COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN CONSERVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT: EVIDENCE OF KALTUNGO, GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the influence of community participation on conservation of the environment; evidence of Kaltungo, Gombe State, Nigeria. The main objective is to examine community participation in conservation of the environment in Kaltungo. The study used descriptive survey research design, quantitative data were collected from 384 respondents through 5 points Likert scale structured questionnaires. The sample size was drawn from the population of 149,805 using Taro Yamane’s (1967) formula and stratified random sampling technique was used. The Cronbach’s Alpha test of the instrument yielded a coefficient of 0.889 (88.9%) and content validity was established by an expert. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics for demographic data and inferential statistics was used to test the hypotheses using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 23. The findings revealed that community participation significantly influenced the effectiveness of conservation initiatives, while challenges such as inadequate funding, poor technical knowledge and weak enforcement of environmental laws constrained participation. Strategies such as sensitization, provision of resources and partnerships between communities, government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were found to enhance conservation outcomes. The study concluded that active community participation is crucial for sustainable environmental management and recommended that strengthening awareness campaigns, providing adequate funding, providing institutional support and enforcement of relevant environmental policies.