The economic value of penguins and their tenuous conservation status: are we investing in penguin futures?

GARCÍA BORBOROGLU, PABLO; BOERSMA, DEE; DANN, PETER

Cape Town

Congreso; 9th International Penguin Congress; 2016

Global tourism generates $1.2 trillion annually and economically rivals many industries including mining and fishing in some areas. Wildlife tourism is estimated to contribute 20-40% to global tourism. Penguins appeal to a wide range of audiences for a variety of reasons. Whether it is their gait and general appearance, their being an integral part of a broader ecotourism experience or their remarkable specialisations to life at sea, penguins enjoy universal popularity and are a significant contributor to wildlife tourism in the Southern Hemisphere. Tourism experiences associated with penguins in the wild are generally visits to colonies or landing sites. Our preliminary estimates of the value of penguin-related tourism worldwide indicate that it is in the billions to regional economies (we are currently preparing a full analysis for this presentation). Penguin popularity and their capacity or potential to generate wealth would seem to ensure their protection in perpetuity. However this is far from the case. According to the IUCN (2013), 11/18 species of penguin (60%) are threatened. In an extensive review of threats facing penguins, Trathan et al (2014) listed pollution, habitat loss and impacts of fishing as primary threats to penguins worldwide; all factors humans can readily mitigate. Increased threats from climate change are also predicted and at their current rate of becoming threatened, penguins may disappear from much of their range. The disparity between the declining conservation status of penguins and our affection for them raises two obvious courses of action. Firstly we need to increase our efforts to ensure that everyone is aware of the threats facing penguins and what can be done to ameliorate these threats, and, secondly, we need to use every argument for appropriate responses to their deteriorating situations including the importance of their economic value In this presentation we will examine the status, and management of the world?s penguins in relation to the tourism benefits they provide with a view to determining what we have learnt and what we do next to afford better protection for the world?s penguins.