Safaris can help conservation

Abstract

Conservation doesn't always alleviate poverty, and commercial ecotourism doesn't always protect biodiversity (Nature 467, 264–265; 2010) — but both succeed often enough to be worth doing.

A few tourism enterprises have made globally significant contributions to conservation. The safari company &Beyond, for example, protects 2% of the world's black rhinos and 1% of white rhinos on two of its 50 properties, as well as 4% of the Aders' duiker (Cephalophus adersi) antelope population and 10% of suni antelopes (Neotragus moschatus) on two others.

In addition, Wilderness Safaris protects 8% of the world's remaining population of an endangered bird, the Seychelles white-eye (Zosterops modestus) on one of the company's 60 properties. For further details, see http://go.nature.com/g8Z4Pj.