Balancing the interests of wildlife and rural communities: Lessons from Buabeng-Fiema monkey sanctuary in Ghana

    | February 15, 2010

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    As our first news story from Kenya illustrates, the creation of wildlife reserves as tourist attractions has the potential to disrupt the livelihoods of rural communities. Across Africa, there are many examples of communities being displaced when wildlife reserves were created. But there are also examples of rural communities actively involved in preserving wildlife and wildlife habitat.

    In this week’s script, we learn about two communities in Ghana that created a monkey sanctuary 35 years ago. They are motivated by both traditional beliefs and by money. Revenue from tourists visiting the monkeys goes towards preserving the sanctuary, as well as towards community development projects.

    You can also find this script online at: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/87-1script_en.asp.