Developing natural lakes for socio-economic development: the case of Nike lake Enugu state, Nigeria Titus E. Amalu . Anim O. Ajake Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract The study examined the potentials and viability of Nike Lake, Enugu state for sustainable economic development in Enugu East Local Govern- ment area and its environs. The Nike Lake was purposively selected based on the location attributes and the potentials as identified during the reconnais- sance survey. Data collection was through interviews and visitors’ records from Nike resort hotel registry. The level of accommodation patronage was also determined through secondary information of the hotel. The findings clearly show a fluctuation and unstable trend within the years under consideration (2011 and 2016). The study observed that if the resort is fully developed, packaged and advertised, there would be a rapid influx of visitors who would viz-a-vis boosts the socio-economic advancement of the state. Furthermore, it was discovered from the study popu- lation that the utilization of Nike lake resort is basically for film shooting, leisure and the snapping of pictures. This represented 30, 20 and 16% respec- tively. However, 76% of the visitors rated the lake hotel as not good and efficient to attract much economic activity as there were no events that could hold visitors for a long duration of time within the resort. Meanwhile, the study also established that lake resorts are vital tourist resource or asset that can be used to promote tourism at any destination and as such efforts must be made to develop and promote lake resorts in Nigeria. Keywords Lake Á Ecotourism Á Potentials Á Socio- economic Á Patronage and visitors Introduction Africa is endowed with at least 677 lakes, large and small; natural and artificial (World Lake Network 2004). African lakes are highly productive centres of biodiversity providing ecosystem services and liveli- hoods, including food, water for domestic use and agriculture, recreation and transportation. These lakes support very important water flow and fisheries contributing significantly to national economies and food supply. A major attraction of Lakes is the abundant water supply on which manufacturing, power generation, transportation, agricultural, and recreational sectors have historically relied upon (Koeberl and Reimold 2005; National Research Council 2015; Ajake and Amalu 2012a; Amalu and Ajake 2012, 2014). Lakes are highly valued for their recreational, aesthetic and scenic qualities; and the water they contain is one of the most treasured of our natural resources. Lakes constitute important habitats and food resources for a diverse array of fish, aquatic life, and wildlife, but lake ecosystems are fragile T. E. Amalu (&) Á A. O. Ajake Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria e-mail: titiagento@gmail.com 123 GeoJournal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-018-9873-4