Determinants of ecotourism development in and around protected areas: The case of Campo Ma'an National Park in Cameroon

Abstract

Ecotourism is trumpeted as a sustainable activity and tool in and around Protected Areas (PAs) capable of balancing conservation of biodiversity alongside the livelihood of the local population. In the Campo Ma'an National Park (CMNP), this strategy was projected in the overall goal of the second management plan which expired at the end of the year 2019. Unfortunately, there is a void in scholarly works to elucidate the development of ecotourism in the area so as to ensure its mutual functions. This study was thus carried out to evaluate the determinants of sustainable ecotourism development in and around the CMNP. Data were collected from 124 persons during household surveys, experts and key informant interviews. Focus group discussions and observations were done within the 9 sampled communities. Findings from AHP-SWOT analysis revealed that, rich biodiversity, poorly developed roads, gorilla habituation and encroachment of poachers and hunters are the main strength, weakness, opportunity and threat respectively to ecotourism development. This study recommends the need to adopt and implement an ecotourism development and management plan through Public Private Partnership, Maintenance of roads and tracks in and around the Park and reforming the benefit sharing mechanism as inevitable strategies for sustainable ecotourism development in the area that could foster the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.