Management Aspects of an Ecotourism Attraction. A Review on Idanre Hills

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

ANALYSIS OF LITERATURE
Ondo State: The Home of Idanre Hills
Idanre Hills: The study Setting
Geography and Ecology
The People of Idanre
The Attractions
Review of Literature

CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION (S)

REFERENCE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The present study is aimed at evaluating the current state of the management of Idanre Hills with the view to contribute knowledge to the sustainable development of the attraction. The natural landscape of the hills is replete with an abundance of biodiversity and a cultural heritage that has survived for centuries. Today, the Idanre landscape is a preferred destination explored for its benefits (notably environmental, economic and socio-cultural).

Being in the tentative list of world heritage site, the stakeholders in accordance with the UNESCO regulation have been tasked with adopting effective management and protection strategies to ensure the development of a sustainable heritage site for the present and future generations amongst other benefits.

From analysis of literature, in its current state; some factors were found to constitute barriers to the attainment of high performance in the management of Idanre hills including conflict of interests between members of the Idanre community and the state authority on the subject of management; inadequate financial resources, climate change, lack of political will, poor infrastructure, limited education in tourism destination management amongst others. Various solutions have been proffered concerning effective management and sustainable development of tourism attraction from scholarly works.

Meanwhile, it is believed that the recommendations for the assessment of management performance should ultimately be in line with the criteria as specified by the UNESCO for the reason that Idanre hills is in the tentative list of world heritage sites. The outcome of adhering to these management criteria is that consequently, the conditions of integrity of the attraction are sustained or enhanced over a longer period.

Keywords : Ecotourism, Idanre Hills, protected areas, management effectiveness, biodiversity conservation.

INTRODUCTION

Tourists are often drawn to areas with fragile resources, unique natural heritage and cultural attractions. In fact, the tourism industry has been implicated in the growth of some of the leading economies today (Livina & Reddy, 2017; United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 2017). For tourist destination to reach its potentials at the local and international front, experts have highlighted the significance of tourism planning and management (Mirbabayer & Shagazatova, 2006; Odeleye & Oyekanmi, 2013; UNESCO, 2014).

The term ‘tourism’ has been defined in various context by international agencies and researchers (Zaei & Zaei, 2013). In the context of the present work, the definition of tourism according to Ajala (2007) is being considered. This delineation views tourism in terms of landscape and land forms in a natural/cultural setting. Notably, the researcher defined tourism in terms of geographical, ecological or topographic features of tourism attractions, rare plants and animals, pre-historic sites, ancient monuments (such as artworks, historical building), culture and lifestyle of the people

As indicated earlier, tourism destinations can be vulnerable and as such there’s been focus on sustainability in the management of tourism site. From various works, the phenomenon of sustainability refers to the long term enhancement and conservation of both cultural and natural resources (Fennell, 2008; Hall, 2008; Fadamiro and Adedeji, 2016).

In other words, sustainability at the core of tourism management ensure that while tourists experience the features of the attraction; their activities have less negative effects on the environment (Eugene et al., 2011; Scheyvens, 2011).

Sustainable tourism development is not only limited to environmental benefits; there are other aspects including social, political, cultural, economic (Scheyvens, 2011). Collectively, these components bring great value to tourism attractions (Bramwell & Lane, 2011; UNWTO, 2013). Sustainable tourism involves preserving the natural resources upon which tourism depends and sustainability involves developing tourism resources to enhance tourist experience (Ekinci, 2014). Specifically, Ekinci’s report highlighted two key elements important to sustainability: preserving resources and developing new facilities (ibid).

Researchers including Cooper (2016) among others have advocated on the need for sustainable planning via integrative models in the development of tourism destination. This involves collaborative efforts between the public and private sector as well as the local community where the attraction is situated (Gunn & Var, 2002; Liu, 2003).

In the context of this study; a cultural and natural landscape is being considered. Idanre hills has been described as a landscape with aesthetic and recreational qualities comprising of rich biodiversity features, religious edifices, monuments, tradition and crafts which represents the focal point of tourist activities (Beagan & Dogan, 2015; Fatimah, 2015; Stoffelen & Vanneste, 2015).

As a natural landscape, it is subject to changing conditions as a result of its natural forces. Hence, as Fatimah (2015) suggested, there is a need for adaptive management.

As a potential UNESCO world heritage site; Mitchell et al. (2009) (cited in Adebayo, 2017: 48) maintained that effective management remains crucial for the protection of the ‘universal value’ of world heritage sites for both present and future generations. Clearly, its global status come with the burden of protecting the attraction in a bid to promote sustainable development of the tourism attraction and the host community. Hence, the study.

As such, the present work is aimed at exploring how issues of sustainability are being conceptualized and incorporated into the management system of Idanre hills.

In the next chapter, Idanre Hills is spotlighted in details. Meanwhile, it is imperative to highlight that the location where Idanre hill is located (that is, Ondo state, Nigeria) is also richly endowed in many tourism attractions that have also attained global recognition

ANALYSIS OF LITERATURE

The discourse here spotlights several sections including the cultural and natural landscape of Idanre hills and a literature analysis of the management of the attraction.

Ondo State: The Home of Idanre Hills

As indicated earlier, Idanre hill is among many tourist attractions located in Ondo state, South-West Nigeria (its location is represented below in figure 1).

The region is within the tropical rainforest experiencing two main seasons namely the rainy season (in the month April to October) and the dry season (in the month of November to March). Annual rainfall varies from 1150mm to 2000mm in Northern and Southern parts of the state respectively. The state has a wide distribution of tourist centres/features including rivers and lakes (in the coastal area), lowlands and rugged hills (Kasali, 2002). A few examples of the state’s attractions include: Idanre Hills, Ebomi Lake, Oke Maria, Igbokoda Water Front, Igbo Olodumare, Oduduwa Shrine and Red Water at Epe, Cave of Ashes, Igbara Oke Petroglyphs, Oyemekun Rocks, Victory Gardens among others (Idanre.net, 2014).

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Figure 2: Map of Nigeria showing Ondo State [http://www.mapsofworld.com/nigeria/nigeria-political-map.html (accessed on April 23, 2021)].

Idanre Hills: The study Setting

The study area is a well-known cultural and natural landscape that have gained recognition for its ‘outstanding universal value’ (UNESCO, 2019). Based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification system (which is aimed at ensuring effective management and the sustainability of the tourist attractions); Idanre hills has been grouped under categories II, III and V. A comprehensive description of the categories is depicted below in table 1 below.

Table 1: Management Categories of Protected Areas (Adopted from Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 2004; International Union for Conservation Nature (IUCN), 2007).

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Geography and Ecology

Idanre Hills (known as “Oke-Idanre” by the native people), is an ancient natural landscape that has existed among the Idanre community for thousands of years (Idanre.net, 2014). From literature, the hills of Idanre received global recognition as it was added to the tentative list of the UNESCO world heritage sites in 2007 (UNESCO, 2007).

The tourist attraction is managed by the government of Ondo state (Adigun et al., 2016) and it is quite unique for being a natural home of a vast biodiversity of plant and animal species (National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), 2007). In fact, the Idanre people have been known to hold the Usé – an annual celebration of bats which takes place in February (UNESCO, 2012).

As indicated below in figure 2.2, Idanre Hills is bound by longitudes 5˚00' E to 5˚15' E and latitudes 7˚00' N to 7˚15' N, covering an area of 750 km².

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Figure 3: Map of the location of the study area (Source: Ikusemiju and Osinubi, 2020: 199)

The Idanre hills are steep-sided, smooth and dome-shaped in nature, and are actually interconnected landforms. The different hills were named after some historical figures in the socio-cultural evolution of the Idanre community. Some of these are the Olofin and Orosun Hills named after Olofin, the pioneer king of Oke- Idanre and his queen respectively. The Ahiala Hill is very peculiar because it has a very wonderful footprint named Agbogun into which visitors put their feet. There is also Carter Hills named after a former Colonial Governor who signed a peace treaty with the king of Idanre in 1891. The Ajimoba Hill was named after a gateman, while the Ilesun Hill was named after an ill-fated daughter of a great warrior who killed his daughter in fulfillment of his promise to sacrifice the first living thing that comes his way if he should be victorious in his war exploit (Idanre.net, 2014).

Collectively, the Idanre hills consist of high plain with spectacular valleys interspersed with inselbergs of about 3,000 feet above sea level. A cross-section of landscape is depicted below in figures 2.3 (Idanre.net, 2014).

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Figure 4: Idanre hill (travelwaka.com, 2020) (Source: https://www.travelwaka.com/idanre-hills-beautiful-tourist-attraction-in-ondo/)

The People of Idanre

It has been found that tourism activities in various local destinations actually do represent the environment in which they take place (Adebayo, 2017). In a sense, the people and their natural environment are one. Hence, the need for this section.

Being a host to a globally recognized tourist attraction, the Idanre people are known for the worship of various deities such as ‘Olofin’ and ‘Orosun’. On the creation of the settlement; there are historical accounts that the aboriginals had resided on the hills before migrating downhill in 1923 in pursuit of their traditional occupation – farming, which is still being practiced. Olu et al. (2018) noted that Idanre is known for being Nigeria’s largest producer of cocoa.

It has been documented that the Idanre people do not carry out frequent activities on the hills except during rituals and key festivals including the famous Orosun, Ogun and Ije festivals (NCMM, 2007). The religious exercises are routinely advanced by the people to reconcile with their natural environment in addition to recount historical experiences in local Idanre history and its broader Yoruba ideology as reported by NCMM (2007).

The native community of Idanre is located at the foot of the Idanre hill which is of unique cultural and environmental significance and attracts many tourists. It is also important to know that their native tongue is the Yoruba language (Olu et al., 2018). It spans an area of 1,914km2 and population of 129,024 based on the 2006 Nigerian population census.

Within the hills of Idanre, tourists have been known to explore several attractions which has been details below.

The Attractions

Even though Idanre hills appear to be the ‘headline’ in various texts. The main attractions are derived from engagement with certain features of the locality of the Idanre itself such as the agbagba hill, carter hill, ilesun hill, arun river, thunder water, the ancient primary school, tourist chalets, ancient buildings, the ancient palace, the mausoleum, ancient court and prison. This is in addition to other features namely the religious festivals (Olu et al., 2018).

The Agbagba Hill

The hill became quite famous because of Agboogun, a mysterious foot print that is found on it. In pre-colonial times, it was believed that any witch or wizard would be detected simply by stepping into the foot print. For tourists to get to Agbagba hill where the mysterious foot print is located, they must embark on the journey very early in the morning and return in the evening because it is a distance of several kilometers (The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), 2008; Adisa, 2010; Olu et al., 2018).

The Carter Hill

This hill was named after a former colonial Governor who signed a peace treaty with the Oba (Yoruba translation for King) of Idanre dated back in 1891 (NCMM, 2008; Adisa, 2010; Olu et al., 2018).

Ilesun Hill

This attraction was named after a great warrior who killed his daughter as a votive offering in exchange for victory in a war. It is believed that the girl was buried at the base of the Ilesun hill. A religious ritual is conducted annually on the hill by all the children of her age in Idanre community (NCMM, 2008; Adisa, 2010; Olu et al., 2018).

The Arun River

It is a small river on the hill top. Arun is a crystal clear river. The Idanre people believe that that it has healing power against ailments if one can swim in it. Olu et al. (2018) noted that due to poor maintenance, the river has lost its crystal clear quality.

Thunder Water

Omi Apaara is the Yoruba translation for thunder water. It is a fresh water habitat that cut across the road. According to the folklore, warriors had to appease or consult the stream whenever they went to war. They would put the water inside a calabash and perform some rites. Once thunder strikes, it means they would go to war and win but if thunder did not strike, it means they would lose the war. Olu et al. (2018) reported that the water body is seasonal, flowing during the wet season.

The Mausoleum

Similar to various world cultures; for the Idanre people, the ‘Oba’ (kings) are buried in this site. The building still remains intact till date (NCMM, 2008; Adisa, 2010).

The Ancient Court and Prison

This is also a popular site tourists visit in the Idanre community. According to historical accounts, the structure was erected by a team of missionaries led by Rev. Gilbert Carter in the 1906. The Clergy was also responsible for establishing the Anglican primary school in 1896. The structure is made of clay but it still stands till this day (NCMM, 2008; Adisa, 2010; Olu et al., 2018).

The Ancient Palace

The 17th century king’s (Owa) courtyard with carved figures and doors is also another feature amongst other side attractions to Idanre Hills (NCMM, 2008; Adisa, 2010).

Tourist Chalets

These are a number of holdings that according to historical narratives were erected by the colonial masters. Interestingly, from here, the aerial view of the present Idanre settlement can be seen.

Visitors are also known to view other well-known attractions such as the suspended rock, the Olori quarters, the wonderful mat, irremovable sword, the ark of Noah and the unreadable inscription (Olu et al., 2018).

The Idanre community are also associated with various religious festivals for example; Mare, Ije and Orosun festivals. Annually, the Mare (an international mountain climbing) festival is celebrated in December to celebrate the culture and the richness of the land in Idanre. The festival attracts tourists both locally and internationally. The name "Mare" means 'don’t fall' which signifies that the people of the community will not fall and it is used to pray for the community to continue to rise in fortune and productivity (Adisa, 2010). Ije festival in December while Orosun festival is celebrated between May and June every year (NCMM, 2008; Adisa, 2010; Olu et al., 2018).

The pictures of the tourist attractions and corresponding annotations are represented below from figures 5 to 13.

The Steps: This is the first attraction, it has 682 steps and 5 resting points from the top to bottom.

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Figure 5: The Steps (travelwaka.com, 2020).

The first school: The first primary school in Idanre is also located on the hill. The school was built in 1896 and it is still in existence till day. However, it is now a rusty place with no form of educational activity.

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Figure 6: The first school (travelwaka.com, 2020).

The Court: The city also has an ancient court of law where local matters are settled. The court was built in 1906 by the British missionaries. This is to ensure law and order within the community. It has the main court, the judge’s chamber etc.

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Figure 7: The first school (travelwaka.com, 2020).

The Prison: The court also has a prison yard located opposite the court where prisoners and offenders are kept.

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Figure 8: The Prison (travelwaka.com, 2020).

The Ancient Palace: Another place to visit is the Owa’s Palace. Before the city moved downhill, this city has its first palace here. This palace is dated as far back as the 17th century.

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Figure 9: The Ancient Palace (travelwaka.com, 2020).

The House of Lorin: Lorin is the custodian of Idanre. According to historical accounts, the tradition forbids him to wear cloth. He can only tie wrapper. This is why clothes and shoes are forbidden in his house and you cannot enter his house unless you are invited. His house uphill still respects the tradition till date.

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Figure 10: The House of Lorin (travelwaka.com, 2020).

The Arun River:

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Figure 11: The Arun River (travelwaka.com, 2020).

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