Biodiversity Conservation: Why Local Inhabitants Destroy Habitat In Protected Areas

Abstract

This review identifies some intrinsic and extrinsic factors that tend to drive the destruction of habitat, game poaching and unsustainable utilization of plants products by communities surrounding many protected areas around the world, leading to wildlife and plant species decline. Intrinsic factors are basic needs of the locals; those needs are intricately tied to land and poverty. Other factors also exist such as increased population, trade in endangered species and deforestation that are extrinsic and not the immediate needs of the local communities in protected areas but nevertheless contribute in forcing the communities to abandon the path to sustainable utilization of natural resources in protected areas leading to habitat fragmentation, depletion and loss of wildlife and plants species.

Key words: Protected areas, wildlife, habitat, biodiversity, conservation