A. Species
Scientific name: Gorilla beringei
Common name(s): Mountain gorilla
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Critically Endangered
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Rwanda
Country/Region: Rwanda
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Individual Site
Name/Details of location: Volcanoes National Park
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2005
End Year: 2015
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Non-Extractive
Practice of use:
Lethal or non-lethal:
Does this use involve take/extraction of:
Purpose(s) of end use: Recreation
Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Recreational and Population/Area Management
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and International external
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: Ecotourism per se is sustainable, but due to limited access to tourism benefits including the revenue sharing, high costs of living adjacent to the park, lack of community involvement and participation in the park management and decision-making process, the conservation benefits of ecotourism are limited. Findings of this study, based on questionnaires of local communities neighbouring the national par, revealed that mountain gorilla tourism through the tourism revenue sharing scheme has not directly benefited local communities and therefore has not addressed human-induced conservation threats.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Mountain gorillas are a flagship species for conservation and generate large sums of money from species-specific ecotourism. Nevertheless, human-wildlife conflict and poaching are still a problem in the area
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Research findings revealed that mountain gorilla tourism through the tourism revenue sharing scheme has not directly benefited local communities and therefore has not addressed human-induced conservation threats.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: ecotourists enjoy activity; locals earn some money - financial flow into local community needs to be improved
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: this study does not analyse this
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: this study does not analyse this
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: ecotourism strictly regulated to ensure animal welfare
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Better access to tourism benefits including the revenue sharing, high costs of living adjacent to the park, lack of community involvement and participation in the park management and decision-making process
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2021-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-11-11