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Title Potential of ecotourism development in the Lake Bosumtwi Basin: a case study of Ankaase in the Amansie East District, Ghana
Full text http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-opus-17484; https://www.freidok.uni-freiburg.de/dnb/download/1748; https://freidok.uni-freiburg.de/data/1748
Date 2005
Author(s) Prakash, Siddharth
Contributor(s) Buergin, Reiner
Abstract Lake Bosumtwi is a natural inland freshwater lake that originated due to a meteoritic impact. It is located about 30 km from Kumasi - the second largest city of Ghana. The lake is an important source of livelihood for the 24 communities living around it since they rely on it for fish catch as a source of income and protein. Bosumtwi also represents a sacred site for the residents of the Ashanti region. Due to high population growth rates and various unplanned development activities, fish stocks have come under intense pressure and have been found to be decreasing at an alarming rate. Furthermore, intensification of agricultural activities in the Lake Basin and a sudden rise in the chain of hotels and other tourism facilities has resulted in an increase in the pollution of the lake. Lake Bosumtwi, being a hydrological closed basin, is supposed to be very sensitive to these effects. Recently, tourism has evolved as an alternative source of livelihood for the people as it provides them with new employment opportunities, much needed foreign exchange, new infrastructure development and government revenue. Furthermore, it is promoted by government agencies with the notion of reducing pressure on the lake and its natural environment. However, unorganized and unplanned tourism business which is characterised by overcrowding, misuse of natural resources, insensitive tourist behaviour, mismanagement of waste disposal and uncontrolled infrastructure development, can have negative impacts not only on the natural environment but also on the social and cultural values of the local communities. It can also lead to the disruption of local economies as the benefits leak out of the host communities. The concept of "Ecotourism" could have the potential to minimise the threats posed by conventional mass tourism and could provide several socio-economic benefits to the local communities. This study analyses the potential of ecotourism development in the Lake Bosumtwi Basin by studying the livelihoods of the local communities, the state of the lake and its natural environment and the current status of tourism development. The research applied three frameworks to meet its objectives - (1) the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to gather information related to the livelihoods of the local communities i.e. livelihood assets, livelihood strategies, policy, laws, institutional framework, power structures, local capacities and capabilities, limitations, perceptions of and expectations from tourism development etc.; (2) the DPSIR framework to assess the current state of the lake, driving forces behind its degradation and actions needed to mitigate the degradation; and (3) Destination Analysis to assess the current state of existing physical tourism facilities and to undertake a visitor characteristic analysis in order to create a tourist profile based on origin, demographics, and purpose of visit, likes and dislikes, length of stay, means of travel, willingness-to-pay etc. Based on the information and data collected, the research produced an Implementation Plan for Lake Bosumtwi that seeks to address the most pressing issues involving the livelihoods of the local communities and simultaneously makes recommendations for the development of a low-impact sustainable tourism. The aim was to assess if tourism, under current circumstances, is a viable alternative for the local communities and natural environment. Furthermore, this research was an effort to provide local government bodies and NGOs with a realistic, economically feasible, socially fair and environmentally sound management plan so that the negative impacts related to tourism development can be minimised.
Subject(s) Lake Bosumtwi; OÌˆkotourismus; Wasserverschmutzung; Nachhaltigkeit; UmweltvertraÌˆglichkeit; Online-Ressource
Language eng
Publisher Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Relation https://freidok.uni-freiburg.de/data/1748
Type of publication working_paper
Format pdf
Rights free
Repository Freiburg - University of Freiburg
Added to C-A: 2017-03-07;07:29:41