Assessment of Stakeholder Involvement in the Management of Yankari Game Reserve Bauchi, Nigeria

Aims: To examine the involvement of stake holders in the management of Yankari Game Reserve (YGR).

Study Design: The study is a survey that is cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at YGR, Bauchi, Nigeria between June and November 2014.

Methodology: Applying a multistage sampling approach, 139 staff members of YGR and 320 members of the host community were randomly selected and interviewed with semi structured-questionnaire to elicit data. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: The highest proportions; 94.2% and 95.7% of the respondents respectively asserts that host community members were not involved in the management and protection of YGR. Similarly, 92.2% of YGR staff members asserted that host community leaders and opinion leaders were not consulted for inputs in management decisions about YGR. Also, majority (83.7%) of the respondents reported that community associations like hunters, traditional rulers, youths and non-timber forest products collectors were not involved in the management of YGR. Assessment of stakeholder involvement in management activities showed that Government was leading in capacity building (69.0%), financing (70.4%) and management decision making (58.0%). Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were leading in awareness creation (71.4%). Among the NGOs that were involved in the foregoing management activities, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) was leading by 70.5%.

Conclusion: The management of YGR was therefore carried out primarily by government with the support of NGOs. Host community involvement was very low. This portends a conflicting relationship between government and host communities over the conservation and management of YGR. Management should therefore work towards enlisting all stakeholders in the management processes of the reserve to ensure a more effective management regime at the reserve.