Estimating the social and ecological impact of community-based ecotourism in giant panda habitats

Community-based ecotourism (CBET) is considered an efficient mechanism for alleviating conflicts between conservation and development. It is particularly important in the conservation of the giant panda population, which faces the primary threat of habitat fragmentation. Although studies have assessed livelihood changes of households participating in CBET, research on ecological effects is lacking. To address the gaps in the literature, we conducted propensity score matching on data from households at different altitudes in giant panda habitats in Sichuan Province, China. The results show that CBET has achieved desirable social outcomes, significantly increasing local households' income and well-being, especially for those at high altitudes. With respect to ecological impacts, CBET has significantly raised households’ conservation attitudes, but has also increased natural resource extraction, especially at high altitudes. Overall, CBET in the giant panda habitat has not led to a win–win situation between social and ecological outcomes, especially at high altitudes. Our results indicate that the ecological impact of CBET is significant, and policies aimed at promoting the conservation of natural resources should account for this effect. •Community based ecotourism (CBET) has achieved positive social outcomes in giant panda habitats.•The social and ecological outcomes of CBET differs between high and low altitude.•CBET has some negative ecological effects, especially in high altitude.•Trade off effect of CBET between ecological and social outcomes was found in high altitude.