Community perceptions of the Cross River National Park, Nigeria

Summary National Parks have become the most widely-used category of protected areas in developing countries, including sub-Saharan Africa. Several studies have shown that local-community support for National Parks is based mainly on perceptions of benefits and costs against the background of social, cultural, political and economic considerations. This paper examines the experience in the Cross River National Park (CRNP) in southeast Nigeria using data collected through rapid rural appraisal techniques, household questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and guided interviews. The results show that in spite of a high level of community awareness of the need to conserve the forests of the study area, there is a low level of local support for the CRNP forest conservation initiative. Four main factors are identified as the main influences on the support extended to the project, namely: reality and expectations of socio-economic development, the pace of project implementation, the relationship between park staff and communities, and the historical rights of local people to the forest of the study area. The implications of the findings relate to the long-term sustainability of the CRNP as a protected forest area.

[1]  F. B. Goldsmith.  Designing conservation projects , 1997 .

[2]  U. Ite.  Small Farmers and Forest loss in Cross River National Park, Nigeria , 1997 .

[3]  M. Wells.  The social role of protected areas in the new South Africa , 1996, Environmental Conservation.

[4]  U. Ite.  Agriculture and tropical forest conservation in southeast Nigeria , 1996 .

[5]  S. Jacobson,et al.  Local Communities and Protected Areas: Attitudes of Rural Residents Towards Conservation and Machalilla National Park, Ecuador , 1995, Environmental Conservation.

[6]  P. Holmgren,et al.  Not all African land is being degraded: a recent survey of trees on farms in Kenya reveals rapidly increasing forest resources , 1994 .

[7]  J. Heinen.  Park–People Relations in Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal: A Socio-economic Analysis , 1993, Environmental Conservation.

[8]  W. Newmark,et al.  Conservation attitudes of local people living adjacent to five protected areas in Tanzania , 1993 .

[9]  C. Lado.  Problems of wildlife management and land use in Kenya. , 1992 .

[10]  Michael Wells,et al.  People and Parks: Linking Protected Area Management With Local Communities , 1992 .

[11]  J. Cartwright.  Is There Hope for Conservation in Africa , 1991 .

[12]  Steven R. Brechin,et al.  Resident peoples and national parks: social dilemmas and strategies in international conservation. , 1991 .

[13]  M. Pearl,et al.  Conservation for the twenty-first century , 1990 .

[14]  D. Lewis,et al.  Wildlife Conservation Outside Protected Areas—Lessons from an Experiment in Zambia , 1990 .

[15]  A. O. Aweto.  Plantation forestry and forest conservation in Nigeria , 1990 .

[16]  David M. Anderson,et al.  Conservation in Africa; People, Policies and Practice , 1989 .

[17]  A. Harcourt,et al.  Gorilla quest in Nigeria , 1989, Oryx.

[18]  J. Hough.  Obstacles to Effective Management of Conflicts Between National Parks and Surrounding Human Communities in Developing Countries , 1988, Environmental Conservation.

[19]  M. Infield.  Attitudes of a rural community towards conservation and a local conservation area in Natal, South Africa , 1988 .

[20]  A. Harcourt,et al.  Public attitudes to wildlife and conservation in the Third World , 1986, Oryx.

[21]  T. Byres.  Rural development: putting the last first , 1984 .

[22]  R. Chambers,et al.  Rural Development: Putting the last first , 1983 .