The Western Area Peninsular forest is a protected area which has being recently declared a National Park; also, the catchment around Guma Valley Dam is of high conservation interest since it does not only protect biodiversity but also protects the dam and assures sustainable water supply to the Western Area.This project will inform policies in the water, tourism and forestry sectors of government.

The project will adopt knowledge management strategies that will be consistent with the implementation process. These strategies include; Data /information collection ? information on ecotourism development can be sourced from cultural values of the site local perception about ecotourism and sustainable use of natural resources can be obtained from communities via consultation meeting, perception survey of local adjacent communities, site assessment will be done to further identify scenic values of the site that hold the potential to attract tourists to the area etc. Data / information analysis ? all information or data collected from the at all level of project implementation will be analyzed and challenges identified and resolved at that point. Documentation of information ? information gather at all levels of the project in the form of quarterly report, activity reports etc will be documented in project file at the office, uploaded at CSSL website, copies sent to donor and all key stakeholders

The sustainability of any eco-tourism project is determined by three major success factors: (1) environmental (environmental quality, site boundaries, water and opportunity costs), (2) community (community partnerships, community definition, community dialogue, and poverty and social inclusion) and (3) economic (national political environment, adequate legal systems and security, infrastructure and government policy). These major factors will be captured into the project as follows; (1) environmental quality: the selection of Guma Valley Dam and it forest environment for ecotourism development was based on the fact that the area had specific scenery sites, plants and animal species and birds of conservation that has the potential to attract tourist. The establishment of tourism center and campsites, improving on the trail and identification additional scenic sites like specific plant and animal species and nesting site of birds of conservation importance will ensure more attraction of both local and foreign tourists to the area. (2) Community (community partnerships, community definition, community dialogue, and poverty and social inclusion): ensuring community participation at all levels of project activities is a crucial factor for the sustainability of the projects. Communities will be employed as either tour guides or members of the Site Support Group. They will be involved through dialogue, training workshops, community development activities like establishment of alternative environmentally friendly livelihood activities that will help reduce poverty. Community involvement in all the above mentioned activities will assure community commitment in ensuring sustainability. The Conservation Society of Sierra Leone will ensure that part of the income generated from ecotourism will go to management of the area and community development. The Society will also collaborate with the Ministry of Tourism and donor agencies in generating additional funds to meet overhead cost until there is significant financial independence where income generated from gate takings can be sufficient to maintain sustainability of operations.

This ecotourism development project for the Guma Valley Dam and its Environ will be monitored at all levels starting from project planning and designing, implementation and monitoring and evaluation stage and both success and challenges will be recorded. There will be quarterly reports written on all project activities and submitted to the donors and implementing partners. At the end of the implementation year, a comprehensive report will be produced by the project management which will also be submitted to the donors and other key stakeholders and with approval from the donor agency will be published. Also successful outcome of the project will be communicated to all stakeholders and the general public in the form of technical reports, video documentary, radio and television discussions, newspapers articles and the newsletters. There are many protected areas across the country that possesses similar scenery qualities of high potential for ecotourism development. By implementing this project, successfully the results of the project will be replicated to other areas of the country that have potentials for ecotourism development.