Transcript Local Community’s Perceptions and Attitudes towards

Local Community’s Perceptions and Attitudes towards
Protected Areas and Ecotourism Management
– The Case of Kakum Conservation Area, Ghana
Raphael Foli Fiagbomeh (MSc.)
Renate Bürger-Arndt (Prof. Dr.)
Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Managment,
Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology,
Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany
2nd World Ecotourism Conference 2010,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 8 - 11th July 2010
Protected Areas and Ecotourism
• PAs are contributing to ensure conservation of biodiversity around the world
• Local people have long standing relationship with the areas
• Conversion of forest to agricultural land, mining, extensive timber extraction, and
wildfires contribute to degradation and fragmentation of forest cover
• 5.6% of country‘s land under conservation as wildlife reserves
• Stakeholder involvement in development process is a factor for success
• many examples of local communities being excluded or minimally involved in the
initial planning and management of PAs
• Conservationists seek maximum protection of natural resources; tourism industry
want pristine and attractive sites
• PAs are expected to play roles in ensuring sustainability of local communities
• Particularly interested in effects of ecotourism management and activities on
conservation and community development; ecotourism touted to finance
conservation activities
• To improve on protected area management, perceptions and attitudes of adjacent
local communities needs to be understood
• Develop appropriate strategies to ensure conservation objectives are achieved
• Study assumes perception and attitudes towards PAs depend on perceived
costs and benefits
• Local people’s perceptions are determined by their values and frames of
references (ecological, social-economic and cultural)
• Demographic factors can significantly influence attitudes of local people
• It remains to be demonstrated whether non-involvement has effect on
conservation efforts in the Kakum Conservation Area
Study Area
• 360 km² Upper Guniea Forest
• home to 40 mammal species,
including 5 endangered species
• over 200 birds species
• 400 species of butterfly
• surrounded by cash and food
crop farms, important for
conservation as habitat for
wildlife species
• biodiversity hotspot in the world
Major tourist sites in Ghana
B
C
A
Inception of tourism activities in Kakum
Camping shed
Walking trail in Kakum
Tree Platform – observation
post for Elephants
The Canopy walkway
Trends of visitations in the Kakum Conservation Area
• progressive increase in visitation, 609 in 1992 to over 96,500 in 2008
• average of over 8,000 visitors per month in 2008
Demographic data and characteristics of sample
Characteristics
Group
Community Cluster
A
Age (years)
Gender
Education
Total (%)
B
C
<30 years
6
1
0
7 (5.0%)
30-50 years
31
20
26
77 (54.6%)
>50 years
19
21
17
57 (40.4%)
Male
21
23
22
66 (46.8%)
Female
35
19
21
75 (53.2%)
Illiterate
8
14
23
45 (31.9%)
≤ JSS
47
28
20
95 (67.4%)
≥ SSS
1
0
0
1 (0.7%)
Community cluster: A=(Abrafo, Mfuom); B=(Afeaso, Antwikwaa, Bobi); C=(Kruwa, Mesomagor, Obengkrom); JSS =
Junior Secondary School; SSS= Senior Secondary School
• 141 households in eight communities within KCA
• mean age = 48.2 years (oldest = 72 years; youngest = 20 years)
• average household size 8.01 (range: min =2, max = 16 individuals )
Perceptions of local people on Kakum
Increased wildlife population:
• Local people are not in agreement on level of impacts
• 67.4% respondents perceive increase in wildlife population
• Gender, ownership of land, and community of residence were significant influencing
factors
• Community cluster B (Afeaso, Antwikwaa and Bobi) perceived increase in wildlife
population than cluster C (Kruwa, Mesomagor and Obengkrom)
Sustained / improved forest resources:
• 58.9% perceive improvement in forest vegetation
• Influencing factors: gender, age and community
• Community cluster B (Afeaso, Antwikwaa and Bobi) and age group 30 – 50 years
Improved local area rainfall:
• 56% disagree on reliable local area rainfall pattern
• Community cluster A (Abrafo and Mfuom) and male respondents mostly disagreed
Perceived losses !
Attitude of local people towards Kakum
Local people would support conservation of forest and associated resources if their
needs would be given prominence
• 89.4% claim community interests are not paramount to management authorities
• only 12% respondents ever involved in conservation management related meeting
• no functional management groups in communities
Observed that local residents were ready to support conservation as long as it did not
threaten their interests and livelihood; strong opposition against conservation has
been reported due to increased crop damage and associated costs
Increase size of conservation area - buffer zone:
• 66.7% disapproved idea of increasing size of PA for buffer zone
• Community of residence and ownership of land were influencing factors
• Community clusters A and C express alienation due to non payment of
royalties
Perceived impacts of ecotourism in Kakum
• Ecotourism is to promote sustainable development of local populations
• Prices of most forest products increased
• 58.2% claim ecotourism plays no role in improving livelihood of local people
Ecotourism is not beneficial to adjacent communities (Χ² = 30.98, p < 0.001)
• Gender was the most significant factor
Perceptions of ecotourism’s impact
Attitudes of local people and desirable future for ecotourism in Kakum
• Due to the abysmal contribution of ecotourism to development, only 14% approved of
tourism activities in the conservation area
• 41.8% agreed tourism activities extended to include tourists visits to communities
(Χ² = 23.1, p = 0.002)
• 75.2% want jobs in conservation activities and ecotourism programme
• Majority (91.5%), never engaged in ecotourism related livelihood activity
Which activities would respondents desire to take up as job opportunity?
• 35% identified tour guide as job opportunity
• 18% could not identify any activity for job
• 33% were open to any activity for job, 21% desired tour guide, 26% not interested
in any activity identified
• 13.5% identified home stay
Identified and Desired Opportunities in Ecotourism
What could be impediments in taking advantage of job
opportunities?
• Females: family responsibilities 24%, training 17%, location 13%
• Males: opportunity 27%, training 23%, health/age 15%
• Interest to take up opportunities is low
Identified impediments to working Ecotourism
• Limited evidence of positive contribution mad to communities – local economic
situation, infrastructure and social benefits
• Study observe a contradiction of the theoretical concept of ecotourism in Kakum
• Difficulty in ensuring protection of conservation area
Relationship between local people and ecotourism
Tourist-Local People
Situation/Observation
Opportunity for interaction
Absent-Low
Increased income
No
Participating in planning
No
Attitude to ecotourism impact on
community / PA
Variable
Cultural interaction
Absent
Conclusion
• Ecotourism developed to ensure viability and source of finance for the PA
• Contrary to expectations, ecotourism in Kakum is not meant for community development
• A dismaying feature of Kakum - though tourist visit seem increasing, conservation efforts
would continue to face challenges since local people are not adequately involved in
planning and management
To mitigate potential conflict of interest between park and local people:
• Urgent to develop employment opportunities for local people and establish appropriate
compensation mechanism
• If ecotourism is to play a part in development around the conservation area,
management should address issue of benefit sharing
• Actively involve local people in planning and management
• Ensure that ecotourism development does not limit local access to tourism market
• encourage tourist activities be extended to include visits to village communities
• Over 91.5% respondents have never engaged in livelihood activity related to
ecotourism. Therefore this support for extending tourism activities might reflect a
desire for any form of development rather than conviction about its benefits. The study
noted that most respondents have no clear perception of impacts of ecotourism on
livelihoods. This is also an indication that ecotourism has so far not been beneficial to
local people in the Kakum
• The study could not demonstrate that benefits from ecotourism engender support for
conservation. However, it identified that gender, community of residence, ownership of
land, education, and age have close associations with local people’s attitudes towards
conservation and ecotourism management in Kakum
• Further detailed studies, conducted longitudinally over time, taking into account other
relationships between people and protected areas could provide greater insights into
the mechanisms that shape local attitudes towards conservation in this area and other
PAs in the country.
Thank You for Your Attention