Researchers believe that the critically endangered lemurs living on the island of Madagascar could be saved by tourism.
Unique to the area, Madagascar's lemurs are the world's most threatened primate and have seen a dramatic drop in numbers during the past few years, BBC News reported.
The proposed $7.6 million project to protect the remaining lemurs "combines tourism with increased conservation efforts," according to BBC.
Illegal logging for rosewood and ebony trees has damaged the primates' habitat, and political instability has made for insufficient environmental regulations.
According to Dr. Christoph Schwitzer of the Bristol Zoological Society, tourists are still coming to Madagascar even in the face of political unease.
The survival plan to save the lemurs proposes using the animals as a "brand" of sorts to encourage eco-tourism.
"There's always a trade-off between the destruction caused by too many tourists and the money they bring to the country that can be used for wildlife conservation," Schwitzer, who has been working on the island for more than 10 years, told BBC's Science in Action program.
"This balance for Madagascar is still very positive for conservation and it's a long way until it may tip over," he said.
The benefits of bringing in funding to preserve the lemurs' habitat should outweigh the cost of letting tourists visit the island.
The Maromizaha forest, which holds around 13 species of lemur, is one example. Several locals have learned French and English and can serve as guides, and the forest has a "multi-purpose interpretive center."
In 2011, the forest had 208 visitors, compared with just eight tourists three years previously.
"Obviously these people spend money in local communities and contribute to the upkeep, maintenance and management of protected areas," Schwitzer told BBC.
He and a team of researchers are working to deter illegal logging and have other plans to maintain the lemur population, but money from tourism will be key.
"We haven't lost a single species of lemur--indeed not a single species of primate, during the last two centuries since our records began," Schwitzer told BBC.
"We have the people, we have the place, we have the ideas, we are just lacking funding," he said.
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