Economic and Conservation Potential of Bird-Watching Tourism in Postconflict Colombia

Abstract

Ongoing conflict resolution in Colombia brings an opportunity for economic development of impoverished communities and a conservation threat of deforestation in newly accessible rural areas. Ecotourism is often proposed as a “win–win” solution for developing countries to meet both economic and conservation needs. With the highest number of bird species of any country, including 443 rare species highly valued by bird-watchers, Colombia has a unique opportunity to develop a lucrative and conservation-friendly bird-watching tourism industry in postconflict areas. Through geospatial analysis of conflict zones, bird distributions, protected areas, forest cover, and bird-watching activity, we identify areas of Colombia with unrealized bird-watching potential that are ripe for the development of synergistic conservation-ecotourism projects. An investment in ecotourism infrastructure and training by the Colombian government may be a conservation-friendly alternative to natural resource extraction that could alleviate poverty without degrading natural capital in postconflict Colombia.