Ecotourism governance and protected areas sustainability in Cameroon: The case of Campo Ma'an National Park

Abstract

Ecotourism is often perceived as a strategy for protected areas' sustainability. In Cameroon, there is a dearth of information on ecotourism governance and its contribution to protected areas' sustainability. This study evaluates ecotourism governance in and around the Campo Ma'an National Park (CMNP). Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were obtained from household surveys (N = 124) and key informant interviews (N = 16). From the findings, there is the absence of a clear cut national policy for ecotourism development in and around protected areas. Benefit-sharing (34.7%) and participation (30.6%) were ranked as the most crucial ecotourism governance indicator contributing to the sustainable management of resources in and around the CMNP. The results from descriptive statistics and the Chi-Square test (p < 0.01) indicated that the governance indicators affecting ecotourism in the CMNP are either very poor or poor, except participation, which is considered average. This study recommends developing national ecotourism friendly policies that can accelerate sustainable management of natural resources and livelihood enhancement in and around protected areas in Cameroon in general and the CMNP in particular. It also recommends the urgent need for stakeholders to improve on the components of governance by ensuring effective participation, equitable benefit sharing, management of conflict between stakeholders, and overhauling the transparency and accountability process for ecotourism to contribute to biodiversity conservation and livelihood sustainably.