Biodiversity conservation and rural development: inseparable options for Protected Area management. A case study of four Nigerian national parks

The establishment and management of Protected Areas have become the cornerstones of biodiversity conservation strategies. However, efforts aimed to manage these areas have paid little or no attention to livelihoods and needs of the surrounding communities. Therefore, this study assesses the socio-economic predictors of the local people's needs and also establishes the link between biodiversity conservation and rural development. A survey of villages around four Nigerian national parks has been carried out to determine available infrastructural facilities, the facilities mostly desired by villagers and the socio-economic predictors of the local people's needs and their dependence on the national park resources. The selection of the study areas was performed through multi-stage random sampling, with a focus on villages within a 10-km radius of each national park boundaries. Primary data were collected from 1500 respondents in 106 local communities around four national parks, i.e. 22 around the Cross River National Park (CRNP), 22 around the Gashaka Gumti National Park (GGNP), 27 around the Kainji Lake National Park (KLNP), and 35 around the Old Oyo National Park (OONP). The collected data were analysed and presented descriptively, while logistic regression was used to identify the socio-demographic predictors of needs by local people. Results of the demographic characteristics show that there were more male respondents interviewed (73.2%) than female respondents (26.8%) in all four national parks. In all the four studied national parks, farming has a predominant occupation: CRNP (99.3%), GGNP (93.9%), KLNP (90.5%), and OONP (85.2%). The major number of respondents is married: CRNP (77.0%), GGNP (70.0%), KLNP (84.4%), and OONP (79.6%), and is within the age group of 15–25 years: CRNP (43.0%), GGNP (30.0%), KLNP (36.2%) and OONP (25.2%). All of the respondents interviewed in CRNP were Christians (100%), while the majority of respondents in GGNP (87.3%), KLNP (99.2%), and OONP (53.1%) were Muslims. In terms of educational qualifications, there was a high level of illiteracy among the people living around the studied national parks as most of the respondents in CRNP had primary (45.3%) and secondary education (32.7%). However, for the other three national parks, we demonstrated a higher percentage of non-formal education: GGNP (61.5%), KLNP (63.1%) and OONP (68.1%). The obtained results show that the study area is characterised by a lack of infrastructures, such as roads (96.4%), electricity (97.7%) and limited provision of service, such as medicine (91.1%), potable water (96.5%), and education services (86.6%). The majority of the interviewed respondents in communities around the national parks indicated the provision of health care centres (78.5%), boreholes/portable water (77.7%), roads (68.6%), the establishment of schools (59.7%) and employment (56.2%). Our results show that the communities' expectation was for basic infrastructures, such as the provision of potable water (77.5%), health care centres (78.5%), electricity (78.1%), and roads (68.9%). The logistic regression analysis indicated that the predictors of the respondents' infrastructural needs were gender (β = 0.068, p < 0.01), age (β = 0.032, p < 0.01), and education level (β = 0.047, p < 0.05). The study concludes that there is a need for the federal, state and local governments to provide the basic infrastructures in villages surrounding the studied national parks to reduce the pressure and over-dependence of the local people on the national park resources. The literacy campaign and conservation education should be taken to the grass-root because the majority of the local people are illiterates and live around biodiversity hotspots

WETLANDS ATTRIBUTES AND INFLUENCES ON FOOD SECURITY OF HOUSEHOLDS AROUND OGUN RIVER OF NIGERIA

The physical and ecological attributes of wetlands are important in their economic and biological usefulness. To this end, this research answers questions such as: what are the attributes of the wetland in the study area? Do the wetland attributes have influence on food security status of the households? The study was conducted in the wetlands of Ogun River and its tributaries located in the South-western Nigeria. Primary data were collected through the use of personally administered questionnaire and interview. Two stage sampling technique was used in selecting 633 households included in this study. Data were analyzed using descriptive techniques; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food security module and binary Logit model. The result revealed that wetlands of upper Ogun have abundance of all wetland attributes examined. Food security situation in households with children was not different from those without children. Majority of wetland residents’ households were not food secure leaving about a quarter as food secured. All the eight wetland attributes examined in this study had potential of increasing food security among wetland households as food security was constituently higher in wetlands with abundance of these attributes as against where they are limited. Socio-economic characteristics and wetland attributes have influence on food security status of households. The study therefore recommends that wetlands that are deep and free flowing with unobstructed water ways should be developed by government, international development agencies and non-governmental organizations so as to improve food security status in wetlands areas

Wetland importance and dependence among households around the Ogun River Basin, Nigeria

Wetland is particularly important in developing countries for economic purposes. This study examines livelihood activities, wetland dependence and its determinants among wetland households. Primary data were collected from households in a two stage random sampling procedure. Both descriptive and quantitative methods were employed for data analysis. Results show that support for dry season production, all year round water supply, and fishing were the first, second and third most important benefits of wetland to households. Socio-economic factors have influences on wetland dependence. This study concludes that wetland support dry season farming and is heavily depended upon for income by households in wetland communities. It is therefore recommended that skills acquisition centres should be established in wetland communities to engage youths particularly male in other employment apart from wetland related ones so as to reduce dependence on wetlands and thus take pressure off them