Social Acceptability Studies of Host Communities of Opada Forest Reserve for Ecotourism Development and Promotion

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DOI: 10.4236/jss.2017.55025    1,369 Downloads   2,407 Views  

ABSTRACT

To ensure sustainable flow of benefits from the resources of Opada Forest Reserve (OFR), ecotourism needs to be introduced, which requires understanding the cultural beliefs and the social acceptability of host communities (HC) of the reserve. The objectives of this study were to: harness the opinions and cultural beliefs of the HC of Opada Forest Reserve concerning ecotourism development in OFR. Data collection involved administration of 653 structured questionnaires to 20% of the population of the 17-HC of OFR. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square at p ≤ 0.05. Results revealed that: Host community respondents (HCR) do not want OFR de-reserved; the desire of most HCR is to participate in the management of OFR (79.5%); HCR showed willingness to work in the reserve (87.1%); Presence of conflicts (17.8%) between HC and Forestry Department (FD) is not significant. Respondents want OFR to be converted to a game reserve (83.2%). Respondents unequivocally responded (88%) that biodiversity conservation is a necessity. Government advised that a game reserve or more desirably, a national park be established in OFR. If HC hated the idea, 87% of respondents from 17 different communities will not show interest (P = 0.43190) to work there when established.

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Ebiloma, S. and Sale, F. (2017) Social Acceptability Studies of Host Communities of Opada Forest Reserve for Ecotourism Development and Promotion. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 5, 368-383. doi: 10.4236/jss.2017.55025.
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