Chebby Francis, Mmbaga Naza, Ngongolo Kelvin
The University of Dodoma, College of Natural and Mathematical Science, Department of Biology, Box 338, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Heliyon. 2024 Jan 9;10(2):e24327. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24327. eCollection 2024 Jan 30.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in various negative repercussions worldwide in terms of biological conservation, the tourism sector and socio-economic welfare. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on socio-economic activities, income from the tourism sector, alternative sources of income adapted by the local communities adjacent to the Burunge Wildlife Management Area (WMA) as a means of survival, and its implications for biodiversity conservation. To assess tourism status, socio-economic activities and alternative livelihoods, interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs), and key informants' consultations were conducted on 264 respondents, of whom 53 % (n = 140) were men and 47 % (n = 124) were women. Secondary data were obtained from soft and hard copy reports through an extensive literature search in order to comprehend the implications of COVID-19 and alternative livelihoods in biodiversity conservation. 90.5 % (239) of respondents reported being seriously affected by the emergence of COVID-19, while 9.5 % (n = 25) were not affected by it. Some of the impacts of the COVID-19 as pointed out by the respondents included deflation (91.7 %, n = 242), a decline in the number of customers (91.7 %, n = 242), whereas others lost jobs (5.7 %, n = 15). In the case of the Burunge WMA authority, revenue collection (mainly from the tourism sector) declined by 32.5 % and 76.4 % for the years 2019/20 and 2020/21, respectively, as compared to the revenue obtained in the year 2018/19 before COVID-19. During the pandemic, local communities adapted to several alternative sources of income while others intensified their former ones mainly being agriculture, fishing and livestock keeping. It is important for local communities, especially those adjacent to protected areas, to have diversified means of income that are environmentally and socially sustainable, such as fish farming and beekeeping, to reduce the impacts of unanticipated crises such as COVID-19.
新冠疫情在生物保护、旅游业以及社会经济福利等方面给全球带来了各种负面影响。本研究的目的是评估新冠疫情爆发对社会经济活动、旅游业收入、布伦格野生动物管理区（WMA）周边当地社区为维持生计而采用的替代收入来源的影响，及其对生物多样性保护的影响。为评估旅游业状况、社会经济活动和替代生计，对264名受访者进行了访谈、半结构化问卷调查、焦点小组讨论（FGD）和关键信息提供者咨询，其中53%（n = 140）为男性，47%（n = 124）为女性。通过广泛的文献检索从软拷贝和硬拷贝报告中获取二手数据，以了解新冠疫情和替代生计对生物多样性保护的影响。90.5%（239）的受访者报告称受到新冠疫情出现的严重影响，而9.5%（n = 25）未受影响。受访者指出的新冠疫情的一些影响包括通货紧缩（91.7%，n = 242）、客户数量下降（91.7%，n = 242），而其他人失去了工作（5.7%，n = 15）。就布伦格野生动物管理区管理部门而言，与新冠疫情前的2018/19年度相比，2019/20年度和2020/21年度的收入（主要来自旅游业）分别下降了32.5%和76.4%。在疫情期间，当地社区采用了多种替代收入来源，而其他社区则加强了他们以前的收入来源，主要是农业、渔业和畜牧业。对于当地社区，尤其是保护区周边的社区来说，拥有环境和社会可持续的多样化收入手段，如养鱼和养蜂，以减少新冠疫情等意外危机的影响非常重要。
