The Development of Ecotourism in the Dukuduku Forest Reserve and Surrounding Settlements: Policy and Implementation

Abstract

The study was conducted with the view of investigating the development of ecotourism in the Dukuduku Forest Reserve and surroundings, with specific attention paid to policy and its implementation. In an effort to develop this natural environment, there has been much overuse and degradation of the natural forest reserve. What has also been implicit is that tourist visitation numbers at the Dukuduku Forest Reserve, could decrease, and these reduced numbers of tourists could affect the employment rate within the local community. Pursuant to these observations and problems, the researcher found it appealing and necessary to explore the attitudes and perceptions of the local communities towards the usage of the natural forest reserve in Dukuduku. This would be achieved by investigating the participation, practices, and patterns associated with the existing policies and their implementation in the the Dukuduku Forest Reserve environment.

In an attempt to investigate the research problem, the following research objectives were formulated:

(a) To find out the extent to which stakeholders understand the meaning and importance of ecotourism in and around the Dukuduku Forest Reserve. (b) To investigate the adequacy of the provision of nature-based tourism facilities for employment purposes in the study area. (c) To examine whether there is undue over-emphasis on the commercialisation of the natural resources in the study area. (d) To reveal the degree to which tourism stakeholders participate in ecotourism development initiatives in the study area. (e) To establish whether the ecotourism related policies and practices, existing in the study area are geared towards benefitting the local community.

The above listed objectives were investigated using a methodology process that involved the collecting of data from the local community of Dukuduku and other stakeholders, by means of questionnaires. The data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences [SPSS] computer programme, which led to acquiring research findings.

The findings that emerged showed that among the majority of respondents there is a relatively good understanding of the meaning and importance of ecotourism as a human activity. Notwithstanding, the social involvement of local communities in activities of the Dukuduku Forest and Settlement Area, were seen as inadequate. The majority of stakeholders indicated that they perceived a substantial number of ecotourism resources or facilities as inadequate and not employment based.

Regarding the upholding the policy of conservation in contrast to the commercialisation of ecotourism resources, the majority of respondents were in favour of upholding the policy of conservation of ecotourism resources. The respondents were also asked to reveal how they perceive local community participation in ecotourism activities, the majority of the respondents agreed that there was no beneficial participation in ecotourism activities in the study area.

Finally it was established that respondents in the study area revealed that the existing ecotourism related policies and practices were not clear to them and that the policies were geared to benefit the local community. In this regard the majority of the local community and the service providers individually indicated that the existence of policy formulation and its beneficiation was poor in the study area. The study concludes by offering some recommendations associated with the objectives of the study listed above.