Eco tourism in Ghana
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Introduction
Ghana is a part of the African continent and is referred to as Mother Nature’s delight. Its enchanting wildlife, natural species, subtropical climate all add to its charm as a tourist nation. As far as the geographical boundaries of the nation are concerned the Gulf of Guinea on the, the Atlantic ocean, Burkina Faso and Cote d I’voire are the boundaries on the west, south,north and west horizons respectively. In short it can be referred to as land locked nation. The population is roughly around 20 million with concentration of Christians, Muslim and rational religions. English is the official language of the nation. During the dawn of the British era the country was known as the Gold coast.
In the modern era the country is collectively referred to a community based ecotourism which is three way traffic between the conservationists, local communities and the tourists in general. The fact mentioning here is more than 5 % of the land area in the country is brought under official forest cover. The major tourist attraction centre’s are the mole national park in the north along with the savannah and the kokum national park along the coast. Ghana as a country is the rational hub of bird watchers with close to 725 species present. The core ones are the gunlocks, parrots, weavers, eagles as well as raptors. The concentration of all this species is mainly in the shadowy rainforests of Kakum, Bui, Ankasa as well as the coastal areas such as Keta and Songor. Other primary attractions in the country are Assin Atandanso resource reserve, Paga crocodile pond, Boabeng- Fiema maonkey sanctuary, Tagbo falls, Wli falls ,Digya national park. Volta region have its presence in the topographical belt of the country has the largest number of ecotourism sites and boosts of magnificent forests and splendid waterfalls. The natural beaches along the coastline of the country has also strengthened its image like the Ada foah beach. In addition to all this the country boosts of excellent connectivity along with excellent lodging as well as cuisine facilities.
In short it can be ascertained Ghana is a country is in the laps of nature. But in recent times it has been observed that there is a decrease in the area under forest cover due to the ever increasing settlements of human base and timber expansion. There is a rapid degradation taking place .In order to protect its natural cover and retaining its image as a tourist nation based on wildlife the need for the hour is conservation. Moreover one thing which substantiates all this facts that the tourist revenue from this sector is close to over one million Ghana cedis. In fact to a great extent it can be concluded that to enjoy the scenic beauty of the nation as a whole a single visit will not suffice.
References
Gabriel Eshun (2007) “ Ecotourism and social research” Postcolonial Focus on Ghana
www.touringghana.com
