PERCEIVED CONSERVATION APPROACHES AND CONSERVATION CHALLENGES OF OSUN-OSOGBO SACRED GROVE, OSOGBO, NIGERIA
Abstract:The
capacity to see, hear or get mindful of something through the faculties offers
significance to an individual's current circumstance and figures out the world.
The study contributes to providing insights into the perceived conservation
approaches and conservation challenges of Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Osogbo,
Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used in selecting the 147
respondents. Primary data were obtained on respondents' characteristics and
their perception of the conservation approaches and conservation challenges of
Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Osogbo, Nigeria through the use of a structured
questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and linear regression were used for data
analysis. The results showed that a majority of the respondents were male
(66.7%), married (59.18%), educated (60.54%), migrants (55.10%), engaged in
agricultural-related jobs (28.57%) and are between the ages of 36 years and 45
years (45.58%), while the mean age of the respondents was 43.62 years old. The
respondents positively perceived the conservation approaches of Osun-Osogbo
Sacred Grove, Osogbo, Nigeria (x̅ = 4.06) as very good measures in the
conservation of the grove. They also perceived the conservation challenges of
Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Osogbo, Nigeria (x̅ = 4.12) as major constraints in
the conservation of the grove. Linear Regression analysis showed that
respondents perceived conservation approaches (β1 = -0.547) significantly
influenced their perceived conservation challenges of Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove,
Osogbo, Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that the perceived identified
conservation approaches should be strengthened as this will translate to the
mitigation and the action of reducing the severity and/or seriousness of the
conservation challenges of Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Osogbo, Nigeria.