Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation 18: 115–129, 2021 ISSN 1823-3902 E-ISSN 2550-1909 Received 03 May 2021 Reviewed 28 August 2021 Accepted 12 September 2021 Published 15 October 2021 Research Article Community preparedness in ecotourism development and their role in maintaining the natural resources in Kadamaian area, Sabah Franey Joseph Chong 1 , Gao Le 1 , Nor Akmar Abdul Aziz 2 , Awangku Hassanal Bahar Pengiran Bagul 3 , Fiffy Hanisdah Saikim 1,4* 1 Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. 2 Department of Nature Parks and Recreation, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang Malaysia. 3 Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. 4 Borneo Tourism Research Centre, Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. *Corresponding author: fiffy@ums.edu.my Abstract Community preparedness in ecotourism development and their role in maintaining natural resources is necessary. Yet, many examples throughout the world suggest that local communities are unable to participate in development of ecotourism and maintaining natural resources. A preliminary study was carried out to identify the preparedness of local communities in ecotourism, as well as to determine the Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threat (SWOT) that effect the preparedness of local communities. Sociological interviews was a recommend networking as the determining the factor. This paper aims to assess the potential of ecotourism in the Kadamaian area and the preparedness in development of ecotourism by the local community. We focused on evaluating the relationship between environment impact and ecotourism by the local community in terms of sustainable tourism development, which can provide an insight in future management for government, stakeholders and managers. This preliminary study shows that local communities are highly prepared in ecotourism development and inmaintaining natural resources, and the result could assist them in conserving natural resources. Keywords: Ecotourism, SWOT, Conservation, Local Network, Tourism Development. Introduction Ecotourism is a type of niche market in the tourism industry. Researchers including from the United National Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)(2008) state that niche markets in the tourism industry can be classified as Dark tourism, Cultural & Heritage tourism, Adventure