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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Environmental degradation and historical tourism: the Dixcove coastline as a case study
Author:Biveridge, FritzISNI
Year:2011
Periodical:Journal of environment and culture (ISSN 1597-2755)
Volume:8
Issue:2
Pages:12-26
Language:English
Geographic term:Ghana
Subjects:fortifications
tourism
environmental degradation
pollution
Abstract:Most tourists visit Ghana because of its historical and cultural attractions located along the coastline. Fort Metal Cross is located at Dixcove, approximately 35 km west of Takoradi, the western regional capital. This paper examines how some activities of Dixcove's population have negatively impacted on its coastline, the archaeology of Fort Metal Cross and historical tourism in the area. The original vegetation at Dixcove has been decimated because of rapid urbanization, tree felling for fuel, and shifting cultivation. In addition to this, the coastline is heavily polluted by rampant defecation on the beaches, dumping of solid waste into the sea, and fish processing at the seaside. There is also chemical pollution, attributed to illegal mining activities. The lease of Fort Metal Cross to a foreign investor who is converting the facility into a tourists/leisure complex has led to the destruction of surface and sub-surface archaeological data, some of which pre-date 1692, and to environmental modifications that negatively effect some endemic mollusks species. The author makes recommendations to redress the problem of environmental degradation and pollution, and to enhance historical tourism at Dixcove. Bibliogr. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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