SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES OF AN URBAN PARK IN UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, BENIN CITY.

Urban parks form an integral part of urban forest ecosystems, providing a wide range of ecological, socio-economic, and cultural benefits essential for human well-being and sustainable urban development. This study assesses the socio-economic value and public awareness of ecosystem services provided by trees within the Faculty of Social Science Park at the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to 95 respondents selected through proportional sampling based on visitor frequency. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Relative Importance Index (RII). Findings showed that respondents demonstrated a high ability to identify key ecosystem services such as shade provision, aesthetic enhancement, air purification, recreational support, medicinal resources, and habitat provision. Cultural benefits such as recreation, landscape beauty, and stress reduction recorded the highest RII values, with beautification (RII = 0.808) and shade provision (RII = 0.80) ranked most important. Awareness of ecosystem services was also high, especially for provisioning services such as medicine (RII = 0.85) and timber (RII = 0.84). Despite this, willingness to pay (WTP) for park conservation was low, with 80% unwilling to contribute financially. Economic constraints accounted for over half (53.9%) of the reasons for refusal, highlighting the influence of income on environmental support behaviour. The study concludes the need for stronger environmental education, improved park infrastructure, and the integration of green-space management into university planning. This study recommends enhanced awareness, and policy backing of urban forest ecosystem services, in order to promote its long-term conservation and optimize the park’s role in supporting environmental quality, cultural values, and campus well-being