Local Communities Attitudes and Perceptions of the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park in Togo
Abstract
The Fazao-Malfakassa National Park was established by forcing the local communities
off their land and without taking into considerations their point of view. In addition,
the government failed to conduct a good assessment of future population growth. As
the population increased and land pressure started to become a problem, local populations
moved into the lands that are adjoining the protected area (Barrow, Lembuya, Ntiati,
& Samba, 1993). The increase in land competition is putting pressure on the Fazao-Malfakassa
National Park and is creating conflict between the local communities and park managers
(Soumia, 1990). Today, the local communities are still not included in decision-making,
and the relation between the local communities and the park has degraded.
I assessed the perceptions and attitudes of the local community towards Fazao-Malfakassa
National Park, and how it may impact conservation attitudes in the region. I also
developed recommendations on some best practices to create positive conservation attitudes.
These finding showed in general that the local population has a negative perception
of the park. It is therefore crucial to develop new ways of management such as a multisectoral
approach and community based environmental management to bridge the gap between the
park and local communities, and to achieve economic benefits for local communities
and positive attitudes towards the park.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16582Citation
Saparapa, Rajah (2018). Local Communities Attitudes and Perceptions of the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park
in Togo. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16582.Collections
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