For a long time conservationists worked on the basis that the best way to protect the environment was to get people, and their bad habits, as far away from the areas sought to be protected as possible. That thinking started to change in the 1980s and ’90s, and the idea has since taken root that actually the people who have long lived on and worked and intimately known the land may in fact be its best stewards. However, they needed something to replace the livelihoods that they derived from practices such as hunting, poaching, logging, resin-tapping and non-sustainable agricultural practices. Thus the idea for CBET was found.

Adopting the principle of “poacher turned gamekeeper” through CBET programmes not only gives people a replacement for incomes lost, but gives them a deeper incentive to protect the areas around them, and dependent wildlife, as their own wellbeing becomes entwined with that of their furry and feathered neighbours.

Community members benefit from CBET initiatives in a number of ways. Whether they’re hosts in homestays and guesthouses, waiters, guides, trip organisers, handicrafts manufacturers, offering culturally-based experiences or shopkeepers, the opportunities can be found. This not only helps to spread the benefits brought by tourism, but it also enhances visitors’ experiences as they are brought into closer, more genuine contact with the ... Travelfish members only (Full text is around 2,000 words.)