ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 is about the local economic development impacts of the National Resource Conservation Project at Kakum National Park and the fringing communities. It assesses investment and allocation of the Endowment Fund proceeds, linked economic infrastructure development and a variety of economic activities and businesses that were established. Another assessment covers Park and community ecotourism revenues, local employment generation and skills training and an emergent local entrepreneurialism and competitiveness. These include interpretation of the work of other writers about the perceptions of Park-fringe communities on the economic impacts of tourism development. It argues that the employment generates per business is generally minimal but altogether, significant. The host community perceives the initiative as not rewarding enough in terms of employment, personal and household incomes. However, it has induced a general multiplier impact on the development of many small enterprises as well as increased the volume of foodstuff production, with increase in prices, and expansion of the local market. As conceptualised, these local economic development impacts were made through efforts of the Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust and private operators and not the fringe Local Authorities. Some issues of local economic development are pointed out.
