EVALUATION OF ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT'S IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY IN SOME SELECTED TOURISM AREAS IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Ecotourism is increasingly promoted as a mechanism for aligning biodiversity conservation with sustainable development, yet empirical evidence on its actual ecological outcomes in tropical regions remains limited. This study evaluates the impact of ecotourism development on biodiversity in selected tourism areas in Southwestern Nigeria, drawing on field assessments from Ikogosi Warm Spring, Olumirin Waterfall, Old Oyo National Park, and Lagos Omu Resort. Findings reveal a complex and often paradoxical relationship between ecotourism activities and biodiversity outcomes. At Ikogosi Warm Spring, tourism-related infrastructure development accounted for a 25.93% increase in built-up areas between 1991 and 2015, corresponding to a 29.97% loss of dense vegetation and a decline in Shannon Diversity Index from 0.54 to 0.21 over the study period, indicating significant ecosystem degradation. Conversely, protected sites with active conservation interventions demonstrated that biodiversity preservation (β = 0.511, p < 0.05) and community involvement (β = 0.449, p < 0.05) are significant predictors of ecotourism sustainability, accounting for 90.3% of its variance. Species diversity assessments across sites revealed higher index values in relatively undisturbed forest reserves (Shannon index = 3.78 at Osun Osogbo) compared to more disturbed areas (3.23 at Igbo Olodumare), suggesting that visitation pressure and development intensity directly influence floral composition. The study concludes that ecotourism is not inherently biodiversity-positive; its conservation outcomes depend critically on governance frameworks, community engagement mechanisms, and the integration of biodiversity monitoring into tourism management planning.