Impact of national park management strategies and programmes on sustainable livelihood of rural communities in Cross River State, Nigeria

This study examines the impact of national park management strategies and programs on the sustainable livelihoods of rural support zone communities surrounding the Cross River National Park. The research employs a Cross-sectional research design, combining qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, including park officials, community leaders, and local residents, alongside quantitative surveys distributed among households in selected rural communities. It was hypothesized that there is a positive correlation between the national park management strategies and the incentives offered by the park management to foster sustainable rural community livelihoods within the park area. The result returned from the inferential analysis revealed that the correlation coefficient is very high, with a value of .990, and the p-value is highly significant at .000, indicating a strong positive correlation. Consequently, the null hypothesis is refuted in favor of the alternative hypothesis. Further findings indicate that the implementation of conservation-oriented management strategies has had a dual impact on local livelihoods. On one hand, strict conservation policies have led to the restriction of access to natural resources, traditionally relied upon by the members of the support zone communities for sustenance, thereby exacerbating economic hardships. On the other hand, the introduction of alternative livelihood programs, such as eco-tourism initiatives and skill acquisition workshops, has provided new opportunities for income generation, though these have not been uniformly successful across all communities. Communities that are actively engaged in the management and conservation efforts of the park tend to experience more positive outcomes in terms of livelihood sustainability. The study concludes with recommendations for enhancing community-based management approaches, improving the effectiveness of livelihood programs, and promoting greater collaboration between park authorities and rural communities to ensure that conservation efforts do not come at the expense of local economic well-being.