National Parks as Drivers of Food Security, Ecosystem Services, and Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20098199Keywords:
Community resilience, Land-use conflict, Ecosystem governance, Biodiversity conservationAbstract
Protected areas in sub-Saharan Africa function not merely as wildlife sanctuaries but as critical infrastructural nodes sustaining agricultural productivity, hydrological integrity, and rural food systems. This paper reviews and synthesises the multidimensional roles of national parks as drivers of food security, ecosystem services, and sustainable rural livelihoods across Africa, employing Oba Hills National Park (OHNP) in Osun State, Nigeria, as a central case study. Formally transferred from state forest reserve to national park status in 2021 and spanning 4,225 hectares (42.25 km²), OHNP represents an emerging conservation asset whose ecological functions and community dimensions remain understudied. Drawing on secondary data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and peer-reviewed literature published between 2015 and 2024, this study compares OHNP with three established African protected areas: Serengeti National Park (Tanzania), Kruger National Park (South Africa), and Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of Congo). The analysis demonstrates that national parks deliver provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services that underpin food security. However, these contributions are frequently undermined by land-use conflicts, community displacement legacies, and inadequate policy integration. This review argues for an ecosystem-services governance framework that repositions national parks as co-managers of food security in rural Africa.
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