to conservation from the long-term effect of changing attitudes towards wild animals and natural habitats. It does not, however, fit well into the existing wildlife management paradigm due to the nature of the final product, a recreation experience. This paper aims to provide an integrated framework that illustrates the major components of non-consumptive wildlife recreation and links between research areas in ecology, animal behaviour, recreation, tourism and existing wildlife management institutions. The fundamental purpose of this paper is to cast wildlife conservation in a new light that recognizes the need to formulate management plans in both a social and biological context.