Development Options as Strategies for Conflict Reduction in Protected Areas: An assessment of People’s Preferences in the Cross River National Park, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper explores development options as effective strategies for conflict reduction in the Cross River National Park, Nigeria. It also discusses the tensions that result from the different development and conservation priorities that confront such humaninhabited protected areas as the Cross River National Park. The success level of the various conservation initiatives is examined from the communities’ perspectives in the preferred conservation and development options The paper using the Questionnaire and the Participatory methodologies, sought to examine the various strategies that have been employed in the Cross River National Park to enhance sustainable development.
A total of two hundred and eighty-one (281) questionnaires were randomly distributed to respondents within eight selected study communities. The five focus groups earmarked for appraisal included the community leaders, hunters, farmers, Non-Timber Forested Products (NTFP) gatherers, and loggers. The findings revealed the preferred development options to include skills acquisitions, establishment of small agro-allied industries, and indigenous participation in the administration and operation of the park management.