Abstract:
This study was conducted to investigate the value perceptions of native tree species in urban
landscape by three groups of environmental stakeholders – residents, estate developers and
construction companies that reside in Abuja, the Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory. A Multi-Criteria
Analysis (MCA) of landscape scale ecosystem functions and services valuation scenarios were
used. A total of one hundred and eighty (180) sets of questionnaire were distributed equally among
the three stakeholders (60 each) to ascertain their perceptions on the need to protect native tree
species by asking them to rank eight reasons why the protection of native tree species is important
in urban/city landscape. The reasons ranked were (i) Aesthetics and beautification of environment,
(ii) Microclimatic and cooling effect, (iii) Windbreak, (iv) Erosion control, (v) Conservation of nativetree species, (vi) Obstruction of view to enhance privacy (vii) Economic value of the species and,
(viii) Any other reason. Results showed that Aesthetics and beautification of environment ranked
first by a combination of all stakeholders, and also by Estate Developers alone, while Erosion
control and Economic value of the species were ranked first by the Residents and the Construction
Companies, respectively. Stakeholders’ mean scores for Aesthetics & beautification of environment,
Microclimatic & cooling effect, Conservation of native tree species, and Obstruction of view to
enhance privacy, varied significantly (p < 0.05) while there was no significant differences in their
mean scores for Windbreak, Erosion control, and Economic value of the species. The differences in
the stakeholders’ perception of the value of native trees as revealed by the rankings and significant
differences in scores for some of the value criteria to a large extent underscore the values they
place on them which in turn will influence their attitude towards the conservation and protection of
the species. Therefore, the need for effective environmental education and enlightenment
campaigns to sensitize all stakeholders on the overall values and roles of native trees in the city, is
emphasized.
