Hostname: page-component-6bb9c88b65-zjgpb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-24T08:25:25.852Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The dangers of conservation by rural development – a case-study from the forests of Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

John F. Oates
John F. Oates
Affiliation:
Hunter College and the Graduate School of CUNY, Department of Anthropology, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The Okomu Forest Reserve in south-west Nigeria contains a 114-sq-km wildlife sanctuary that is an important refuge for several threatened species, including the white-throated guenon Cercopithecus erythrogaster. A conservation project that started in Okomu in 1987 focused initially on protection, but the emphasis recently shifted to a programme of agricultural development assistance to migrant farmers in the reserve. This approach, which appears to follow the philosophy espoused in IUCN/UNEP/WWF's Caring for the Earth, may hasten rather than prevent the destruction of this remnant tropical forest and its wildlife.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Oryx , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , April 1995 , pp. 115 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1995

References

Aimufia, D.I. 1988. Taungya fanning in Bendel State. Press Release, Bendel State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Benin City.Google Scholar
Anadu, P.A., Elamah, P.O. and Oates, J.F. 1988. The bushmeat trade in southwestern Nigeria: a case study. Human Ecology, 16, 199–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anadu, P.A. and Oates, J.F. 1982. The status of wildlife in Bendel State, Nigeria, with recommendations for its conservation. Report to the Bendel State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.Google Scholar
Barnes, R.F.W. 1990. Deforestation trends in tropical Africa. African journal of Ecology, 28, 161–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, R.L. 1994. The rise and fall of taungya forestry: social forestry in defence of the Empire. The Ecologist, 24, 21–26.Google Scholar
Caldecott, J.O., Bennett, J.G. and Ruitenbeek, H.J. 1989. Cross River National Park (Oban Division): plan for developing the park and its support zone. WWF and ODNRI, London.Google Scholar
IUCN/UNEP/WWF. 1980. World Conservation Strategy: Hiring Resource Conservation for Sustainable Development. IUCN/UNEP/WWF, Gland.Google Scholar
IUCN/UNEP/WWF. 1991. Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living. IUCN/UNEP/WWF, Gland.Google Scholar
Lowe, R.G. 1992. End-note, Okomu Forest Reserve. The Nigerian Field, 57, 91–106.Google Scholar
Ludwig, D., Hilborn, R. and Walters, C. 1993. Uncertainty, resource exploitation, and conservation: lessons from history. Science, 260, 17, 36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nigerian Environmental Study/Action Team. 1991. Nigeria's Threatened Environment: a National Profile. Nigerian Environmental Action/Study Team, Ibadan.Google Scholar
Oates, J.F., Anadu, P.A., Gadsby, E.L. and Werre, J.L. 1992. Sclater's guenon – a rare Nigerian monkey threatened by deforestation. National Geographic Research and Exploration, 8, 476–491.Google Scholar
Omorodion, F.I. 1991. Socio-economic survey of Okomu Forest Reserve. Report submitted to the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Lagos.Google Scholar
Orhiere, S.S. 1992. Okomu Wildlife Sanctuary, Okomu Forest Reserve, Edo State. The Nigerian Field, 57, 91–102.Google Scholar
Richards, P.W. 1952. The Tropical Rain Forest. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Robinson, J.G. 1993. The limits to caring: sustainable living and the loss of biodiversity. Conservation Biology, 7, 20–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sayer, J. 1991. Rainforest buffer zones: guidelines for protected area managers. IUCN – The World Conservation Union, Gland.Google Scholar
White, L.J.T. 1988. The Okomu Forest Project. Primate Conservation, 9, 28–29.Google Scholar
World Resources Institute. 1994. World Resources 1994–95. Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
WWF/NCF Project Development Officer. 1992. Okomu Forest Reserve Project: funding proposal. Typescript, Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Lagos.Google Scholar