Dynamics of Ecotourism Value Chains and Their Conservation Implications Across Nigerian National Parks

Ecotourism value chains, comprising the sequence of actors, activities, and financial flows that generate tourism products and distribute their value, determine both the sustainability of ecotourism enterprises and the degree to which conservation finance reaches the wildlife habitats that attract visitors. In Nigerian national parks, ecotourism value chain structure is poorly understood, limiting the effectiveness of both economic development and conservation finance interventions. This dissertation applies value chain analysis methodology to systematically investigate ecotourism value chains across four Nigerian national parks in four geopolitical zones: Cross River National Park (South South), Okomu National Park (South South), Yankari Game Reserve (North East), and Gashaka-Gumti National Park (North East). Research methods include enterprise surveys of 180 tourism businesses, visitor expenditure tracking, stakeholder interviews with 90 value chain actors, and financial flow mapping. An original conservation finance attribution model is developed to estimate the proportion of visitor expenditure that ultimately reaches conservation outcomes. Results indicate that the vast majority of visitor expenditure leaks out of park economies before reaching conservation managers, with tour operators based outside park gateway communities capturing the largest share. Community-based enterprises retain the highest proportion of expenditure locally and contribute most to conservation co-investment. The dissertation contributes an original conservation value chain framework and provides specific restructuring recommendations to improve conservation finance retention across the studied parks. Keywords: ecotourism value chains, conservation finance, Nigerian national parks, value chain analysis, tourism economics