Forests are biodiversity hotspots which provide livelihood and act as safety nets for adjacent communities. Increasing dependence on forest is threatening this biodiversity. Ecotourism, a biodiversity conservation str...Forests are biodiversity hotspots which provide livelihood and act as safety nets for adjacent communities. Increasing dependence on forest is threatening this biodiversity. Ecotourism, a biodiversity conservation strategy has the potential to restore degraded habitat, and create socio-cultural and economic benefits that improve communities’ livelihoods. This study focused on the role of community-based ecotourism in biodiversity conservation in the Mount Oku forest, of the North West region of Cameroon. The study identified and ranked livelihood activities that led to biodiversity destruction, assessed ecotourism potentials and conservation practices, identified ecotourism benefits and assessed household income levels before and after the institution of ecotourism. We randomly selected three communities from the study area. The study was guided by the Forest Management Plan, the Simple Management Plan of the Kilum/Ijim forest project and the concept of Biosphere Reservation. Descriptive statistics were simple percentages presented on tables, while the inferential statistics of Wilcoxon rank test was used to analyze the data collected for the study. Our findings reveal that, the livelihood activities that led to biodiversity destruction include agriculture, logging, fuelwood collection and grazing. Ecotourism potentials/conservation strategies were nature-based, education-based, culture-based, and agriculture-based;value chain was integrated in all these aspects which enhanced livelihood diversification. The benefits include business opportunities, infrastructure development, and forest regeneration. Income level generated after the institution of ecotourism was higher than the level of income before (Z = -1442, p = 0.001). Clear indicators need to be established to measure long-term project effectiveness in biodiversity conservation and livelihood sustainability.展开更多
文摘Forests are biodiversity hotspots which provide livelihood and act as safety nets for adjacent communities. Increasing dependence on forest is threatening this biodiversity. Ecotourism, a biodiversity conservation strategy has the potential to restore degraded habitat, and create socio-cultural and economic benefits that improve communities’ livelihoods. This study focused on the role of community-based ecotourism in biodiversity conservation in the Mount Oku forest, of the North West region of Cameroon. The study identified and ranked livelihood activities that led to biodiversity destruction, assessed ecotourism potentials and conservation practices, identified ecotourism benefits and assessed household income levels before and after the institution of ecotourism. We randomly selected three communities from the study area. The study was guided by the Forest Management Plan, the Simple Management Plan of the Kilum/Ijim forest project and the concept of Biosphere Reservation. Descriptive statistics were simple percentages presented on tables, while the inferential statistics of Wilcoxon rank test was used to analyze the data collected for the study. Our findings reveal that, the livelihood activities that led to biodiversity destruction include agriculture, logging, fuelwood collection and grazing. Ecotourism potentials/conservation strategies were nature-based, education-based, culture-based, and agriculture-based;value chain was integrated in all these aspects which enhanced livelihood diversification. The benefits include business opportunities, infrastructure development, and forest regeneration. Income level generated after the institution of ecotourism was higher than the level of income before (Z = -1442, p = 0.001). Clear indicators need to be established to measure long-term project effectiveness in biodiversity conservation and livelihood sustainability.
