Opportunities and Challenges for The Development of Community Based Ecotourism in Southern Ethiopia: The Case of Loka Abaya National Park
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Date
2017-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study was conducted to assess the opportunities and challenges for the development of community based ecotourism in Loka Abaya National Park (LANP), which is found in SNNP region, Sidama zone, Loka Abaya woreda. A random sampling method was used to collect primary data from 94 sample households found in three adjacent kebeles to the park. The instruments used for data collection include questionnaire, in-depth interviews, focus group discussion and field observation. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied to analyze the collected data. The findings revealed that there are high opportunities to develop CBET in LANP. The presence of many physical features, such as natural resources including scenic features, forest, bird life, wild animal, hot springs and sharing of some proportion of water from Lake Abaya, create favorable conditions to develop CBET in the area. Many cultural features including showing cultural dances and hair style, traditional festivals and food and drink preparation system, are also available in LANP. The commitment of the government, safety and security, the location of the park within one regional state, its proximity to Hawassa city and hospitability of the local community are also among the opportunities to develop CBET within the LANP. Nonetheless, there are some challenges to develop CBET in the area. The challenges found out in the study include: park community relationship (e.g., temporal settlement within the park, conflict over the use of park resources and encroachment of the surrounding community to the park's territory), lack of community involvement in the park issues, lack of trained man power, lack of cooperation among stakeholders, lack of promotion and lack of infrastructure and accommodations. It is concluded that if all stakeholders work together collaboratively, the opportunities can be exploited and the challenges can be minimized for a successfully development of a CBET in Loka Abaya National Park, which was only established in 2009.