In 2010, the Convention on Biological Diversity developed a new strategic plan to enhance international efforts at stopping degradation and promoting sustainable use of the world’s biological heritage. These twenty ‘Aichi Targets’ on biodiversity have been set for attainment by 2020.

Domestic and international tourism and visitation to protected areas is significant, growing, and can generate both positive and negative impacts for biodiversity in reaching the Aichi Targets, especially Target 11, which focuses on protected areas . This issue of PARKS looks at the potential contributions to achieving the Aichi Targets from tourism and visitation. Tourism is highly relevant to biodiversity conservation and protected area management and planning, and in addition to Target 11, can contribute to several other Aichi Targets. Authors in this issue explore how, for example, tourism can help achieve public awareness of biodiversity values and opportunities for conservation, keep impacts within safe ecological limits, increase global coverage of protected areas, and promote fair and equitable sharing of benefits from tourism and biodiversity.

Content

Editorial Protected Areas Tourism and the Aichi Targets
Glen T. Hvenegaard, Elizabeth Halpenny, Stephen McCool

Tourism, Conservation and the Aichi Targets
Ralf Buckley

The impact of land management systems on community attitudes towards tourism and conservation in six southern african countries
Susan Snyman

An analysis of livelihood linkages of tourism in Kaziranga National Park, a natural world heritage site in India
Syed Ainul Hussain, Shivani Chandola Barthwal, Ruchi Badola, Syed Mohammad Tufailur Rahman, Archi Rastogi, Chongpi Tuboi and Anil Kumar Bhardwaj

Tourism and Biodiversity along the Euro-Mediterranean Coast: prospects for overcoming a deeply rooted conflict
Emma Salizzoni

Protected Area branding strategies to increase stewardship among park constituencies
Lisa King, Stephen McCool, Peter Fredman, Elizabeth Halpenny

Conserving biodiversity through Parks Canada's volunteer programme
John Waithaka, Mike Wong, Johanne Ranger, Elizabeth Halpenny

Supporting the CBD Aichi biodiversity conservation targets through park tourism: A case study of Parks Canada's visitor experience programme
Ed Jager, Elizabeth Halpenny

Building the capability to manage tourism as support for the Aichi target
Stephen McCool, Yi-Chung Hsu, Sergio Brant Rocha, Anna Dóra, Lloyd Gardner, Wayne Freimund

Sustainable tourism capacity building for marine protected areas
Thomas Fish, Anne Walton

Community-based monitoring of tourism resources as a tool for supporting the CBD targets: A preliminary global assessment
Anna Miller, Yu-Fai Leung, Dau-Jye Lu

European Charter Parks - A growing network for sustainable tourism development in protected areas
Agnese Balandina, Lasse Lovén, Olaf Ostermann, Richard Partington

Using tourism to conserve the mist forests and mysterious cultural heritage of the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, Jamaica
Susan Otuokon, Shauna-Lee Chai, Marlon Beale