Abstract
An ecotourism system that is based on wildlife habitats in ecological systems is considered a social-ecological system that has a feedback relationship with social systems. Increases in socioeconomic activities and tourism infrastructure construction are not conducive to the resilience of wildlife habitats, thereby stressing the ecological system and threatening sustainable ecotourism. Managing resilient wildlife habitats by developing transformation plans that can be used to construct new systems through self-organization and the absorption of stress is paramount to perpetuating sustainable ecotourism systems. This study aims to establish transformation plans to enhance the resilience of systems thinking regarding wildlife habitats. Such thinking involves the sequential application of dynamic thinking, causal thinking, closed-loop thinking, and the discovery of strategies. This study examines the case study of Eulsukdo Island in South Korea, and the following transformation plans are derived: (1) high-quality eco-education programs to help tourists become hard ecotourists; (2) subsidies for foraging area restoration; (3) ecosystem services of wildlife habitats; and (4) governance organization led by multiple actors. The results of this study can provide guidelines for the effective use of natural resources at ecotourism destinations and for the ecotourism development of damaged wildlife habitats.
Highlights
More than other types of tourism, ecotourism utilizes wildlife and habitats as major resources and involves protecting and preserving areas while contributing to local economic vitalization through educational and guided-tour programs [1,2]
The purpose of this study is to establish transformation plans for ecotourism systems to enhance the resilience of wildlife habitats on the Nakdong River Estuary, Eulsukdo Island, South Korea, where the wildlife habitat is being destroyed by tourism activities, using a transformation planning process with systems thinking
According to an expert on ecological monitoring, migratory birds must replenish their energy during their stay on Eulsukdo before they fly to their stop
Summary
More than other types of tourism, ecotourism utilizes wildlife and habitats as major resources and involves protecting and preserving areas while contributing to local economic vitalization through educational and guided-tour programs [1,2]. Ecotourism that is based on natural resources in ecological systems plays a role in the construction of a unique social system by creating various social-ecological activities [3,4]. In recent years, the negative effects of social systems on ecological systems have increased in frequency. Increases in socioeconomic activities and tourism infrastructure construction that is not conducive to the resilience of wildlife habitats are damaging natural resources. Damage to ecological systems negatively influences the social system and threatens the sustainability of ecotourism over the long term [10,11]. Various factors that affect wildlife habitats at ecotourism sites (i.e., management, ecology, society, and economy) exhibit complex interactions [14,15,16]. Ecotourism systems vary in behavior and structure according to the dynamics of various changes over time and according to the hierarchical feedback structures that constitute ecotourism sites, which are diverse and complex [15]
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