Increasingly,conservationists and policy makers are in quest of
projects directed to wards biodiversity conservation.However,
impacts of biodiversity conservation projects tend to be more
severe in natural resource-dependent communities with limited
livelihood options.This article examines the impacts of a
biodiversity conservation project – creation of Kakum Conserva-
tion Area(KCA) – on livelihoods of rural people in Ghana,interms
of experiences and adaptive capacity of local communities.The
article reveals that the impacts of the KCA project on local
livelihoods varied according to proximity to the KCA boundary and
the type of crops cultivated,aswellas the scale of previous
dependence on resources in theKCA.The article indicates that the
KCA project would benefit by:(i)understanding the socio-cultural
and political contexts in fluencing rural residents;and(ii)provid-
ing alter native livelihoods fo rcommunities experiencing the
impacts of the KCA. Policy implications are further presented