Theoretical Foundations and Applied Models of Ecotourism-Poverty Nexus in Rural Nigerian Communities

The relationship between ecotourism and rural poverty alleviation is one of the most contested empirical and theoretical questions in conservation science, with evidence from sub-Saharan Africa indicating highly context-dependent outcomes that existing poverty-environment frameworks inadequately explain. In rural Nigeria, ecotourism is increasingly promoted as a livelihood alternative in protected area buffer zones, yet the theoretical mechanisms by which ecotourism affects poverty at household and community levels remain poorly specified in the Nigerian literature. This dissertation develops a theoretically grounded and empirically tested model of the ecotourism-poverty nexus in rural Nigerian communities, drawing on sustainable livelihoods theory, pro-poor tourism frameworks, and distributional political economy. Field research was conducted in 12 communities adjacent to six protected areas across four geopolitical zones, combining 480 household surveys, social capital network analysis, propensity score matched impact evaluation, and qualitative case studies. The impact evaluation compares poverty indicators between ecotourism-participating and matched non-participating households, controlling for observable selection factors. Results demonstrate that ecotourism participation significantly reduces asset poverty but has limited effects on income poverty, reflecting the lumpiness of asset returns from tourism employment. Social capital structure moderates impact, with households embedded in dense livelihood networks realizing significantly larger welfare gains. Gender dynamics strongly influence benefit distribution, with women systematically underrepresented in direct ecotourism employment despite high participation in supporting activities. Original theoretical contributions include a socially stratified ecotourism poverty impact model that disaggregates effects by gender, social capital, and protected area governance type. Keywords: ecotourism, poverty nexus, rural communities, Nigeria, pro-poor tourism