COMMUNITY BASED ECOTOURISM AS A TOOL FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN WUNANIA-KOSOYE NATURAL ATTRACTION SITE, ETHIOPIA

Authors

  • Endalkachew Teshome Associate Professor of Ecotourism in the Department of Tourism Management, College of Business and Economics, & Climate Change Research Center Coordinator, University of Gondar.
  • Ascahalew Worku Department Head for North Gondar Zone Environmental Protection and Land Administration, Gondar.
  • Mulugeta Astery Lecturer of Tourism studies in Department of Tourism Management, College of Business and Economics, University of Gondar

Keywords:

community based ecotourism, Wunania-Kosoye, tourism, development

Abstract

Tourism can play a vital role in protecting the environment, conserving biodiversity and
maintaining sustainable development. Furthermore, tourism has the power to enhance
the environment, to provide fund for conservation, to preserve culture and history, to set
sustainable use limits, to protect wildlife and to add value to biodiversity. In this paper, a
cross sectional study in Wunania, Kosoye, was used to describe the existing situations
and events in the area. For the study, both quantitative and qualitative methods were
employed. The study established that the local community’s awareness level of
biodiversity conservation and the economic significance of ecotourism in Wunania-Kosoye
natural attraction site was very high. Yet, this contrasted with a loss of biodiversity in the
last decades due to deforestation, uncontrolled grazing, and land degradation. The
research finding suggested that Community Based Ecotourism is becoming preferable
when it is compared with other alternative approaches for conserving biodiversity in
Wunania-Kosoye natural attraction site.

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Published

2021-02-13

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2015): The Ethiopian Renaissance Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities

Section

Articles