CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Forest resources are a key component of the natural resource base of any community, region or country, and they play a fundamental role in the socio-economic well-being of the people of those communities. This is particularly so in sub-Saharan Africa, where most of the countries have large rural populations that depend on natural resource exploitation for their livelihood. Tropical forests are of great economic significance to both the rural and urban poor. Pimental et al. (1997) estimated that about 250 million people depend on the forest, while Roper and Roberts (1999) put the figure at 500 million. Apart from meeting the economic needs of rural people for food and shelter, tropical forests are also a major source of both industrial wood products and fuelwood. According to World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development (1998), fuelwood and charcoal make up 56% of global wood production, and approximately 90% of this is produced in developing countries. Firewood is the most important source of energy for developing countries and the only source of energy for most of the world’s rural areas (Roper and Roberts, 1999; IEA, 2002a). In sub-Saharan Africa, wood supplies about 70% of total energy used and firewood collectors account for over 85% of the wood removed from the forest and woodlands (ContrerasHermosilla, 2000). Fuelwood is also the major source of energy among rural households and the urban poor in Nigeria (Anderson, 1987).
Furthermore, forest and forest trees are sources of a variety of foods that supplement and complement what is obtained from agriculture. According to Bryon and Arnold (1997), majority of rural households in developing countries, and a large proportion of urban households, depend on plant and animal products of forests to meet part of their nutritional needs. Forest foods seldom provide the bulk of staple items that people eat; and for rural people, they add variety to diets, improve palatability, and provide essential vitamins, minerals, protein and calories. Many agricultural communities suffer from seasonal food shortages, which commonly occur at the time of year when stored food supplies have dwindled and new crops harvest is just beginning. Forest foods are used extensively at such periods and during emergencies such as floods, famines and droughts. Although, the exploitation of firewood is done primarily as a source of energy to the rural households in Nigeria, it has a great deal of effect on their economic wellbeing. This is so because firewood collectors do not gather fuelwood only for their own domestic use, but for sale in nearby peri-urban and urban areas to generate income. The significance of forest products income for most farm families is more in the way it fills gaps and complements other income, than in its share of overall household income. Though the contribution of income from forest products may be supplemental, the sales of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been found to contribute as much as a quarter of total household income (Malla, 2000).
Although, several studies have shown that rural households depend extensively on common pool resources (CPR) to meet their daily economic and social needs (Jodha, 1995), not many of such studies have captured the contribution of forest resources exploitation to their economic well-being in Nigeria. Heltberg (2001) and Dasgupta and Maler (1995) however, argued that compared to non-poor, poorer households may depend more on common property resources, but in absolute terms their dependency is lower than that of their wealthier compatriots. Similar findings were made by Jodha (1995) in India where he reported that though poor households are relatively more dependent on forest resources for firewood collection, big farmers graze more animals and sell milk which provides good market opportunities, and thus derive higher economic benefit thereby. This implied that a key conditioning factor on how rural people use forest resources, and thus generate their income, is the wealth status of the farm family. Common property institutions have not been able to provide a significant contribution to the livelihood of the poor and marginalised people due to their failure to take into account broader socio-economic and distributional issues. According to Adhikari (2002), local elites and traditional decision makers dominate users’ committee of community-based forest resource projects thereby neglecting the poor and excluding them from getting a fair share of forest products. Limitations on firewood collection for instance, have a devastating effect on households whose livelihoods are traditionally closely linked to firewood collection for both domestic use and for sale.
1.2 Statement of problems
Most forests in Ogun State are either privately or communally owned, but there are only a few functional and efficient community-based forest resource management institutions. In fact, there are no specialised forest resource management institutions. What is in place in most communities, are town or village committees headed by a Spokesman who is responsible to the community. These local committees restrict themselves to the regulation of timber harvesting while exploitation of NTFPs continue in most cases unregulated. Thus, the influence of socio-economic inequality on access to the commons is greatly minimised, except for the effect of wealth status on the intensity of resource use. Since majority of the population in the study area live in the rural area, exploitation of forest resources play a crucial role in their livelihood. The rural dwellers depend on natural resources for wild fruits and nuts, rattan cane, poles for agricultural implements and for staking yams, thatch for building, game and firewood; which is the most important source of energy for cooking and heating, as well as for cash income, for most rural households in Ogun State.
1.3 Objectives of the study
The main objective of the study was to assess the effect of forest resources exploitation on the economic wellbeing of rural households in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study aims to ascertain the effects of forest resources exploitation on income of rural households, the proportion of household income contributed by forest resources extraction, and to identify factors that affect the exploitation of major forest products in the study area.
1.4 Research Questions
Based on the afore-stated problem, the study provided answers to the following questions:
1. What is the extent of deforestation in the Ijebu East Local Government Area?
2. What are the causes of deforestation in the Ijebu East Local Government Area?
3. What are the sources of livelihood for forest communities in the Ijebu East Local Government Area?
4. How has the deforestation in the area affected the livelihood patterns in the study area?
5. How is the people in the study area adapting to the deforestation in the study area?
1.5 Research Objectives
The overarching purpose of this research is to assess the effects of forest resources exploitation economic well-being of farming households.. In line with that, specific objectives have been set to help realize this ultimate purpose. The specific objectives of the study are to:
1. Assess the extent of deforestation in the Ijebu East Local Government Area
2. Identify the causes of deforestation in the Ijebu East Local Government Area
3. Identify the sources of livelihood for forest communities in the Ijebu East Local Government Area
4. Examine how deforestation has affected the livelihood patterns in the study area.
5. Assess how the people have been adapting to the effects of deforestation in the study area.
1.6 Scope of the Research
The scope of the research shows the coverage of study in terms of the context which also defines or influence the theoretical framework of the study and the second aspect is the geographic scope.
The contextual scope revolved around the effects of deforestation on the livelihood patterns of forest fringe communities, the extent to which deforestation has affected livelihood patterns and the means of adaptation in forest fringe communities.
1.7 Justification
Research is advanced in trying to understand the alternative livelihoods of forest communities. This work will go a long way to add to knowledge about the social and economic impacts of forest on the surrounding communities in Nigeria. The study will not only achieve its purpose but will also open up other avenues for further research to be done to add to the body of literature that exist on forestry and livelihoods as well as the impacts of forests have on communities that surrounds these areas in question. The research is worth undertaking considering the frightening spate at which the country is losing it forest cover. It is obvious that the wave of deforestation is now knocking at the doors of existing forest and exerting maximum pressure on the regulatory processes of forest. The study will provide some useful reasons why we should preserve our forests beside sustainability reasons.
The study relied on empirical data that was gathered from the field in the study region. This data will add to existing data base by way of updating what already exist. This will also present a fresh picture about the level of economic and social development in some communities in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State. The data base can serve another good purpose for investors to direct some investments into the region to ensure the development of the study region.
The research brought to fore the challenges and prospects that forestry in Ijebu East Local Government Area face and this would inform policy decisions to get the best out of the forests we have in Nigeria. These findings from the study may possibly assist policy makers in developing pertinent policies to protect the forests in Nigeria and also, provide better alternatives for the people to take advantage of the forest for their own development.