Reactions of visitors to four South African nature reserve camps toward charging for facilities and measures on a user-pays basis that incorporates social costs

Preston, Fuggle & Siegfried (1991) suggested measures by which authorities can make nature reserve visitors more circumspect in their consumption of resources, arguing that the measures have both practical conservation and interpretive value. A survey of 800 adult (over 18 year old) visitors to four South African nature reserve camps was undertaken to establish reaction to these proposed measures. The camps were selected to represent a broad spectrum of visitor profiles, and a 94% response rate was achieved. Widespread support for a user-pays approach to resource utilization was found. However, specific measures to adopt the user-paysapproach to control the use of electricity and water by visitors met with greater ambivalence. Nevertheless, there would appear to be sufficient support for most of the user-pays measures to warrant their implementation on a trial basis. There would also appear to be sufficient support for reserve authorities to test the effect of incorporating social costs as private costs, where practicable. Preston, Fuggle & Siegfried (1991) het maatreels voorgestel waarvolgens owerhede besoekers aan natuurreservate meer omsigtig kan maak m.b.t. hulle verbruik van hulpbronne, en redeneer dat die maatreels beide praktiese bewarings- en verklarende waarde het. 'n Meningsopname onder 800 volwasse (g 18 jaar oud) besoekers aan vier Suid-Afrikaanse natuurreservaatkampe is onderneem om die reaksie op die voorgestelde maatreels vas te stel. Die kampe is gekies om 'n wye spektrum van besoekersprofiele te verteenwoordig en 'n reaksiekoers van 94% is bereik. Wye ondersteuning is vir 'n 'verbuiker-betaal'-benadering tot hulpbronverbruik gevind. Spesifieke maatreels m.b.t. die aanneming van die 'verbruiker-betaal'-benadering om die elektrisiteits- en waterverbruik van besoekers te kontroleer, is egter met groter teenstrydigheid ontvang. Dit wil nietemin voorkom dat daar voldoende steun vir die meeste van die 'verbruiker-betaal'-maatstawwe is om die implementering daarvan op 'n proefbasis te regverdig. Dit wil ook voorkom asof daar voldoende steun is vir reservaatowerhede om, in gevalle waar dit uitvoerbaar is, die invloed van die insluiting van sosiale kostes as privaatkostes te toets.