Ecotourism development for biodiversity conservation and local economic development in remote regions: A multi- scale approach in the D Sahara-Sahel Frederico da Costa Santarém Doutoramento em Biodiversidade, Genética e Evolução Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto 2020 Orientador José Carlos Brito, Investigador Principal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal Coorientador Jarkko Saarinen, Professor, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland Foreword In compliance with the no. 2 of article 4 of the General Regulation of Third Cycles of the University of Porto and with the article 31 of the Decree-Law no. 74/2006 of 24 March, with the alteration introduced by the Decree-Law no. 230/2009, of 14 September, the results of already published works were totally used and included in some of the chapters of this dissertation. As these works were performed in collaboration with other authors, the candidate clarifies that, in all these works, participated in obtaining, analysing, and discussing the results, as well as in the writing of the published forms. The Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto was the home institution of the candidate, and the work was supervised by Professor José Carlos Brito (CIBIO-InBIO – Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Vairão, Portugal and Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal) and co-supervised by Professor Jarkko Saarinen (Geography Research Unit of the University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, and Distinguished Visiting Professor (Sustainability management) in the University of Johannesburg, South Africa). The work was developed at CIBIO-InBIO and Geography Research Unit. The candidate was financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) through the attribution of the PhD grant PD/BD/132407. Financial support was given to the project by AGRIGEN-NORTE-01-0145-FEDER- 000007, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). To my mother. Acknowledgements First, I would like to express my profound gratitude to José Carlos Brito. He was not only a supervisor, in the true meaning of the word, but he impacted my life profoundly. He believed in me when no one else did and had worked hard to allow me to perform always at my best level. He was able to recognize hidden values on me and allowed me to visit and fell Africa as I could never imagined. In the words of Sir Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”. And what a giant José Carlos Brito is. More than an advisor he is a true friend, and we developed a friendship at levels far from what I could ever had imagined. I am also deeply thankful to Jarkko Saarinen for accepting to co-supervise this Thesis and for teaching me the meaning of many tourism terms. He is highly knowledgeable in definitions and was a precious intervener in all sorts of articles production. The institutions that funded this project deserve a special appreciation: the Rufford Foundation and the Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (who funded field expeditions), the European Union and the Governments of Portugal and of Finland (who funded Research Centers), the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and the Academy of Finland (who funded key people for this Thesis). BirdLife International, IUCN, World Bank, United Nations, and many other global institutions must be thanked for providing free data that were key to this Thesis. A special thanks go to the Sahara Conservation Fund. Not only did they provide data for free, but they are also responsible for some of the most beautiful conservation projects out there. They are an inspiration for those wanting to conserve wildlife in the Sahara. I am grateful to the University of Porto and CIBIO-InBIO (in Portugal) and to the University of Oulu and Geography Research Unit (in Finland) for the opportunity to conduct research in these outstanding institutions. I thank the many people within Biodeserts group who allowed me to grow by teaching me about desert ecology and biodiversity and about many other subjects out of the Biology scope. Thanks for the great conversations. In terms of professional assistance, I would like to thank Paulo Pereira. He helped me a lot with his profound knowledge of programming and data analysis, or, when I was feeling desperate with the statistical programs, he helped to burst out laughing. I also thank Pedro Tarroso and Sílvia Carvalho for discussions about specific softwares that I had used along this Thesis. Part of this work was conducted in the field, where I had some of my best moments in life. The desert expeditions were more than amazing because of João Campos, Fábio Sousa, and Joana Marques. Andack Saad Sow helped us a lot in the field and he showed me the ‘Mauritanian way’ – even if I did not understand many of his words, I could understand their meaning. Thank you for showing me your people and your country’ values. Other people that helped me in the field need to be acknowledged as well: Fernando Martínez-Freiría, Guillermo Velo-Antón, Juan M. Pleguezuelos, Olivier Peyre, Phillippe Geniez, Pierre-André Crochet. I thank the many Mauritanians that helped us in a way or another. Professor Dieng Hamidou from the University of Nouakchott, who constantly invite us to perform biological expeditions in Mauritania; the Diawling National Park staff that accompanied us in the field; and the many unnamed people that we have met along the way that helped me to better understand Mauritania’ culture and values. Part of this work was conducted in the cold lands of northern Finland (Oulu). Those days were warmed by some people that I met and to whom I am also thankful. Denner Vieira was my best friend there – in just two months we developed such a friendship; thank you so much my friend! Georg from Austria, Roger from USA, and Audrey from Canada: thank you all! Professionally, I also thank Sofia Vaz and João Carvalho for inviting me to great collaborations. These two are the kind of scientists that any institution needs to have among their staff! I am also thankful to many African artists that helped me to write hours on end with their music playing in the background: Rokia Traoré (Mali), Sona Jobarteh (Gambia), Fatoumata Diawara (Mali), Tinariwen (Mali), Bombino (Niger), Tamikrest (Mali), Ballaké Sissoko (Mali), Ali Farka Touré (Mali), Salif Keita (Mali), Noura Mint Seymali (Mauritania), Malouma (Mauritania), Mdou Moctar (Niger), Cheikh Lô (Senegal). That this Thesis can help them to lift their countries as they lifted me through their spectacular songs. I thank the many friends that have been accompanying me for years and allowed some of the best laughing moments a PhD student can have. João Moura, Alice Lucas, Diogo Silvério, Miguel Friães, André Gonçalves, Sara Moutinho, Sandra Oliveira, Margarida Henrique, Leonor Gouveia, Pedro Mourão, Gustavo Correia, Sofia Bessa, Ana Catarina Santos, João Manuel, Catarina Santos, and Claúdia. Please apologize if I forgot someone. What about unlikely friends? António Ferreira, Renato Fernandes, Bárbara Barroso, Pedro Silva-Santos, Francisco Teixeira, and Ricardo Teixeira (and all the KIAI family), who have lately added tremendous value through masterminds and mentorships. I thank my family for always being there, no matter what. I am the first to complete the highest level of studies among the closest members and I hope this Thesis can inspire others to follow these steps. Education always wins! And because the best always come at the end, I am profoundly thankful to my mother. She instilled me principles of the greatest value. She gave me the tools for me to thrive. She always believed I can achieve the next level. Not only the next level, but the best level! If I would be allowed only one word of appreciation, I would say my mother was the only responsible for me to be where I am today. She thinks I taught her a lot about Biology. But she taught so much more about life. THANK YOU, MOM! i FCUP Ecotourism development for biodiversity conservation and local economic development in remote regions: A multi-scale approach in Sahara-Sahel Resumo Por todo o mundo, os ecossistemas estão ameaçados pelo desenvolvimento humano insustentável. Os desertos, em particular, enfrentam uma das maiores taxas de perda de espécies e de habitats. Contudo, continuam a ser negligenciados pela sociedade global. E apesar de providenciarem uma quantidade considerável de serviços de ecossistemas que beneficiam as pessoas, estão entre os ecossistemas menos estudados e financiados para conservação. Alternativas sustentáveis são urgentemente necessárias para conservar alguns dos últimos biomas selvagens e fornecer às comunidades locais os meios que elas precisam para prosperar no longo termo. O ecoturismo (um dos principais serviços de ecossistema culturais para a Humanidade) tem sido defendido como uma solução potencial para a conservação dos desertos, já que é capaz de preservar espécies carismáticas e não carismáticas enquanto melhora as condições socioeconómicas locais. Como um dos setores do turismo que mais cresce a nível global, o ecoturismo pode ser a resposta para o desenvolvimento local sustentável. Inclusive, tem sido reconhecido pelas Nações Unidas como crucial para a diminuição da pobreza e preservação de vida selvagem em regiões remotas do planeta. Contudo, o seu desenvolvimento em ecossistemas desérticos continua pouco estudado. De entre as maiores regiões áridas do mundo, o Sahara-Sahel é o deserto mais negligenciado. Apesar de ser rico em património natural e cultural que sustenta o desenvolvimento de atividades de ecoturismo, os conflitos regionais e atividades insustentáveis em áreas malgovernadas têm diminuído a capacidade dos países do Sahara e do Sahel se desenvolverem apropriadamente.