Regular evaluation of protected area operations can enable policy makers develop strategic responses to pervasive management problems.

The research assessed the challenges of community-based ecotourism (CBE) in Iko Esai Community, Cross River State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling method was adopted for the study. Two wards were randomly selected from four wards in the study area and with sample size of 5.57% of total population, 150 structured questionnaires were administered for data collection. Data were analysed using frequency tables and chi-square analysis in STATVIEW version 5.0.1 at 5% probability level. The results indicated that the challenges militating against CBE in the area were lack of ecotourism marketing (P = .0496), limited access to funds (P = .0004), negative impact of tourism on the indigenes (P = .0003) and poor infrastructural development (P = .0483). Although results from the respondents indicated that conflicts between stakeholders, absence of capacity building and balanced sharing of benefit between tourism operators and the communities, the chisquare analysis indicated that these challenges significantly limited CBE in the area. The indigenes Original Research Articleexhibited willingness to develop CBE in the area but their effort has been frustrated by these challenges. Thus there should be active participation and collaboration with stakeholders for the development of CBE in the area while encouraging the full involvement of the community in the development process.

Although not categorized as threatened on the IUCN Red List, the African forest buffalo Syncerus caffer nanus is declining across its range. In Nigeria its distribution, abundance and status are virtually unknown. We conducted interviews with experienced hunters, and field surveys (linear and recce transects), to study the buffalo's distribution and ecology in the montane forests of Cross River State. General linear modelling indicated that the number of individuals varied significantly across survey areas and habitat types but not with the survey period, and there was no study area × study period interaction. Buffalo were found most commonly in mature and secondary forests. Given the species' scattered distribution, fragmentation of its habitat, and the relatively low numbers observed, Nigerian populations require a separate, regional categorization on the IUCN Red List.

No abstract