COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN ECOTOURISM PROJECTS IN GHANA : AN EVALUATION OF WECHIAU HIPPO SANCTUARY PROJECT, UPPER WEST REGION

Abstract

Community Based Ecotourism Projects (CBEP’s) are concerned with acknowledging economic, social and environmental impacts, catering for the current needs of society without damaging the well-being of future generations. Many researchers in developed and developing nations are of the view that community participation in ecotourism development is a major tool for achieving “sustainability” in ecotourism, of which Ghana is no exception. It is difficult to confidently say that local communities actually benefit from proceeds of CBEP’s. Thus, this thesis set out to evaluate the extent to which beneficiary communities participate in the Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary Project (WCHSP) within the context of the Tourism Development Chain Model. The study adopted a cross sectional design with a mixed research approach. Data was collected from 206 respondents in Wechiau, Tokali, Talawona and Tuole. Data was collected through Semi-structured interviews, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observation. It was revealed that residents in the sanctuary community’s yielded numerous economic, social and environmental benefits from the WCHSP based on the roles they individually played. There was, however, an issue of inequitable distribution of project benefits due to the lack of a substantive benefit sharing scheme. It was concluded that the project has the potential of producing ecotourism benefits but if not properly managed, could lead to unequal distribution of project benefits and hence perpetuate poverty. This led to recommending for the Sanctuary Management Board (SMB) to develop a “Benefit Sharing Framework” which will promote equity and project sustainability.