ASSESSMENT OF ECOTOURISM AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT A CASE STUDY OF PANDAM WILDLIFE PARK, QUAN PAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, PLATEAU STATE

ABSTRACT This research investigated the assessment of Ecotourism and community development in Pandam Wildlife Park Quan Pan Local government area of Plateau state. The specific objectives are to assess the ecotourism potentials of Pandam Wildlife Park to analyze the impact of sustainable ecotourism on the host community; to examine the challenges of ecotourism development in Pandam Wildlife Park and to establish strategies that enhance the development of ecotourism. This research used simple random sampling in selecting sample size. The study was survey research. The population for this study comprised of staff, tourists, villagers and youths of Pandam Wildlife Park Quan Pan Local government area. The instrument that was used for data collection was self-administered structured questionnaires through the drop and collect technique. The data was analyzed using frequency tables, percentages, pie charts and mean analysis. A 2.5 mean analysis was utilized as the decision-making cutoff point. The respondents were more agreeing to the statement that there are challenges of ecotourism development in the destination with lack of cooperation between government and community as the highest mean value as 3.68. Furthermore, 3.88 mean value believe that disruption of the social fabric of the local community is in the destination. In conclusion, ecotourism presents a promising avenue for community development by fostering economic growth while promoting environmental conservation. However, the success of such initiatives heavily relies on addressing existing challenges through collaborative efforts among stakeholders Keywords: Assessment, Ecotourism, Community, Development