Conservation of a leafy vegetable important for communities in the Nigerian rainforest

Abstract

Adoption and implementation of sustainable biodiversity conservation are essential for sustaining protected areas. But development of effective strategies to achieve them is problematic. This is often because of limited knowledge about the impact of biodiversity conservation policies on livelihood of indigenous people. This study uses dichotomous choice format to examine willingness to engage in the conservation of an indigenous leafy vegetable – Gnetum africanum Welw. The empirical data were generated from three communities in the vicinity of the Okwangwo Division of the Cross River National Park, Nigeria. The data were analyzed with the aid of the binary logit model. The study showed that the respondents’ mean willingness to pay per year to conserve the leafy vegetable was 7% of their income from non-timber forest products. The decision to conserve the leafy vegetable was influenced by factors such as cost associated with conservation, income from non-timber forest products, the distance of the respondent's residence to the Okwangwo Division, education and occupation.