Using Protected Areas as a Tool for Biodiversity Conservation and Ecotourism: A Case Study of Kakum National Park in Ghana

Abstract

Increasingly, conservationists and policymakers are using protected areas as a tool for biodiversity conservation and ecotourism. This article discusses livelihood challenges associated with the use of protected areas as a tool for ecotourism at the Kakum National Park in Ghana. The article reveals that most residents in villages close to the park have not realized the expected benefits of ecotourism despite giving up access to resources inside park boundaries more than a decade ago. However, one of the villages has been innovative in using the creation of the park to improve livelihoods in the community and could therefore serve as a model to others.

Keywords:

• ecotourism
• Ghana
• host communities
• protected areas
• rural livelihoods

Notes

Note. Total number of households = 785, sample size = 100.

Note. Source: Survey results.