Potentials and Challenges for Community Based Ecotourism Development at Haro Aba Diko Controlled Hunting Area, South Western Oromia

Abstract

This study was conducted to identify the potentials, Challenges of community- based ecotourism at Haro Aba Diko Controlled Hunting area, South western Ethiopia. Community -based ecotourism has become the most basic tool to meet livelihood demand across the world. Primary and secondary data were used for this study. Purposive and simple random sampling methods were used to select kebeles and 140 sample respondents respectively. To select key informant snowball method was used. Quantitative data was analyzed using frequency, percentage and mean whereas the qualitative data was used to triangulate and authenticate the study. The result of the study indicated that Haro Aba Diko Controlled Hunting area had huge resource potentials such as attractive flora and fauna ,Dabena and Didesa river with attractive cultural resource like Cultural dance, cultural food and drinks .Having this potentials community based ecotourism establishment is constrained by lack of awareness, basic infrastructures, tourism professionals and Illegal activity of community like Settlements within the Controlled Hunting Area and Conversions of forest lands to Agricultural lands. To empower the establishment of community based ecotourism, awareness creation program, promotion activity, filling gap of community social infrastructures and further study in the study area should be needed.

Keywords: Community -based, Ecotourism, Challenges, Potentials

DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/68-01

Publication date:August 31^st 2020