Thanks for sharing your point of the matter with the rest of us, @forexbrokr :)

I can't say that I agree to all of what you're saying, but I get where you are going with this. By giving the power to the local people, they are surely going to be interested in protecting the area, but there are of course a few problems with this method as well. For instance not all animals that needs protection are something that tourists are willing to pay to see. Some areas will only have "boring" species that no one will want to visit, and then why would the locals care about protecting it?

The thing you are saying about hunting is pretty much already happening. Shooting a lion or other big animal in Africa can cost as much as $100,000, and a lot of it is going back into conservation and to the local people. It's surely controversial, but it is paying for a lot of the conservation effort (in Africa especially).