Impact of Community Participation on Environmental Management in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria

The paper impact of community participation on environmental management focused on the importance of engaging local community members in the management of the environment. In the absence of proper environmental management, communities may engage in unsustainable practises which might be harmful to man and the environment, hence the need to get community members actively involved in the management of the environment. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. Three objectives, three research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. The population of the study consist of 1000 members of community based organisations in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area of Rivers State, while the sample size consist of 100 members from the population which was randomly selected to get 10% of the population. A self structured questionnaire used for the study has a reliability index of 0.81. The data collected was analysed using the mean and standard deviation while t-test was used in testing the hypothesis at 0.05 significant level. From the analysed data the study revealed that community members got more involved in the management of their environment; that community participation positively influenced environmental management outcomes by fostering a sense of ownership and responsibilities and that communication, education, strong local leadership and adequate resources among others are factors affecting successful community participation in the management of the environment. Based on the findings it was recommended among others that regular educational programmes, workshops and training sessions be organised to empower community members with requisite knowledge and skills needed for effective environmental management.