LIVELIHOOD ENHANCEMENT THROUGH ECOTOURISM; A CASE OF MOGNORI ECO VILLAGE NEAR MOLE NATIONAL PARK, DAMONGO, GHANA

Abstract

Poor access and remoteness of some communities often limit their access to the services of development partners/agencies. These communities are at times left with no other options than to depend on their natural resource base for food, income and general survival. Inadequate options often times „force‟ rural people to exploit resources in ways which are unsustainable. Realizing this, the Ghana Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission developed a policy aimed at establishing collaborative community based wildlife management schemes with the aim of bringing benefits to a fringing community (Mognori) of Mole National Park as a way to reducing poverty through community based ecotourism programmes. This paper therefore seeks to explore the impact amelioration measures on the environment through the evolution of the ecovillage model instituted by the Ghana Wildlife Division. Both purposive and simple random sampling methods were employed to collect data from key stakeholders within the community. The study revealed that since the inception of the ecovillage project, the community‟s knowledge on conservation has improved considerably; economically, some residents earned extra income which enhanced their livelihood. The community's sense of unity by way of cultural identity had also improved tremendously and there were no noticeable negative effects of host-guest interactions. The paper therefore identified and recommended that the services of MASLOC and LEAP which offered “soft loans” be availed the community to "cushion" small scale handicraft workers in the realization of their dreams. It again recommended some basic facilities be provided the community since it will foster a decrease in their impact on the park and the environment at large hence enhancing sustainability.