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Paper short abstract:

This panel will examines whether or to what degree the Ethiopian national park governance policy facilitate and/or debilitate local communities' involvement to conserve the biodiversity of their surroundings and benefits of tourism industry.

Paper long abstract:

In most African countries, national parks were established during the colonial period mainly for the purpose of hunting and tourism (King, 2007). However, the policy, fortress conservation approach, has neglected the local communities who were residing there before the establishment of the national park. Such action has severely affected the social, economic and political aspects of the local community (Pimbert & Pretty, 1995). Awash national park, a first legally gazzeted national park in Ethiopia, was established in 1969 for the conservation and preservation of biodiversity and for tourism. The then government established the national park via taking lands from the Afar and Keryou community who were living around it. Despite the special care provided to the biodiversity, the local communities who lost their lands due to the national park establishment did not get fair compensation payment. This was because of the old national park governance policy that only focused on conservation of natural resources without taking into consideration the benefit of the local community from the protected area (Kameri-Mboti, 2005). Establishment of national parks via excluding the local communities or their participation has often caused negative relationships between Protected Areas and local communities, resulting in conflict (Asebe, 2012). This conflict could make it impossible to sustainably manage the natural resources and use for tourism.

Therefore, the overall objective of this study is to examine whether or to what degree the Ethiopian government national park governance policy facilitate and/or debilitate local communities' involvement to conserve the biodiversity of their surroundings and benefits of tourism industry.