**4. Discussion**

From the study, majority of settlers around Kainji Lake National Park are farmers, and therefore are likely to require land for settlement and agriculture may encroaches into protected area. Socio-economic factors has compel people to abuse the use of National Parks Adelakun et al. [15] and this may result to conflict because of the human overlap with wildlife requirements resulting in costs to both native residents and animals [16].

Increased need of land for developments are the major conflict agent between human and animal as well human activities such as farming, deforestation and grazing of domesticated animals, by encroaching to protected areas have led into competition over natural resources. This is consensus with Kate [17] who reported that human activities such as farming infrastructure development and tourism can radically alter wildlife habitat.

Increased human population on wildlife corridor and protected areas has influenced conflicts in the study area because conflict is most acute in areas in which a wide range of wildlife species co-exists with high density human populations [18].

Human population increased in wildlife corridors had earlier being envisaged [19]; that population increase may be witness as result of marital status in the study area and this will mount more pressure on the park resources. This study also reflected that people migration for security reasons as well as emergence of trading centres always attracts people close to it for essential services. This study further revealed that human settlement encroachment contributes a lot in competition of resources between human beings and wildlife hence leading to conservation challenges corroborates the Ijeomah and Akosim [20] who was of the assertion that there is a relationship between population growth and resource conservation.

Approaches in management of human settlement encroachment show that KLNP need to do more in sensitizing the local communities on importance of wildlife conservation as most locals disagreed to awareness of conservation education. This contradicts Akosim et al. [19] who reported that the park authority has expended a great deal of efforts in educating the local residents. Morrison et al. [21] pointed out that conservation strategies can be addressed using the proactive or reactive measures. Proactive measures are the same as preventive measures, these measures are crucial in wildlife conservation, reducing encroachment of park land and coming up with strategies to minimize these challenges. An example of a preventive measure is the education and awareness programs. These strategies increase the tolerance level towards wildlife, and can help improve the resource conservation. Studies have earlier shown that when fringe communities of protected areas are forced to absorb living with wildlife, local support for conservation may be seriously undermined [22]. In another report, Muller and Albers [23] confirms ecologically valued lands as economically valuable and so in the absence of development interventions that would provide the residents with alternative means of livelihood, illegal activities, which undermine wildlife conservation, would continue.

### **5. Conclusion**

The research shows that Kainji Lake National Park has been encroached due to need for human settlement and farming which subsequently lead to wild animal raiding communities. Anthropogenic activities such farming, hunting, and fishing are the main activities responsible for the encroachment in the protected area. Human population contributes a lot in competition of resources between human beings and wildlife as people migrating towards protected area for livelihood support. These have led to increased competition between people and wildlife. Emergence of trading centres such as markets have also attracts people close to park for available and probably affordable essential services which consequently leading to encroachment and hence contributed to wildlife conservation challenges in the study area.
