Abstract

Knowing the attitudes and perception of people towards wildlife conservation is a primordial factor and strategy. The success of wildlife conservation depends on the attitudes of the local population, their perception of concepts and strategies put forth by conservation organizations. Although people in the area equate wildlife conservation as refusal to access rights to bush meat, they are conscious of the further declines in wildlife population in their area and fear the extinction of this natural heritage in the near future. Questionnaires and participatory rapid appraisal approaches were used to collect information from workers of some conservation organizations (WWF-Coastal forest programme and the mount Kupe ecotourism group), Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife and the local community above nineteen years of age. A total of 182 people in fifteen villages of the area were sampled and their relative frequencies calculated. Chi-square and ANOVA were used to examine the relationship between variables. Most respondents (83.2%) in the Bakossi Area of South west Cameroon were interested in wildlife conservation however contrastingly, 16.8% condemned conservation attributing it to lack of focus and refusal to access rights to their natural heritage, 74% said conservation is not beneficial to the local people while only 26% acknowledge its benefits. Following one year of questioning, interacting with people of the Bakossi Area has shown that conservation can be a success within and around protected areas. To change the perception and attitudes of indigenous people around protected areas, environmental education through sensitization should be encouraged. These negative attitudes and perceptions can be well designed with carefully implemented conservation programs.

Key words: Attitudes, perception, threats, conservation, wildlife, Bakossi area, environmental education