Nature Interpretation as an Environmental Educational Approach in Visitor Management at Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Various scholars have endorsed contemporary visitor management strategies broadly categorized as hard or soft approaches. The hard strategies like area closure, penalties, patrols, or limiting access have been deemed punitive and restrictive to visitors seeking escape into natural environments. On the other hand, nature interpretation (NI) and general conservation information, christened as soft strategy, are pushed as complementary or alternative non-obstructive visitor management tactics. However, these arguments notwithstanding, questions linger about the choice of appropriate NI strategies, their application, and their effectiveness. This study sought to establish which NI and visitor information approaches can be used be to manage visitors by target group effectively at the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Data was collected by surveying n = 570 respondents that constituted visitors (n = 413) and tour guides (n = 157) participating in wildlife tourism at MMNR over six months. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to present and analyze data with spearman’s correlation used for testing the relationships to answer the research question. Study results established mixed results with different NI attributes comprising a few weak, some very weak, and the majority no correlations with the respondents’ demographics. The month of the visit and type of vehicle used had very weak negative correlations with attributes of NI, generally implying inverse relationships. Nationality and gender had the least correlations, while the month of visit and the purpose of the visit had the highest number of correlations with, the latter having slightly stronger correlations. Display boards and orientation signage had the highest number of very weak and weak correlations with nearly all the respondents’ demographics except nationality and gender. Visitor codes/do’s and don’ts followed with tour guiding with no correlations with almost all the demographics. The study recommends continuous improvement of all NI approaches at the MMNR, with urgency being given to display boards and orientation signage followed by visitor codes and tour guiding, as evidenced from findings. The study further recommends research on contemporary trends in NI and conservation education and information dissemination.

诸多学者均支持当前的游客管理策略，这类策略大致可分为硬性与软性两类。其中，区域封闭、处罚措施、巡逻管控或限制进入等硬性策略，被认为具有惩罚性且带有限制性，会妨碍寻求在自然环境中放松休憩的游客。而被归类为软性策略的自然解说（Nature Interpretation, NI）与通用保护资讯，则被倡导作为游客管理的补充性或替代性非干预性策略。尽管存在上述论点，但关于合适的NI策略的选择、其应用方式及实施效果，仍存在诸多疑问。本研究旨在明确，在肯尼亚马赛马拉国家保护区（Masai Mara National Reserve, MMNR）内，可采用哪些NI与游客资讯策略，以针对不同目标群体有效开展游客管理工作。本研究通过问卷调查收集数据，共纳入570名受访者，其中参与该保护区野生动物旅游的游客413名、导游157名，调研周期为6个月。本研究采用描述性统计与推断性统计方法对数据进行呈现与分析，并使用斯皮尔曼相关性检验（Spearman's Correlation）来验证变量间的关联，以解答研究问题。研究结果呈现出多样化特征：不同NI维度与受访者人口统计学变量间的关联情况各异，仅少量存在弱相关，部分存在极弱相关，绝大多数则无相关性。到访月份与所用车辆类型与NI各维度仅存在极弱负相关，整体呈现反向关联。国籍与性别与各变量的相关性最弱，而到访月份与到访目的的相关性数量最多，其中到访目的的相关性强度略高。展示牌与导向标识与除国籍、性别外的几乎所有受访者人口统计学变量的极弱相关与弱相关数量最多。游客行为准则（即注意事项）与导游服务则与几乎所有人口统计学变量均无相关性。基于研究结果，本研究建议对MMNR内的所有NI策略进行持续优化，其中应优先改进展示牌与导向标识，其次为游客行为准则与导游服务。此外，本研究还建议开展针对NI、保护教育及资讯传播领域当代发展趋势的相关研究。