Ecotourism In Sub Saharan Africa

Since its first mention in the academic literature, ecotourism has been endorsed by NGOs and governments as the most environmentally sound and locally beneficial method of tourist development. Over the last thirty years sub-Saharan Africa has adopted ecotourism as the primary focus for tourism development; research into this has demonstrated mixed results. In this publication, we seek to explore the actual outcomes for African countries that have developed their tourism policy around the principals and values of ecotourism. The sheer scope and magnitude of the task means that a complete evaluation of ecotourism in Africa is impossible. Instead, included here are spot assessments of various aspects of ecotourism related to conservation, policy development, environment, governance, community and indigenous peoples in southern Africa. The studies cover a wide array of countries, including Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Though this is only the beginning of a needed long term evaluation of the positives and negatives of ecotourism, it provides a starting point from which to move forward. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ecotourism.

Tourism is increasingly viewed by African governments and others as an economic sector which has great unexplored potential for earning foreign currency. It is also recognised that uncontrolled tourism development has the potential to affect the environment and local communities adversely. This book reports on a series of research case studies from Eastern and Southern Africa that explore the benefits of tourism to local communities while protecting their environmental resource. Each chapter includes a short description of the methodology which provides a guide for those contemplating future research projects in ecotourism in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This book investigates urban tourism development in Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the challenges and risks involved, but also showcasing the potential benefits. Whilst much is written on Africa’s rural environments, little has been written about the tourism potential of the vast natural, cultural and historical resources in the continent’s urban areas. Yet these opportunities also come with considerable environmental, social and political challenges. This book interrogates the interactions between urban risks, tourism and sustainable development in Sub-Saharan African urban spaces. It addresses the underlying issues of governance, power, ownership, collaboration, justice, community empowerment and policies that influence tourism decision-making at local, national and regional levels. Interrogating the intricate relationships between tourism stakeholders, this book ultimately reflects on how urban risk can be mitigated, and how sustainable urban tourism can be harnessed for development. The important insights in this book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners across Tourism, Geography, Urban Development, and African Studies.

Sustainable Tourism Policy and Planning in Africa offers an accessible and understandable overview of the challenges of integrating sustainability into tourism policy and planning in Sub-Saharan Africa and provides some interesting recommendations on how these could be overcome. Tourism is currently growing faster in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and in many other developing regions compared to the rest of the world. Using case examples from different segments of the tourism sector in different country contexts, this volume therefore reassesses context specific tourism policies and planning mechanisms in SSA over the years. It considers how the increasing focus on sustainability is reflected in different areas of the tourism sector including food security, the human capacity management, service delivery, local communities and heritage management, climate change and the influence of colonial legacies on tourism policy planning. For many SSA countries, it has only been in the last two decades that the development of sustainable and achievable context specific policies and planning mechanisms has become the norm. The chapters provide examples of how different dimensions of sustainability are integrated into tourism policy and practice, and examine the extent to which these are shaping the present, and their implications for the future sustainability of the tourism sector. Sustainable Tourism Policy and Planning in Africa will be of great value to academics, private and third sector employees to better understand tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eight of the chapters were originally published as a special issue of Tourism Planning and Development. These are now complimented with a new introductory chapter and a concluding chapter that sets out a future research agenda for sustainable tourism policy and planning.

Protected Areas and tourism dynamics in southern Africa: An overview / MOREN T. STONE, LESEGO S. STONE, GOEMEONE E. J. MOGOMOTSI AND PATRICIA K. MOGOMOTSI -- Protected Areas and Tourism Development: A Historical Analysis of the Southern African Experience / BOGA MANATSHA AND BONGANI GLORIOUS GUMBO -- Community perceptions of protected areas and tourism amidst poverty: Experiences from Southern Africa / HERBERT NTULI AND EDWIN MUCHAPONDWA -- Ecotourism as a paradigm shift in conservation and community livelihoods in the Southern African region: Opportunities, challenges and lessons learnt / SAID JUMA SULUO AND WINEASTER ANDERSON -- Tolerance for Wildlife Resources through Community Wildlife-Based Tourism: Implications for Sustainability / CHIEDZA NGONIDZASHE MUTANGA -- Landscape governance in sub-Saharan Africa / RENE VAN DER DUIM AND ARJAAN PELLIS -- In the Way of Wildlife: Contestations between Indigenous Peoples' Livelihood and Conservation / ONTHATILE OLERILE MOETI -- The socio-economic impacts of wildlife crop-raiding: An assessment of the efficacy of conservation and agricultural land uses reconciliation / EMMANUEL MWAKIWA -- Protected areas and community-based tourism: the effectiveness of current mitigation techniques in human wildlife conflicts / PATRICIA KEFILWE MOGOMOTSI -- Lifting of the hunting ban and the elephant debate in Botswana: Implications for conservation and development in southern Africa / JOSEPH ELIZERI MBAIWA AND EMMANUEL MOGENDE -- The role of the media and the international community in recent conservation issues in southern Africa: The case of Cecil the lion / GARIKAI CHIMUKA -- Nature-based tourism resources and climate change in southern Africa: -- Implications for conservation and development sustainability / KAITANO DUBE -- International organisations and the ivory sales ban debate: The case of Zimbabwe,Namibia and Botswana / CAROLINE COX -- The COVID-19 Pandemic and nature-based tourism in southern Africa / SUSAN SNYMAN -- The adoption of community-based tourism in the proximity of Protected Areas: Implications for policy and practice./ OLIVER MTAPURI -- Militarization of conservation and "shoot to kill" policies: An analysis of policy instruments on the environment and conservation in southern Africa / GOEMEONE, E.J MOGOMOTSI AND PATRICIA KEFILWE MOGOMOTSI -- Implications of the "High-value, Low-Volume" approach in conservation and tourism resources management / LESEGO, SENYANA STONE AND MOREN TIBABO STONE -- Promotion of pro-poor tourism in southern Africa: conservation and development critical issues / OWEN GOHORI, PEET VAN DER MERWE AND ANDREA SAAYMAN -- Contrasting safari and bushmeat hunting in southern Africa: Conservation and development issues / JULIA LAURA VAN VELDEN -- A synthesis of protected areas and tourism contributions to conservation and community livelihoods goals in southern Africa: A conclusion / MOREN TIBABO STONE, LESEGO SENYANA STONE, PATRICIA KEFILWE MOGOMOTSI, GOEMEONE EJ MOGOMOTSI.