THE POTENTIAL, DEVELOPMENT AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACT OF ECOTOURISM IN KIBALE NATIONAL-PARK, UGANDA

Protected areas have great potential for recreation and ecotourism. It is surprising that relatively little work has been done on the evalua tion of ecotourism potential of such areas. In many cases, recreation and ecotourism have been introduced into protected areas without prior evaluation which should have helped to reveal the ecological value an d fragility of the area in the first place. It is observed in this stu dy that development of campsites that involve much vegetation removal accounts for loss of woody species and reduces species composition in protected areas. Consequently, it is recommended that: (1) an early ev aluation of the potential of natural areas should be done based on eco logical information and should broadly consider the biological diversi ty often lost quickly through removal of vegetation during campsite de velopment. (2) The removal of vegetation during campsite development s hould take into account the need for ecological preservation of protec ted areas much as they are deemed suitable for recreation and ecotouri sm. (3) Woody species composition in the recreation area should be mon itored regularly to identify new or alien species that may be introduc ed as a result of human activities and which may ultimately destabiliz e the ecosystem structure and function. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limite d.