Factors influencing willingness to donate to marine endangered species recovery in the Galapagos National Park, Ecuador
Willingness to donate money for the conservation of endangered species may depend on numerous factors. In this paper, we analyze data from a survey given to tourists visiting Ecuador’s Galapagos National Park and Marine Reserve to investigate determinants of their willingness to donate (WTD) toward...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2016-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fmars.2016.00060/full |
| _version_ | 1798043333429297152 |
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| author | Susana A Cardenas Susana A Cardenas Daniel K Lew Daniel K Lew |
| author_facet | Susana A Cardenas Susana A Cardenas Daniel K Lew Daniel K Lew |
| author_sort | Susana A Cardenas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Willingness to donate money for the conservation of endangered species may depend on numerous factors. In this paper, we analyze data from a survey given to tourists visiting Ecuador’s Galapagos National Park and Marine Reserve to investigate determinants of their willingness to donate (WTD) towards the conservation of two marine endangered species--the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) and the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). Specifically, we use regression analysis to analyze the influence of attitudes and beliefs toward species conservation, levels of concern for specific species, recreational motivations, and past donation patterns on WTD, while also controlling for individual characteristics such as age, gender, place of residence, and other demographics. Additionally, we evaluate the sensitivity of WTD to the species being protected by conservation efforts. Our results demonstrate that specific concern about the species, beliefs about donating to the protection program, and past donation behavior significantly influence the intention to donate money towards the recovery of the two marine endangered species. The likelihood of donating to green sea turtle conservation efforts is marginally higher than for hammerhead sharks, possibly due to its more charismatic nature. In contrast, visitors who are more willing to donate for shark conservation appear to be those with a strong desire to see them in the wild. The results provide useful information on the heterogeneity of tourist preferences towards donating to species conservation efforts, which has broad implications for resource agencies seeking ways to fund conservation actions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:47:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-116fc5fc84934184ad75803ac10e42e7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:47:42Z |
| publishDate | 2016-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-116fc5fc84934184ad75803ac10e42e72022-12-22T03:58:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452016-05-01310.3389/fmars.2016.00060182613Factors influencing willingness to donate to marine endangered species recovery in the Galapagos National Park, EcuadorSusana A Cardenas0Susana A Cardenas1Daniel K Lew2Daniel K Lew3University of California, DavisUniversity of California, DavisNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationUniversity of California, DavisWillingness to donate money for the conservation of endangered species may depend on numerous factors. In this paper, we analyze data from a survey given to tourists visiting Ecuador’s Galapagos National Park and Marine Reserve to investigate determinants of their willingness to donate (WTD) towards the conservation of two marine endangered species--the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) and the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). Specifically, we use regression analysis to analyze the influence of attitudes and beliefs toward species conservation, levels of concern for specific species, recreational motivations, and past donation patterns on WTD, while also controlling for individual characteristics such as age, gender, place of residence, and other demographics. Additionally, we evaluate the sensitivity of WTD to the species being protected by conservation efforts. Our results demonstrate that specific concern about the species, beliefs about donating to the protection program, and past donation behavior significantly influence the intention to donate money towards the recovery of the two marine endangered species. The likelihood of donating to green sea turtle conservation efforts is marginally higher than for hammerhead sharks, possibly due to its more charismatic nature. In contrast, visitors who are more willing to donate for shark conservation appear to be those with a strong desire to see them in the wild. The results provide useful information on the heterogeneity of tourist preferences towards donating to species conservation efforts, which has broad implications for resource agencies seeking ways to fund conservation actions.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fmars.2016.00060/fullMultinomial logitEco-tourismConservation attitudesDonation behaviorMarine endangered speciesattitude-behavior modeling |
| spellingShingle | Susana A Cardenas Susana A Cardenas Daniel K Lew Daniel K Lew Factors influencing willingness to donate to marine endangered species recovery in the Galapagos National Park, Ecuador Frontiers in Marine Science Multinomial logit Eco-tourism Conservation attitudes Donation behavior Marine endangered species attitude-behavior modeling |
| title | Factors influencing willingness to donate to marine endangered species recovery in the Galapagos National Park, Ecuador |
| title_full | Factors influencing willingness to donate to marine endangered species recovery in the Galapagos National Park, Ecuador |
| title_fullStr | Factors influencing willingness to donate to marine endangered species recovery in the Galapagos National Park, Ecuador |
| title_full_unstemmed | Factors influencing willingness to donate to marine endangered species recovery in the Galapagos National Park, Ecuador |
| title_short | Factors influencing willingness to donate to marine endangered species recovery in the Galapagos National Park, Ecuador |
| title_sort | factors influencing willingness to donate to marine endangered species recovery in the galapagos national park ecuador |
| topic | Multinomial logit Eco-tourism Conservation attitudes Donation behavior Marine endangered species attitude-behavior modeling |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fmars.2016.00060/full |
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