Potential for Eco-tourism Development in the Lake Bosumtwi Basin, Ghana
As a social entrepreneur, the sky is the limit to bring about changes for the good. But, I have always believed that a revolution is only worth the effort if the change brought about is sustainable. For any change to be self-sustaining, immaculate planning that results from an in-depth study of all the resources available and the feasibility of the idea. Opportunities for social entrepreneurship were immense but to decide on one that is worth the effort and would leave a mark by bringing a long-lasting change was not easy.
Helping communities to develop their existing natural gifts into a tourist attraction is one way of changing lives for the good. Sustainable development, empowering the locals, introducing nature friendly methods of work, and thus employing the natural beauty of underdeveloped communities was my idea of revolutionising a community’s future for generations. Eco-tourism destinations need to be initially developed, and then advertised in order to draw tourist income to communities that have not yet received their share of the limelight. These efforts not only will result in an economic benefit to both the communities and the tourists but will also help improve the standards of living of entire societies (Rome, 4).
The community inhabiting the Lake Bosumtwi Basin in Ghana, West Africa, is one such community. This paper will provide an insight into the research conducted to implement this social entrepreneurship project in Ghana, and the resources utilised. It will further detail the objectives that this project aims to achieve and the elements of sustainability built in by the entrepreneur.
The preliminary research conducted realised that having the locals on-board is an important part of the plan. But, unfortunately, the locals knew very little about eco-tourism and its benefits. Lake Bosumtwi, an important source of fish catch that helps earn income and serves as food for the 24 communities living around it, is a natural inland freshwater lake that originated due to a meteoritic impact. The idea of sustainable tourism was appealing to these people, and when they learned its economic benefits, they turned to be very welcoming of the idea of eco-tourism. The major attraction for the policy makers of the region was having an alternative to the commercial, mass tourism that was quickly damaging the local ecosystems and was degrading the fish pool that the communities were most dependent on. Unorganized and unplanned tourism was resulting in overcrowding, overfishing, misuse of natural resources, uncontrolled infrastructure development, and most importantly mismanagement of waste disposal. These problems meant that the current economic benefits of tourism were likely to be short-lived, present as long as the basin retained its natural beauty.
With conservation and development at its heart, the eco-tourism project had a progressive budget which did not want to rush the locals into a total change policy that would threaten their current lifestyles, rather it wanted to ease in developmental efforts while informing all those affected of how sustainable efforts could help preserve the basin for local use as well as, for tourism purposes. However, awareness and education appeared to be a pre-requisite for any of these efforts. The farmers and the fishers first had to be educated regarding sustainable farming practices in order to conserve the local environment (Lumpkin). Considering the poor state of government involvement and lack of funds and knowledge among the locals, the entrepreneur understood that an NGO had to take the step. Having the resources available, I had to identify community leaders who could be persuaded to attend sustainable practices seminars on a regular basis for the benefit of the whole community. The beginning point was from the very basics where the locals had to be informed of the negative effects of bathing, washing and cleaning in the lake with soap and detergent, let alone, allowing hotels and other establishments to use the Lake as a disposal site. The schools and churches were a part of the initial plan where leaflets could be given out to ensure that the basic do’s and dont’s of waste management are communicated.
Finally, the marketing of the Basin was an important element of focus. Selling to the ideal tourist would first require a Visitor Characteristics Analysis, which would help us gain an understanding of the origin of the visitors, their age groups, income levels, education level, and frequency of visit to the Lake.
The analysis revealed that the currently catered commercial tourist visiting the basin was mainly from Ghana, belonged to the 18-35 years age range, in most cases had an education beyond high school, would spend less than 3 days in the Basin, and was usually a first time visitor. These characteristics helped to decide our areas of further efforts and development. The attractions offered should be more nature-based, such as, diving and hiking, to attract the young population that visits and to give them a closer to nature feel. These, along with a cultural influence in the service, could help market the Lake Bosumtwi basin to the literate, first time visitor. Our hopes would be to market the tourism package in a manner that helps increase the length of stay and encourages repeat visits. Both these targets can only be achieved through greater activities, more fun stuff to do, and can encourage greater tourist spending by having the locals establish souvenir stalls all along the basin.
Concerted developmental and marketing efforts are needed, but the first step will be an on-going process that involves educating the locals by transforming all their activities into sustainable ones. This social entrepreneurship project can be defined as that following the hybrid model as it serves a social purpose for the communities and the tourists, and an economic one for the communities, on a non-profit basis.
It has to be realised that the social entrepreneurship project I have picked is not a one day cure; it rather is a process of change that may take several years to ease in as it involves transformation of the ways of living of entire communities in a manner that benefits them on a long term basis. The developmental efforts and the economic outcomes will revolutionise not only the lives of inhabitants, but also those of several future generations.
Works Cited
Lumpkin, T. ‘Community Based Ecotourism In The Panama Canal Watershed.’ 1998. Web. 05 July, 2014.
Rome, Abigail. ‘ECOTOURISM IMPACT MONITORING: A Review of Methodologies and Recommendations for Developing Monitoring Programs in Latin America.’ ECOTOURISM TECHNICAL REPORT SERIES NUMBER 1. 1999. Print.
