Ecotourism Participation and Environmental Stewardship in the Peruvian Amazon

Ecotourism has the potential to support biodiversity conservation and community development, particularly in biologically rich regions such as the Amazon. This study examined whether conservation knowledge and perceived community conservation practices (PCCPs) differed among three adjacent communities within the Área de Conservación Regional Comunal Tamshiyacu Tahuayo, Peru, which shared a broadly similar ecological, livelihood, and governance context but differed in ecotourism involvement. We also examined whether individual tourism employment was associated with these outcomes and whether education was associated with conservation knowledge. A total of 66 semi-structured interviews were conducted with one adult from nearly every household between November and December 2019. Conservation knowledge and PCCPs differed among communities, although only the knowledge difference remained significant after multiple-comparison correction. Tourism workers had higher conservation knowledge than non-workers overall, but not within communities, while tourism employment was not associated with PCCPs. Education was positively associated with conservation knowledge, although this association was attenuated after accounting for tourism employment. Qualitative responses indicated that some residents viewed ecotourism as an alternative to hunting and other extractive activities. Given the cross-sectional, exploratory design, findings indicate associations rather than causal effects. Ecotourism may be part of a broader social–ecological context supporting conservation, although perceived practices may not reflect directly observed conservation outcomes.