Community-based preferences for economic incentives to promote biodiversity conservation in a tropical rainforest

This paper discusses the study of community's preferences for biodiversity conservation management institution which may motivate them to support conservation efforts in the Okwangwo Division of the Cross River National Park, Nigeria. The empirical data was generated from personal interviews and factors influencing the respondents′ choice were examined with the aid of multinomial logit model. The results showed that most of the respondents preferred an institution that has less transaction costs. Respondents′ choice of biodiversity conservation institution were influenced by factors such as income from farming activities, income from non-timber forest products, and income from non-traditional employment. This study will contribute to the knowledge of natural resource management policy.

Keywords
Transaction costs, Biodiversity, Conservation, Property rights, Nigeria