Conservation Attitudes and Challenges: A Study of Forest Elephants In Southern Nigeria Forests

Queen Omoregie,Rosemary Egonmwan,Bola Oboh

doi:10.21608/eajbsz.2019.56367

Abstract

Elephant populations in Southern Nigeria are small and most of them exist in forest islands isolated by farms, monoculture plantations, and human habitations. Their close proximity to communities often results in Human-Elephant Conflicts (HEC). Awareness of, and attitudes towards the conservation of elephants in four elephant ranges in Southern Nigeria were determined using field observations, questionnaires, and interviews. The major threats to the species’ sustainability were development in and around the forests (24.1%), logging (22.0%) and hunting activities (20.0%). Incidences of HEC as a result of crop-raiding/damage, non-payment of compensation to farmers whose crops were raided and perceived highhandedness of protected area staff were some of the factors responsible for the negative attitude of the respondents to elephant conservation. Conservation education, alternative means of livelihood and effective mitigation methods could help change the attitude of communities and also serve as a means for sustainable conservation strategy of these relict elephant populations

Highlights

African Elephants, the largest living terrestrial mammals (Thouless et al, 2016), are keystone species that play a pivotal role in structuring both plant and animal communities (Stephenson, 2007)
Awareness of the Value Of Nature Conservation: A total of 98.8% of the respondents agreed that plants and animals were nature’s gift to man but would cease to exist if they were killed indiscriminately (60.4%)
The respondents in this study were aware of the value of nature conservation and the role of Protected Areas (PAs) to boost the conservation of natural resources

Summary

Introduction

African Elephants, the largest living terrestrial mammals (Thouless et al, 2016), are keystone species that play a pivotal role in structuring both plant and animal communities (Stephenson, 2007). They are closely associated with the social and cultural aspects of people; a factor that could be harnessed to promote its conservation (Reddy and Workneh, 2014). Results from such research will help conservation managers become aware of the most urgent threats when planning conservation strategies (de Boer et al, 2013)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion