Bushmeat Hunting: A Challenge to Sustainable Ecotourism

This paper offers a ground-breaking perspective on sustainable ecotourism. It argues that the animals in the wild have social, economic, aesthetic, psychological, ecological, medicinal and ecotourism functions. Incidental to or arising from this, hunting has become a threat to the animals in the wild. It is an unprecedented world-wide problem that has led to the extinction of several species. Hence, the necessity for the protection of wildlife from further threats. To this end, this study identifies the current barriers to sustainable wildlife management and conservation as inadequate environmental awareness and education, lack of progress in establishing national parks and gardens, ineffective legislation and weak judiciary, as well as socio-cultural and economic problems. Hence, this study recommends public enlightenment and education for the enhancement of public understanding and appreciation of wildlife, as well as implementation of environmental laws, biodiversity legislation, wildlife conservation acts and ecotourism policies. This paper concludes that bushmeat hunting should be controlled in order to save animals in the wild from further harassment, and for the attainment of sustainable ecotourism. Keywords: Biodiversity, Conservation, Poaching, Tourism, Wildlife, Exploitation

Linkages between Poverty and Environmental Degradation

Fundamentally, the concern for the environment has much to do with ‘richpoor’ divide. There is a general belief that the poor tampers more frequently with the fauna and flora of the environment, while the devastation caused by the rich to the environment is higher in scale. The point being made is that both the poor and the rich do cause damages to the environment, but at different frequency and magnitude. This study conceptualizes environmental concerns of the poor so as to formulate appropriate policy measures for environmental awareness and sustainable development. It is limited to poverty -environment interrelationships through an overview of the perception of the poor about the environment and their behaviour to the environment. The environment provides water, energy and raw materials through which socio, cultural and economic, spiritual and financial resources are generated. At the same time, it is the recipient and recycler  of wastes. If the environment is damaged, all the resources it provide will equally be damaged, hence, the necessity to take care of the environment.Key Words: Linkages, Poverty, Environmental Degradation, EnvironmentalHazard

Tourism Participation: Attractions, Influences and Key Trends in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The heart of this research is concerned with the level of participation intourism activities in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The broad objectives of the study are to appraise the tourism potentials of the state vis-à-vis the level of patronage and the influences on the choice of attraction, as well as the constraints to tourism development. The research methods include indept fieldwork, observation, participation, focus group discussions and interviews. The research instrument is questionnaire administration with the aid of stratified random sampling technique. Findings from the study revealed that the natural and man-made potentials for recreation and tourism in Ekiti State are multi-various. In spite of this, the level of tourism development is very low, and thus the level of participation in domestic tourism is equally very low. To this end, the research recommends that all the stakeholders in the tourism industry should formulate and implement development master plan and policy for sustainable tourism in the state. On this note, the report would undoubtedly be of interest and value to researchers, tourists, evaluators, government and those planning new initiatives for the development of recreation and tourism.Key Words: Attraction, Influences, Participation, Recreation, Touris

Urban Sprawl: Environmental Consequence of Rapid Urban Expansion

Urban Sprawl is a disturbing issue to geographers, urban planners and allied professionals in the 21st century.  The anxiety is based mainly on the social, political, economic, cultural and environmental consequences of rapid urban growth.  Hence, this study examines the reasons for urbanization, as well as encroachment of urban development into the border belt.  Next, the study probes into the causes, consequences and adverse effects of uncontrolled infringement and conversion of rural land to urban uses.  Likewise, the study investigates the processes of land use development, population expansion and physical growth, as well as their ecological foot prints.  Consequently, the study identified the major causes of urban sprawl as rapid population increase, high level of urban development pressure, provision of housing, changes in living standard, as well as technological changes among others.  Also, the study found out that urban sprawl is desirable because of the benefits of spread of development, low rent at the periphery, as well as lesser pressure on the environment of the border belt.  Also, the effects of urban sprawl were recognized as destruction of the means of livelihood of the rural dwellers at the urban fringe belt, land fragmentation, food scarcity, changes in the ecosystem, environmental pollution, biodiversity loss, as well as loss of wildlife habitat.  For the achievement of sustainable urban development in the 21st century and beyond, the study recommends environmental monitoring with the aid of geographic information systems and remote sensing techniques, environmental impact assessment, development control, farm land policy, regulation of land allocation, sustainable land use management, as well as enforcement of planning policies

KEY ISSUES ON LANDSCAPE PLANNING IN THE CONTEXT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

This paper presents key issues on landscape planning and environmental design. The paper is more descriptive than analytical and has the objective of bringing out the interrelationships between landscape planning and sustainable development. It begins by looking at the theoretical and conceptual issues in landscaping, sustainability and environmental impact design. It then goes on to assess the intensity and scale of environmental impacts from landscape planning. It argued that landscaping is a pre-requisite to environmental sustainability. Hence the paper asserted that unsustainable use of landscape elements leads to environmental problems like biodiversity loss, climate change, global warming, soil and coastal erosion, and pollution. The paper identifies the negative and positive impacts from landscape planning. Findings from the study show that the positive impacts outweigh the negative impacts. Hence, the paper proposed that sustainable landscape planning should be given a huge priority in development projects. The paper concludes by recommending that stakeholders should be actively involved in environmental decision making, policy formulation and implementation, for the achievement of the most desired environmental sustainabilit

The Nigerian National Housing Policy in Perspective: A Critical Analysis

Challenges of housing in terms of quality and quantity appear to be the same all over the world. The needy have less access to housing while the less needy have greater chances of accessing housing. In Nigeria, housing is generally inadequate in the rural areas in terms of quality, while the major problem in urban areas is more of quantity, although quantity is also an issue. The shortage of housing is one of the factors responsible for the poor environmental quality across Nigeria. In 1991, the national housing policy was promulgated in order to propose possible solutions to the housing problems in Nigeria. Twenty years on, millions of Nigerians are still homeless while many others are living in indecent houses. The paper examines the nature and extent of the housing problem in Nigeria in the context of the National Housing Policy. The paper identifies as the major challenges, poor implementation, corruption, bureaucracy and political instability. It recommends housing finance, cooperatives, use of local building materials, development of infrastructure, policy implementation and review of the housing policy as possible solutions to the housing problem in Nigeria