Impact of Forest Encroachment on Rural Livelihood in Akamkpa Division of Cross River National Park, Nigeria

Abstract

Protected area system has been used as one of the effective means of sustaining forest ecosystems and other natural landscapes. While sustaining the environment, the human well-being was not to be compromised. However, the protected area system has faced daunted challenges such as encroachment by support zone communities. This study was therefore aimed at assessing the various forms of encroachment on the forest resources of Cross River National Park and its impacts on rural livelihood. Simple random technique was used in selecting 5 communities for the study which constitute 20% of the support zone communities for the study. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools and questionnaire survey were used in data collection. The result indicates that the collector of NTFPs constitute the highest number of Encroachers depicted by 32.0% response, farming was the second constituting 19.5% response. Further analysis indicates the dwindling of livelihood opportunity indicated by 45.5% response, while the major reason given for the encroachment is lack of provision of alternative livelihood. The hypothesis tested using spearman’s ranked correlation analysis shows a positive and a significant relationship (rho=82.9%). The study therefore, recommended for the provision of alternative livelihood to the communities that depend on forest for their livelihood.

KEYWORD: Protected area, Encroachment, forest, resources, livelihood, support communities