I’ve always been a passionate believer, as a traveller and a tourism business owner, of the ability of the tourism sector to contribute to environmental protection.

This study sought to provide evidence to demonstrate some of the existing partnerships between tourism operators and marine resource stewards in Fiji.

As an environmental economist with most of my working career in the Pacific, the findings that 72% of the marine conservation agreements did not rely on explicit monetary incentives, but benefits such as employment and ongoing relationship with operators and their guests that contributed to community development and education, is important in the context of the payments for ecosystem services debate.

Pacific culture has reciprocity as a core part of its value systems so more research on whether formal payments for ecosystem services undermine or reinforce these values would be useful.