The majority of Africa is characterised by high levels of poverty, high population densities and limited economic development. Botswana is, however, different in having the highest gross domestic product per capita in Africa, relatively low population densities and high levels of socio-economic development. Inequality, however, remains high. A community-based natural resource management programme was introduced in 1989 to ensure that local communities benefit from the country's abundant natural resources, with the hope that they will then protect them.

According to advocates, eco-certification can stem environmental damages from tourism in developing countries. Yet we know little about tourism operators’ economic incentives to get certified. To help fill that gap, we use detailed panel data to analyze the Blue Flag beach certification program in Costa Rica where nature-based tourism has caused significant environmental damage. We use new hotel investment to proxy for private benefits, and fixed effects and propensity score matching to control for self-selection bias.

Rural African communities are largely characterised by high levels of unemployment and poverty, low skills levels and a heavy reliance on natural resources. Increasing populations, together with the impacts of climate change, are putting pressure on natural resources and the issue of sustainable land use is becoming critically important. Ecotourism is one possible sustainable land use which can also assist with both local socioeconomic development and biodiversity conservation.

Rural Malawi is largely characterised by high levels of poverty, unemployment and high population densities. It is also seen as the ‘warm heart of Africa’, which, together with its abundant natural resources, makes it an excellent destination for international ecotourists. This paper looks at the impact of ecotourism employment on poverty reduction and the flow of ecotourism income into the villages adjacent to Liwonde National Park. Extensive questionnaire surveys were conducted with staff employed in ecotourism as well as with rural households in the villages adjacent to the Park.

Eco-certification can generate private benefits for tourism operators in developing countries and therefore has the potential to improve their environmental performance.

Our findings provide some of the first evidence that eco-certification can generate private benefits for tourism operators in developing countries and therefore has the potential to improve their environmental performance.

Many rural areas of Africa are characterised by high levels of unemployment, poverty and increasing population densities. Arid climates and erratic rainfall also make many of these areas marginal for agriculture and offer few alternative employment opportunities. Ecotourism in these areas can offer a sustainable land use option that promotes biodiversity conservation, can assist in poverty reduction and promote local socio-economic development. Receipt of benefits from ecotourism is also claimed to improve community attitudes towards conservation.