Effective climate adaptation in sub-Saharan African agriculture will require coordination across multiple scales of governance. Decision-makers from local to national scales will be tasked with planning under conditions of high uncertainty, often with minimal data. Participatory scenario planning is a method for devising adaptation strategies under high uncertainty, and we hypothesized that it could also be used for identifying systemic, inclusive, and transformative adaptation options at the community scale, and for highlighting opportunities for cross-scalar collaboration. We conducted scenario exercises with two communities in southeastern Nigeria that have experienced increasing flooding and other challenges linked to climate variability. Both communities identified drivers of change that intersect with climate, as well as community-scale actions that would improve adaptation to a range of future scenarios. We found evidence that scenario exercises can stimulate communities to develop transformative approaches to climate adaptation that seek to reduce climate risk by creating new systems and processes. We also found that community-identified priorities for strategic action highlight how larger-scale interventions could coordinate with communities to adapt more effectively. Participatory scenario planning is therefore a potentially important tool for adaptation planning in regions in which future conditions are highly uncertain.

Given increasing population and logging pressures globally, there is a need to study the many lesser-known species (LKS) so as to unveil the potential they have to improve supply of wood and maintain forest sustainability. This study was conducted among cabinet-makers, plank sellers and wood product users in the states of Oyo and Osun in Nigeria. A survey was conducted among 182 respondents, using both multi-stage and purposive sampling. Correlation analysis was used to test for a relationship between years of species emergence on markets and use intensity. The timber price of the lesser-known species was the most important factor governing their selection, with a frequency of 147 followed by durability 143, workability 128 and availability 104. A positive relationship was found between use intensity and year of emergence. Further research is required to generate muchneeded information on wood properties, availability, distribution and marketing of the LKS.

The study aimed to understand local communities' perceptions of Nigeria National Parks and was conducted in ten per cent of the communities within 0-10km of park boundaries. Data were obtained from 10 per cent of the total household heads through questionnaire administration and were analysed with descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. A large percentage of the respondents were male; their median age was 42 years; 56.6 per cent had non-formal education; the median annual income was N7000 (US$ 43.75); and 86.9 per cent were farmers. The respondents had generally negative perceptions of park management over issues of strict protection, penalties, impact of existence of parks on their communities and exclusion from park management. Education (beta = 0.10, p<0.01), income (beta =0.12, p<0.01) and community distance from park boundary (beta = 0.31, p<0.01) were the best predictors of local communities' perceptions. There is an urgent need for a sustained policy on access to formal education in communities around Nigeria National Parks; for rural development policies that enhance income from farming and other non-farm alternative livelihood activities; for the sharing or recycling of revenue between the local communities and the parks; employment and infrastructural development; community involvement in park management and decision-making; and alternative dispute resolutions to ensure positive perceptions of the parks and other protected areas.

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