Sharing national park entrance fees: Forging new partnerships in Madagascar

Abstract

Ecotourism has been promoted by the Ranomafana National Park integrated conservation and development project (ICDP) in Madagascar to raise revenue for park management and create income‐generating opportunities for local residents. In conjunction with this ICDP, the Malagasy National Association for the Management of Protected Areas (ANGAP) initiated a policy in 1993 of sharing half of the national park entrance fees with local entities to demonstrate the benefits of conservation. A Management Committee comprised of local area villagers is responsible for reviewing and selecting village proposals for development microprojects to be funded by the park entrance fees. A General Assembly with locally chosen village representatives from the park's peripheral zone is responsible for formal dialogue between the resident population and the Management Committee. By forging new management partnerships between local villagers, ICDP personnel, and national authorities, ecotourism can begin to make conservation of nature financially beneficial to local people. Keywords: comanagementconservationdevelopmentecotourismMadagascarnational parksprotected areasrevenue sharing