The basic goal of the volume is to compile the most up to date research on the effect of ecotourism on Indonesia’s primates. The tremendous diversity of primates in Indonesia, in conjunction with the conservation issues facing the primates of this region, have created a crisis whereby many of Indonesia’s primates are threatened with extinction. Conservationists have developed the concept of “sustainable ecotourism” to fund conservation activities. National parks agencies worldwide receive as much as 84% of their funding from ecotourism. While ecotourism funds the majority of conservation activities, there have been very few studies that explore the effects of ecotourism on the habitat and species that they are designed to protect. It is the burgeoning use of “ecotourism” throughout Indonesia that has created a need for this volume where the successes and pitfalls at various sites can be identified and compared.

Indonesia possesses the second largest primate population in the world, with over 33 different primate species. Although Brazil possesses more primate species, Indonesia outranks it in terms of its diversity of primates, ranging from prosimians (slow lorises and tarsiers), to a multitude of Old World Monkey species (macaques, langurs, proboscis moneys) to lesser apes (siamangs, gibbons) and great apes (orangutans). The primates of Indonesia are distributed throughout the archipelago. Partly in response to the number of primates distributed throughout the Indonesian archipelago, Indonesia is classified as the home of two biodiversity hotspots (Wallacea and Sundaland). In order to be classified as a hotspot, an area must have a large proportion of endemic species coupled with a high degree of threat including having lost more than 70% of its original habitat. Two areas within Indonesia meet these criteria. The tremendous diversity of primates in Indonesia, in conjunction with the conservation issues facing the primates of this region, created a need for this volume.

This book considers primate tourism as a primate conservation tool, weighing its effects and developing informed guidelines for ongoing and future tourism ventures.

This primate field guide can be used to refer to information on each species, or it can be used to find which species exist on each island, as shown at the back of the book. A list of primates in Indonesia is provided with local, English, and scientific names. Once the name is identified the user can go to the description of the genus and species. Also given is the conservation status of each species except for the most recently described, whose status is not yet known. The information on each species' natural history, behavior, ecology, and where to see it in parks and/or forested areas outside parks is included. Field Guide to the Primates of Indonesia primate drawings are by Stephen Nash and photographs were donated by many of the author's friends from Indonesia and abroad.

Indonesia possesses the second largest primate population in the world, with over 33 different primate species. Although Brazil possesses more primate species, Indonesia outranks it in terms of its diversity of primates, ranging from prosimians (slow lorises and tarsiers), to a multitude of Old World Monkey species (macaques, langurs, proboscis moneys) to lesser apes (siamangs, gibbons) and great apes (orangutans). The primates of Indonesia are distributed throughout the archipelago. Partly in response to the number of primates distributed throughout the Indonesian archipelago, Indonesia is classified as the home of two biodiversity hotspots (Wallacea and Sundaland). In order to be classified as a hotspot, an area must have a large proportion of endemic species coupled with a high degree of threat including having lost more than 70% of its original habitat. Two areas within Indonesia meet these criteria. The tremendous diversity of primates in Indonesia, in conjunction with the conservation issues facing the primates of this region, created a need for this volume.

Primate tourism is a growing phenomenon, with increasing pressure coming from several directions: the private sector, governments, and conservation agencies. At the same time, some primate sites are working to exclude or severely restrict tourism because of problems that have developed as a result. Indeed, tourism has proven costly to primates due to factors such as disease, stress, social disruption, vulnerability to poachers, and interference with rehabilitation and reintroduction. Bringing together interdisciplinary expertise in wildlife/nature tourism and primatology, experts present and discuss their accumulated experience from individual primate sites open to tourists, formal studies of primate-focused tourism, and trends in nature and wildlife tourism. Chapters offer species- and site-specific assessments, weighing conservation benefits against costs, and suggesting strategies for the development of informed guidelines for ongoing and future primate tourism ventures. Primate Tourism has been written for primatologists, conservationists and other scientists. It is also relevant to tourists and tourism professionals.

Primate tourism is a growing phenomenon, with increasing pressure coming from several directions: the private sector, governments, and conservation agencies. At the same time, some primate sites are working to exclude or severely restrict tourism because of problems that have developed as a result. Indeed, tourism has proven costly to primates due to factors such as disease, stress, social disruption, vulnerability to poachers, and interference with rehabilitation and reintroduction. Bringing together interdisciplinary expertise in wildlife/nature tourism and primatology, experts present and discuss their accumulated experience from individual primate sites open to tourists, formal studies of primate-focused tourism, and trends in nature and wildlife tourism. Chapters offer species- and site-specific assessments, weighing conservation benefits against costs, and suggesting strategies for the development of informed guidelines for ongoing and future primate tourism ventures. Primate Tourism has been written for primatologists, conservationists and other scientists. It is also relevant to tourists and tourism professionals.