Ecotourism and Outdoor Recreation Development in Harego and Bededo Urban Fringe Protected Areas, Ethiopia: Exploring Opportunities, Challenges, and Prospects
Abstract
Ecotourism, outdoor recreation, and protected areas are interlinked and thus, most of the ecotourism and outdoor recreational activities are conducted in protected areas. The study's primary purpose is to describe the opportunities and challenges and pinpoint possible strategies for outdoor recreation and ecotourism development in the urban fringe protected areas of Harego and Bededo protected areas, Ethiopia. The primary data was collected through a qualitative approach, interviews with purposely selected experts and personal observation. From the findings, several opportunities were identified including the availability of other tourist attractions around Harego and Bededo, the geographical position of the sites, the coming newly constructed railway, and the presence of the Kombolcha integrated industrial park. Even though opportunities exist some challenges were also identified. These challenges include the presence of unwanted trash in the natural protected areas, the encroachments of the local community on the protected areas, the planting of non-indigenous trees, unplanned management of protected areas of Harego and Bededo, landslides, and erosion problems. Finally, possible strategies were identified and presented for developing ecotourism and outdoor recreation in the study area.
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[2] Amenu, B. T. Review on trends of ecotourism development in Ethiopia. IISTE Journal of Tourism Hospitality and Sport. ISSN (2017): 2312-5187.
[3] Aseres, S. A., and Raminder Kaur Sira. 2021. Ecotourism development in Ethiopia: Costs and benefits for protected area conservation. Journal of Ecotourism 20(3): 224-249. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2020.1857390
[4] Asmamaw, D., and Ashok Verma. 2013. Ecotourism for environmental conservation and community livelihoods, the case of the Bale Mountain National Park, Ethiopia. Journal of Environmental Science and Water Resources 2(8): 250-259.
[5] Azmaiparashvili, M. 2017. Eco-tourism potential in protected areas and its sustainable development challenges. European Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research 5(1): 1-9.
[6] Baromey, N. 2019. To Support the Preparation of Sustainable Landscape and Ecotourism Project in Cardamom Mountains and Tonle Sap Landscape.
[7] Bekele, H., Teshome, E. and Asteray, M. 2021. Assessing protected areas for ecotourism development: The case of Maze National Park, Ethiopia. DOI: 10.5897/JHMT2015.0159
[8] Bell, S. 2008. Design for outdoor recreation. Taylor and Francis.
[9] Bell, S., et al. 2007. Outdoor recreation and nature tourism: A European perspective. Living Reviews in Landscape Research 1(2): 1-46. DOI: http://doi.org/10.12942/lrlr-2007-2
[10] Chane, M., and Yohannes, D. W. 2014. Biodiversity Threats and their impacts on ecotourism in Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Ethiopia. The Journal of Agriculture and Natural Resources Science 1(3): 195-204.
[11] Deribew, K.T., Mihretu, Y., Abreha, G. and Gemeda, D. O. 2022. Spatial analysis of potential ecological sites in the northeastern parts of Ethiopia using multi-criteria decision-making models. Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science 6(3): 961-991. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41685-022-00248-5
[12] Eshetu, A. A. 2014. Development of community-based ecotourism in Borena-Saynt National Park, North central Ethiopia: opportunities and challenges. Journal of hospitality management and tourism 5(1): 1-12. DOI: 10.5897/JHMT2013.0103
[13] Fentaw, T., and Duba, J. 2017. Human–wildlife conflict among the pastoral communities of southern rangelands of Ethiopia: the case of Yabello protected area. Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy 20(2): 198-206. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13880292.2017.1346352
[14] Fetene, A., Bekele, T. and Tiwari, G. B. G.. 2012. The contribution of ecotourism for sustainable livelihood around Nech Sar National Park, Ethiopia. Int J Environ Sci 1: 19-25.
[15] Hakim, L. 2017. Cultural landscape preservation and ecotourism development in Blambangan Biosphere Reserve, East Java. Landscape ecology for sustainable society 341-358. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74328-8_21
[16] Highfill, T., and Smith-Nelson, C. 2018. Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account Methodology. US Bureau of Economic Analysis. Accessed September 30 (2018): 2020.
[17] Hornsten, L. 2000. Outdoor recreation in Swedish forests: implications for society and forestry. PhD diss., Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
[18] Kabil, M., Alayan, R., Lakner, Z. and Dávid, L. D. 2022. Enhancing regional tourism development in the protected areas using the total economic value approach. Forests 13(5): 727. DOI: 10.3390/f13050727
[19] Larson, C. L. 2019. Effects of Outdoor Recreation on Wildlife in Protected Areas. PhD diss., Colorado State University.
[20] Lausche, B. J. 2011. Guidelines for protected areas legislation. No. 81. IUCN.
[21] Mellaku, M. T., et al. 2022. The contribution of local outdoor recreational services to the sustainable management of environmental resources: the case of Tabor Mountain Recreational Park in Hawassa City, Ethiopia. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy 18(1): 70-80. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2021.2023291
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[23] Mondino, E., and Beery, T. 2019. Ecotourism as a learning tool for sustainable development. The case of Monviso Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, Italy. Journal of Ecotourism 18(2): 107-121. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2018.1462371
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[26] Nigatu, T. F., and Tegegne, A. A. 2021. Potential Resources, Local Communities' attitudes and Perceptions for Outdoor Recreation and Ecotourism Development in Urban Fringe Harego and Bededo Conserved Forest, South Wollo Zone, Ethiopia. Geo Journal of Tourism and Geosites 39: 1421-1429. DOI:10.30892/gtg.394spl13-786
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[28] Saidmamatov, O., et al. 2020. Employing ecotourism opportunities for sustainability in the Aral Sea Region: Prospects and challenges. Sustainability 12(21): 9249. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000451359
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[32] Trišić, I., et al. 2023. Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas—The Case of the Vršac Mountains Outstanding Natural Landscape, Vojvodina Province (Northern Serbia). Sustainability 15(10): 7760. DOI:10.3390/su15107760
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[34] Winter, P. L., Selin, S., Cerveny, L. and Bricker, K. 2019. Outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism, and sustainability. Sustainability 12(1): 81. DOI: 10.3390/su12010081
[35] UNEP-WCMC. Protected Area Profile for Ethiopia from the World Database on Protected Areas, July 2023. Available at: https://www.protectedplanet.net/country/ETH
Published
2023-09-29
How to Cite
NIGATU, Tesfaye Fentaw; AREGAW, Molla Nigus; TEGEGNE, Asnakew Atlug.
Ecotourism and Outdoor Recreation Development in Harego and Bededo Urban Fringe Protected Areas, Ethiopia: Exploring Opportunities, Challenges, and Prospects.
Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, [S.l.], v. 14, n. 6, p. 2497 - 2509, sep. 2023.
ISSN 2068-7729.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jemt/article/view/8074>. Date accessed: 21 dec. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.v14.6(70).02.
Section
Article
Copyright© 2024 The Author(s). Published by ASERS Publishing 2024. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of CC-BY 4.0 license.