Bazate pe comunitate de Ecoturism la Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana

The main road through Tafi Atome Village in the Volta region in Ghana. The sacred grove known as a ‘Monkey Sanctuary’ harbours a population of endemic monkeys and has been protected and restored by the local people through an eco-tourism project. (Sursă: S. Symon)
    Site-ul

    Satul de Tafi Atome are peste 1000 locuitori şi este situat în districtul Hohoe a regiunii Volta de Ghana. Residents speak Ewe. The village is surrounded by a sacred grove of approximately 28 are. The grove is a semi-deciduous forest and lies within the forest-savannah transitional zone. It is immediately surrounded by grassland and cultivated farmland. Grove se încadrează în IUCN zona protejată Categoria IV, un habitat și / sau zona de gestionare a speciilor. Zona este protejat de o 2006 Hohoe District regulamentul intern pentru valoarea ei principal ca habitat pentru sacre mona maimuțe (Cercopithecus mona mona).

    Potrivit locuitorilor, aproximativ 200 de ani în urmă, strămoșii locuitorilor din zona Tafi Atome se spune că au migrat de la Assini în Ghana centrală a District Hohoe. Ei au adus cu ei un idol sau fetiș care a fost plasat în pădure sacru în Tafi Atome, în scopul de a păstra în siguranță și rece. Pădure a fost considerat imediat sacru și, prin urmare, protejate. A short time after their arrival in the area, the village residents began to notice monkeys that they believed they had seen in their original region of Assini, and therefore believed that the monkeys had followed them. The monkeys were henceforth considered ‘representatives of the gods’, and protected as sacred.

    Ameninţări

    În anii 1980, un lider creștin local, a adus puncte de vedere opuse legii tradiționale, care a dus la deteriorarea de conexiuni spirituale cu pădure fetiș și eroziunea de protecție tradiționale. Locuitorii taie copaci viabile economic, în special în jurul Crângul Sacru, până la o organizație de mediu ajutat re-afirma protecție a crâng în 1990. Există o presiune continuă de la localnici pentru a șterge pădurilor pentru terenuri agricole și să taie copaci. There is also tourism pressure to feed the mona monkeys.

    Stare
    Amenintat, there is on-going pressure from local residents to clear the forests for farmland.

    Coaliţie
    The community, including the Tourism Management Committee, works with organizations including the Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC) to pursue tourism in order to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the sacred grove.

    Acţiune
    În 1995, the Accra-based Nature Conservation Research Centre visited the village of Tafi Atome and found the sacred forest in a state of degradation. În 1996, a community-based ecotourism project was started in the village. În 1997, mahogany trees were planted to demarcate the boundary of the sanctuary in order to halt future encroachment of farmland upon the forest edge. 1n 1998, a tourist welcome centre was built to serve as the first point of contact for tourists arriving at the village. It was funded by the community and by external donors. The opinion of the villagers was evaluated in surveys between 2004 şi 2006.

    Instrumente de conservare
    Mention the conservation tools or approaches that have been used or developed to support the work on the sacred natural sites. These can be tools or methods used for inventory or monitoring of plants and animals or for developing community capacity and strengthening of cultural values of the site and its people. The use of planning tools and guidelines should also be mentioned, for example the IUCN UNESCO Sacred Natural Sites Guidelines for Protected Area Managers by Wild and McLeod.

    Tafi Atome Village in the Volta region in Ghana contains a sacred grove known as the ‘Monkey Sanctuary’. The Sanctuary harbours a population of endemic monkeys which have have been protected for many generations. (Sursă: A. Ormsby)

    Drept și Politică

    Describe the most important policies and law that support or hinder the conservation of sacred natural sites and species. În 2006, the Hohoe District passed official bylaws including restrictions to enter the forest sanctuary, to damage trees, to farm within the protected area, or to kill animals in the grove.

    Rezultate
    Community members participating in the 2004 şi 2006 surveys said the cultural values of the community have improved as a result of tourism promotion. The arrival of tourists has also brought tourism income, which is distributed among stakeholders (e.g. fetish priest, chiefs) and used for community development, compensation for the landowners of the sanctuary, and educational funds.

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