Community attitudes towards protected areas: insights from Ghana

Abstract Understanding community attitudes towards protected areas is of great importance because these attitudes are inherently linked to the long-term existence and effectiveness of protected areas. We assessed the factors that influence community attitudes towards Mole and Digya National Parks in Ghana. During June–August 2015 we conducted interviews with 346 randomly selected households, using a semi-structured questionnaire. We found that attitudes towards the protected areas were positive, with Mole residents being more positive than Digya residents. Analyses revealed that community attitudes were largely influenced by the perceived costs and benefits of the protected area, household size, occupation, level of education, and awareness of or participation in livelihood projects. The findings suggest that increasing the benefits from protected areas and minimizing the costs on fringe communities fosters positive attitudes towards the concept of protected areas and conservation in general. Additionally, perceptions of protected areas are likely to be more positive when management interventions are tailored for local communities as opposed to the adoption of universal, unspecific interventions.