Community participation in the Madikwe Game Park, North West Province, South Africa

Abstract

Community participation has been the subject of research in many parts of the world and it is viewed from different angles or disciplines. Community participation is closely linked to the derivation of livelihood and other benefits from the initiative to that same community. Different models and typologies have been devised to show the range of community participation in tourism. The problem was that available community participation models have not been sufficiently tested to assess their applicability. The main aim of the study was to test a specific model of community participation around Madikwe Game Park. The research objectives were: <ul> <li> To study the literature on community participation models in different areas.</li> <li> To take Mosidi’s model and apply it to Molatedi village.</li> <li> To accept, reject, adapt or come up with an improved model.</li> <li> To make recommendations for assessing community participation.</li></ul> Literature on the subject of community participation in various parts of the world was discussed. Local people or communities are major stakeholders and significantly contribute to the success or failure of a project. The current global focus towards involving local communities in tourism projects to ensure sustainability has led to an increase in models for community participation around the world. In the study various models on community participation were used to draw a comparative analysis. The area under study was the Madikwe Game Park in the North West Province of South Africa. The study used a number of primary and secondary research methods to gather data. Questionnaire surveys, interviews and observations were made in Molatedi village, one of the three main villages surrounding Madikwe Game Park. The findings revealed that information was not evenly distributed within the community, even among the other stakeholders. Many of the respondents were not aware of the community participation model in their area. Many of the local community members had been involved as employees in various lodges and in the Park. Developers highlighted the challenges in involving all stakeholders in the community participation strategy. The study also revealed that the benefits were not accruing to all. What constitute a benefit is not common among the local community members. Results from each of the stakeholder groups (local community, Park management and developers) acknowledged that there was potential for improvement in the community participation. Recommendations were made to establish criteria for measuring success or failure of a model at the beginning of a project. Assessing models has to be an ongoing exercise in order to keep pace with changes given the nature of tourism and community participation. Copyright