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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.
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Abstract

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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.

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

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