Assessing the Ecological Integrity of Gashaka-Gumti National Park Under Poaching and Settlement Encroachment Pressures, Taraba State

Gashaka-Gumti National Park, straddling Taraba and Adamawa states, contains Nigeria's most diverse wildlife assemblage and includes montane and lowland forest ecosystems of exceptional ecological value, yet ongoing pressures from poaching, agricultural encroachment, and livestock grazing are progressively eroding its ecological integrity. This study assesses the ecological integrity of Gashaka-Gumti National Park using a multi-indicator framework integrating vegetation condition, wildlife presence, and anthropogenic pressure indices. Vegetation integrity was mapped using Sentinel-2 normalised difference vegetation index and a forest structural complexity index derived from canopy height data. Wildlife presence indices for mammal and bird indicator species were estimated from camera trap data collected across 32 trap stations over a 90-day survey period. Anthropogenic pressure mapping employed spatial analysis of settlement encroachment boundaries, illegal fire scars, and patrol-documented poaching incident locations. Expert interviews with 15 park rangers and ecological monitoring officers supplemented objective data. Results indicate that approximately 12 percent of park area shows significant vegetation degradation attributable to anthropogenic disturbance, concentrated in buffer zone and corridor areas adjacent to settlements. Camera trap results confirm the presence of chimpanzees, African wild dogs, and buffalo but document declines in large mammal encounter rates compared to surveys conducted prior to 2018. Hotspot poaching pressure zones are identified in the western park sector. Recommendations prioritise patrol resource reallocation to identified pressure hotspots, community livelihood integration in buffer zone management plans, and increased ranger staffing at the current critically low deployment density. Keywords: ecological integrity, national park, wildlife monitoring, Gashaka-Gumti, conservation management.