Ezebilo, Eugene Ejike
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Research article2010Peer reviewed
Socio-economic benefits of protected areas as perceived by local people around Cross River National Park, Nigeria
Ezebilo, Eugene Ejike; Mattsson, Leif
Abstract
The main objectives of a national park are environmental and biodiversity conservation. However, in most developing nations local people who reside at the vicinity of the park expect that it should also contribute to the social and economic well-being of the people. This paper examines the contribution of the Okwangwo Division of the Cross River National Park, Nigeria, to the provision of various types of infrastructure and income from tourism. Personal interviews were conducted in 150 households in three villages around the park. The study showed that the park has contributed to the provision of infrastructure. Some of the projects, undertaken by the park management, appear to be capital intensive both in the short and long term, thus, risking to make them unsustainable. The results revealed that only one of the villages in the study area benefits from the income from tourism. We suggest that simple, non-capital intensive and sustainable developmental projects should be undertaken. The tourism sector of the local economy should be developed to make income from tourism attractive for more of the local people. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Benefits; Sustainable management; Protected areas; Local perceptions; Nigeria
Published in
Forest Policy and Economics
2010, volume: 12, number: 3, pages: 189-193
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
SLU Authors
Mattsson, Leif
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Global goals (SDG)
SDG3 Good health and well-being
SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities
SDG12 Responsible consumption and production
SDG15 Life on land
UKÄ Subject classification
Landscape Architecture
Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
Forest Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2009.09.019
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/60465