Effectiveness of Community Participation in Wildlife Resources Conservation in Cross River National Park, Nigeria

This study assessed the effectiveness of community participation in the conservation of wildlife resources in Cross River National Park, Akamkpa, Nigeria. Cochran’s sample size formula was used to calculate the number of the park’s communities. Out of 105 communities, eighteen communities within the support zone were purposively selected due to their significance, (proximity and acquaintance) and administrative convenience and used for the study. Total sample size for the study was 1,046, and the sample intensity was 0.022. Primary data was collected through the use of participatory rural appraisal tools namely questionnaires, semi-structural interviews, and focus group discussions. Kruskal–Wali’s test was used to test the significance of the data. The result shows 92% of the respondents were males against 8% females. Majority aged 40-49 years (27%) and 50-59 years (26%) as well as 20-29 years, 30-39 years and 60 years upward were 14%, 19% and 3% respectively. Specifically, 40.4% of the respondents strongly agreed, while 32.2% agreed that they participate in wildlife conservation management. In terms of contribution to the park's management, 40.9% of the respondents strongly agreed, 32.9% agreed that they contribute to the park's management, while 26.2% disagreed. The table shows that majority of Rangers 37% agree that communities around the park contribute to the park management by reducing the rate of trespassing activities in the park, followed by 26% who helped to reduced poaching. It is also indicated in the table that, shares of 21% and 9% said their contributions to park management have also helped in reducing the rate of vandals and grazing respectively. The level of community participation in park management was moderate, with communities contributing to the park’s decision-making processes, providing information, and supporting policy implementation. It is recommended that CRNP should establish a monitoring and evaluation framework to track community participation in park management.