Community-based ecotourism: Its socio-economic impacts at Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1515/bog-2014-0045Abstract
There is a lacuna in literature from Western Africa on how issue of participation influence socio-economic impacts at ecotourism destinations. This paper investigates the socio-economic impacts of ecotourism based on Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana. The paper is based on primary data generated from Boabeng and Fiema communities. Seventy mainly opened-ended questionnaires were administered face-to-face to purposively selected residents from the two communities, alongside, in-depth interviews with the management of the Sanctuary and focus group with purposively selected individuals from Boabeng and Fiema. The study reveals that the residents of the communities face burgeoning challenges such as shrinking livelihood options, inadequate involvement of community in the ecotourism, poor state of the visitor centre, inadequate government support and poor roads.References
Afenyo, E.A., 2012: Community participation in ecotourism, Evidence from Tafi Atome, Ghana. In: African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, Vol. (2), pp. 1-11.
Akama, J.S., Maingi, S. and Carmago, B.A., 2011: Wildlife conservation, safari tourism and the role of tourism certification in Kenya: a postcolonial critique. In: Tourism Recreation Research, Vol. 36 (3), pp. 281-291.
Attuquayefio, D. and Gyampoh, S., 2010: The Boabeng-Fiema Monkey sanctuary, Ghana: a case for blending traditional and introduced wildlife conservation systems. In: West African Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. (17), pp.1-10.
Belsky, J., 1999: Misrepresenting communities: the politics of community-based rural ecotourism in Gales Point Manatee, Belize. In: Rural Sociology, Vol. (64), pp. 641-666.
Breugel, L., 2013: Community-based tourism: Local participation and perceived impacts: a comparative study between two communities in Thailand, Radboud University Nijmegen, MSc Thesis.
Buckley, R., 2009: Evaluating the net effects of ecotourism on the environment: a framework, first assessment and future research. In: Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 17 (6), pp. 643-672.
Cline-Cole, R., 1995: Livelihoods, sustainable development and indigenous forestry in dryland Nigeria. In: Binns, T. editor, People and Environment in Africa, Chichester: Wiley. pp. 171–185.
Creswell, J.W., 2008: Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research (2nd Ed.), New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Dey, I., 1993: Qualitative Data Analysis: A User Friendly Guide for Social Scientists, London: Routledge.
Eshetu, A.A., 2014: Development of community-based ecotourism in Borena-Saynt National Park, North-Central Ethiopia: opportunities and challenges. In: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Vol. (5), pp. 1-12.
Eshun, G, 2011: Ecotourism and Social Research. VDM: Germany.
Eshun, G. and Madge, C., 2012: “Now let me share this with you”: exploring poetry as a method for postcolonial geography research. In: Antipode, Vol. 44(4), pp. 1395–1428.
Eshun, G., and Page, S., 2013: Revisiting ecotourism in Africa: a case study of BFMS and Kakum National Park, in Ghana. Paper presented at the 2nd World Tourism and Hospitality Research, Rosen College, Florida, USA, 15-17 December.
Eshun, G. and Tettey, C., 2014: Agrotourism development in Ghana: A study of its prospects and challenges at Adjeikrom Cocoa Tour Facility. In: Szymańska, D. and Środa-Murawska, S. editors, Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, No. 25, Toruń: Nicolaus Copernicus University Press, pp.81–99. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/BGSS.2014.031
Fennell, D.A., 2008: Ecotourism: an introduction (3rd Ed.), London: Routledge.
Ghana Statistical Service, 2012: Population and Housing Census, Accra, Government of Ghana.
Gilbert, H.M., 2007: Ecotourism: A colonial legacy? In Tiffin, H. editor, Five Emus to the King of Siam: Environment and Empire, Amsterdam: pp. 51-69.
Hall, C.M., and Campos, M.J.Z., 2014: Public administration and tourism – international and Nordic perspectives. In: Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 18 (1), pp. 3-17.
Holden, A., 2008: Environment and tourism (2nd Ed.), New York: Routledge.
Honey, M., 1999: Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise, Washington: Island Press.
Honey, M., 2008: Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise (2nd Ed), Washington: Island Press.
Hoole, A.F., 2010: A place – power – prognosis: community-based conservation, partnerships and ecotourism enterprise in Namibia. In: International Journal of the Commons, Vol. 4 (1) pp. 78–99.
Kiss, A., 2004: Is community-based ecotourism a good use of biodiversity conservation funds? In: Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 19 (5), pp. 232–237.
Kitchin, R., and Tate, N.J., 2000: Conducting Research in Human Geography, Theory, Methodology and Practice, London: Prentice Hall.
Lamarque, F., Anderson, J., Fergusson, R., Lagrange, M., Osei-Owusu, Y. and Bakker, L., 2009: Human-wildlife conflict in Africa An overview of causes, consequences and management. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, Forestry Paper 157, Rome.
Lacher, R.G., and Nepal, S.K., 2010: From leakages to linkages: Local-level strategies for capturing tourism revenue in Northern Thailand. In: Tourism Geographies, Vol. 12 (1), pp. 77-99.
Lash, G.Y.B., 2003: Sustaining Our Spirit: Ecotourism on Privately-Owned rural lands and Protected Areas, University of Georgia, Athens, PhD Thesis.
Lash, G, 2005: What is community-based Ecotourism? Vermont, USA. http:www.recoftc.org/documents/Inter_Reps/Ecotourism/Lash.rtf. DoA: 18 May 2014.
Lindberg, K., Enrique, J., Sproule, K., 1996: Ecotourism questioned: case studies from Belize. In: Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 23 (3), pp. 543-562.
Marturano, A. and Gosling, J., 2007: Leadership: The Key Concepts, New York: Routledge.
Mitchell, J. and Ashley, C., 2007: Pathways to prosperity – How can tourism reduce poverty: A review of pathways, evidence and methods, Washington, DC: World Bank/ODI.
MoT, 2012: National Tourism Plan 2013-2027. Government of Ghana.
Mowforth, M. and Munt, I., 2003: Tourism and Sustainability: Development and New Tourism in the Third World (2nd Ed.), New York: Routledge.
Nance, E. and Ortolano, L., 2007: Community participation in urban sanitation: experience in the North eastern Brazil. In: Journal of Planning Education and Research, Vol. 26, pp. 284-300.
National Biodiversity Strategy For Ghana 2002: Ministry of Environment and Science. Accra.
Nepal, S., 2000: Tourism, National Parks and Local Communities. In Butler, R.W. and Boyd, S.W. editors, Tourism and National Parks: Issues and Implications, Chichester: Wiley. pp. 73-94.
Owusu, E.H., 2001: Community Forest Conservation in Ghana: The Potential of Mount Afadjato and Agumatsa Range for Ecotourism, University of Kent: PhD Thesis.
Page, S.J., and Connell, J., 2006: Tourism: A Modern Synthesis, London:Thomson Learning.
Reid, R.D. and Bojanic, D.C., 2009: Hospitality Marketing Management (5th Ed.), London: Riley.
Reimer, J.K. and Walter, P., 2013: How do you know it when you see it? Community-based ecotourism in the Cardamom Mountains of southwestern Cambodia. In: Tourism Management, Vol. (34), pp. 122-132.
Rogerson, C.M., 2011: Tourism food supply linkages in Zambia: evidence from the African safari lodge sector. In: Tourism Review International, Vol. 15, pp. 21-35.
Rogerson, C.M., 2012a: Tourism-agriculture linkages in rural South Africa: evidence From the Accommodation sector. In: Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 20, pp. 477-495.
Rogerson, C.M., 2012b: Strengthening tourism-agriculture linkages in the Developing World: opportunities, barriers and current initiatives. In: African Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. 7 (4), pp. 616-623.
Rogerson, C.M., and Visser, G., 2004: Tourism and development issues in contemporary South Africa, Pretoria: Africa Institute of South Africa.
Saj, T.L. and Sicotte, S., 2006: Traditional taboos in biological conservation: the case of Colobus vellerosus. In: Social Science Information, Vol. (45), pp. 285-310.
Scheyvens, R., 1999: Ecotourism and the empowerment of local communities. In: Tourism Management, Vol. 20(2), pp. 245-249.
Shehab, M., 2011: Tourism-led development in South Africa: a case study of Makuleke partnership with Wilderness Safaris, Johannesburg: University of Witwatersrand, PhD Thesis.
Sofield, T., 1996: Anuha Island Resort, Solomon Islands: a case study of failure. In Butler, R. and Hinch, T. editors, Tourism And Indigenouss Peoples, London: International Thomson Business Press, pp.176-202.
Spencer, D.M., and Nsiah, C., 2013: The economic consequences of community support for tourism: a case study of a heritage fish hatchery. In: Tourism Management, Vol. (3), pp.221-230.
Sproule, K., 2006: Community-based ecotourism development: iIdentifying partners in the process. Wildlife Preservation Trust International, pp. 237-239.
Stone, M. and Rogerson, C.M., 2011: Community-based natural resource management and tourism: Nata bird sanctuary, Botswana. In: Tourism Review International, Vol. 15, pp. 159-169.
Sweeting, A., 2012: Integrating business skills into ecotourism operations, Switzerland: IUCN and Kuoni. 80pp.
The International Ecotourism Society, 2005: The TIES Global Ecotourism Fact Sheet. http: //www.ecotourism.org/atf/cf. DoA:18 May 2014.
Tosun, C., 2000: Limits to community Participation in Tourism Development Process in developing countries. In: Tourism Management, Vol. 21 (6), pp.613-633.
Tran, L.T., and Walter, P., 2014: Ecotourism, gender and development in Northern Vietnam. In: Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 44, pp.116- 130.
Weaver, D.B., and Lawton, L.J., 2007: Twenty years on: the state of contemporary ecotourism research. In: Tourism Management, Vol. 28(5), pp. 1168–1179.
Wearing, S., and Neil, J., 2009: Ecotourism: Impacts, potential and possibilities? (2nd Ed.), London: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Yeboah, T., 2013: Ecotourism development in Ghana: A case of selected communities in the Brong-Ahafo Region. In: Journal of Hospitality and Management Tourism, Vol. 4(3), pp. 74-77.
Zapata, M.J., Hall, C.M., Lindo, P., and Vanderschaeghe, M., 2011: Can Community-based Tourism Contribute to Development and Poverty Alleviation? Lessons from Nicaragua. In: Current Issues in Tourism, Vol. 14 (8), pp.725-749.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Title, logo and layout of journal Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series are reserved trademarks of Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series.Stats
Number of views and downloads: 805
Number of citations: 0
