The effects of ecotourism on poverty alleviation in Nyongane Village, Mbombela Municipality, Mpumalanga Province

Abstract

The foundation of ecotourism is associated with poverty alleviation all over the world. That is, ecotourism is believed to be significant in income generation, improvement of people’s standards of living, sustainability of the environment, political enablement of local societies and in educational purposes. However, it has been noted that regardless of the significance of ecotourism, poverty remains a major problem across the world. In some developing countries like South Africa and Botswana, among others, ecotourism could account for about 25% of their Gross Domestic Product. The Mpumalanga Province of South Africa relies on ecotourism as a source of income, employment creation and for boosting local economy. In light of this, the purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of ecotourism on poverty alleviation in Nyongane Village. The study reviewed both theoretical and empirical literature on the subject. It also adopted both qualitative and quantitative approaches in undertaking the study wherein an interview schedule and questionnaires were used for data collection. The findings of the study revealed that the Phabeni Gate Nature Reserve turned a blind eye on community participation by using the industry-oriented approach in ecotourism. They also revealed that the community members of Nyongane Village do not have access to resources in the reserve. Majority of the residents from the village argued that there is no communication from the aforementioned Nature Reserve while others argued that they are hardly communicated with. Therefore, the study recommended that there is a need for the Nature Reserve to provide employment opportunities for most people who are from Nyongane Village. It also recommended the need for the reserve to consider community participation by allowing the community members to provide inputs during decision making processes at least once in 6 months at the reserve. This could be done by hosting meetings attended by the representatives of the reserve and the community members. Lastly, the study concluded that although ecotourism adversely affects poverty alleviation in Nyongane Village, these negative effects, however, could possibly be addressed by implementing the recommendations of this study.