An Assessment of the Costs and Benefits of Nech Sar National Park on Livelihood of Local People of Arba Minch Town, Gamo Goffa Zone of SNNP Region

Abstract

Protected areas are biodiversity conservation centers and major tourism assets for a nation particularly for developing countries like Ethiopia by providing sustainable benefits to local community and their livelihood. The main aim of this study was to assess the costs and benefits of Nech SAR National Park on the development of Arba Minch town and livelihood of local people. The study intended to identify the costs of the park on lives of the people, see the contribution of the park, and describe the status of the park in terms of wild life, forest composition, and area coverage. To address this objective the data relevant for the study has been obtained from primary and secondary sources of data. The researcher was used purposive sampling mainly expert by use in order to select experts from Nech Sar national park, Arba Minch town municipal office, Arba Minch town and Zuria woreda tourism office have been selected, Additionally the researcher used accidental sampling technique in order to select wood collators, business owner and others peoples live in Arba Minch town. The data were collected through questionnaire from wood collators, business owner and others, interview from selected office and personal observation from some part of the park and Arba Minch town. Those collected information was analyzed through qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques. The major findings of Nech SAR national park provide benefits for local people inform of employment opportunities, tourism development, and infrastructure development and increase the wellbeing of people. on the other hand Nech Sar national park have costs on local people and livelihood by restrict human injuries, create displacement, lack of access natural resource, lack of access to fire wood and lack of access cultivable land. And this research come up with the status of the park in terms of wild life, forest composition and area coverage are decline from time to time. And the researcher suggests that in order to reduce the costs and enhance the benefits and protect the status of the park those selected offices should be work together.