Volume: 5  Number: 1&2  Page: 80–96

Ecotourism in Kenya: The Vulnerability of Communities

Christopher R.J. Southgate University of Central Lancashire, School of Natural Resources, Preston PR1 2HE, UK

Community participation in ecotourism planning and development is often regarded as panacea for the social and environmental impacts ascribed to mass tourism. Such prescriptions for more ‘sustainable’ forms of tourism however often disregard the ways in which resource management scenarios are often characterised by inequitable patterns of access to and control over resources. In heterogeneous and politically differentiated social settings achieving equitable broad based ‘participation’ invariably proves problematic. Such conditions weaken the capacity of local residents to negotiate equitable and sustainable relationships with other actors and agencies in ecotourism developments. This paper examines how the highly fragmented community of Kimana in southern Kenya failed to capitalise on its immense ecotourism potential virtue of political rifts between ethnic groups, clans and age sets. Broad-based participation has proven illusive. While the model of ‘community’ based ecotourism has a positive resonance the case study suggests it is naïve to believe the articulation of ‘community’ with external agencies – commercial or governmental – can emerge from purely bottom-up initiatives. Insights from neighbouring ecotourism initiatives indicate the important role external inputs can have to protect the interests of local residents.

Keywords: community, ecotourism, Kenya, natural resource management, participation

© 2006 C.R.J. Southgate

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