Fringe Community Attitudes and Protected Areas. - Insights from two Protected Areas in Ghana.
Master thesis
Permanent lenke
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2390463Utgivelsesdato
2016Metadata
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- Institutt for biologi [2614]
Sammendrag
Understanding community attitudes toward protected areas is of great importance since this is inherently linked to the long term effectiveness of such areas. This study assessed the factors influencing community attitudes toward the Mole and Digya national parks in Ghana. Data was collected between June and August 2015 by random household interviews (N = 346) using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results showed that, attitudes were somewhat positive toward the protected areas, with Mole residents been comparatively more positive (p < 0.001). Attitudes were largely influenced by benefits, costs, protected area, household size, occupation, awareness of or participation in livelihood projects and education. Findings suggest that extending benefits while minimizing costs of fringe communities goes a long way to making people more acquiescent to the concept of protected areas and conservation at large. Also, protected areas are likely to benefit more from locally-tailored management interventions as opposed to the adoption of wholesale interventions.