The Lake Bosumtwi impact structure in Ghana: A brief environmental assessment and discussion of ecotourism potential

available online at http://meteoritics.org The Lake Bosumtwi impact structure in Ghana: A brief environmental assessment and discussion of ecotourism potential Daniel BOAMAH1, 2 and Christian KOEBERL1* 1Department of Geological Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria 2Geological Survey Department, P.O. Box M80, Accra, Ghana *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] (Received 17 August 2006; revision accepted 29 January 2007) Abstract–Lake Bosumtwi is a natural inland freshwater lake that originated from a meteorite impact. The lake is becoming a popular tourist attraction in Ghana and has the potential to be developed as an ecotourism site in the future. However, there have been some unregulated human activities and unplanned infrastructure development, and there are increased levels of pollutants in the lake water. In order to make ecotourism at Lake Bosumtwi successful in the long term, the Lake Bosumtwi Development Committee has been formed to ensure that local people are empowered to mobilize their own capacities. It has been realized that an important criterion required to develop ecotourism in a socially responsible, economically efficient, and environmentally viable way is to foster a constructive dialogue between the local people and tourists about the needs of the indigenous people.Lake Bosumtwi is a natural inland freshwater lake that originated from a meteorite impact. The lake is becoming a popular tourist attraction in Ghana and has the potential to be developed as an ecotourism site in the future. However, there have been some unregulated human activities and unplanned infrastructure development, and there are increased levels of pollutants in the lake water. In order to make ecotourism at Lake Bosumtwi successful in the long term, the Lake Bosumtwi Development Committee has been formed to ensure that local people are empowered to mobilize their own capacities. It has been realized that an important criterion required to develop ecotourism in a socially responsible, economically efficient, and environmentally viable way is to foster a constructive dialogue between the local people and tourists about the needs of the indigenous people.