Collaborative indigineous partnership in biodiversity conservation: focus on Cross River National Park, Nigeria

Support Zone Communities (SZCs) involvements in Cross River National Park (CRNP) biodiversity conservation were assessed in this study. Eleven communities at 0-12km distance to the park were selected for data collection. Structured questionnaires and Focus Group Discussion were used to solicit information from community members. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi- square and correlation. Result showed that willingness to contribute to effective conservation of wildlife was high (84.4%), contributions in the forms of non-involvement in poaching (62.0%) was highest. Communities awareness of biodiversity conservation and their level of involvement in mitigating threats to biodiversity were significantly related (χ²=12.69). Also, there was significant association between educational status (r =- 0.11, p<0.05) and communities participation in threat mitigation. However, poor sensitization/mobilization (Weighted Mean=108.93) and bureaucracy (WM=106.47) were the major challenges to communities involvement in park management. Therefore, effective protection of park resources and engagement of SZCs should be the direction of CRNP to ensure sustainability.Keywords: Biodiversity, Park, Participation, Support Zone Community, Threa