Community-based Tourism Around National Parks in Senegal: The Implications of Colonial Legacies in Current Management Policies

ABSTRACT

In Sub-Saharan Africa, resource managers often promote community-based tourism (CBT) around national parks as a win-win strategy for local sustainable development and conserving biodiversity. In Senegal, however, the social, economic, and environmental impacts of CBT remain elusive. Important aspects of the former French colonial policies are still reflected in the ways national parks in Senegal are managed. Such policy framework is inconsistent with participatory management approaches and overall goals of tourism development. This paper examines how this inconsistency impedes the contributions of CBT to local communities, focusing on: 1) the absence of communal land tenure policies; 2) the inequitable allocation of hunting concession rights; and 3) the military culture in the administration of national parks. The paper discusses how these issues reduce the channels through which locals can benefit from tourism, the collaborative space between community members and park administrators, and ultimately, precludes the sustainability of CBT projects in Senegal.

KEYWORDS:

• Community-based tourism
• national parks
• Senegal
• colonial policies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.