Assessment and Utilisation of Environmental Resources at Ode-Irele Forest Area, Nigeria
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Date
2016-06-20
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Publisher
Nigerian Chapter of Society for Conservation Biology
Abstract
Reliance on subsistence extraction of environmental resources can ignite strong desire to implement sustainable practices for the continual availability of products. The primary dataset used for this study was extracted from survey conducted in Ode-Irele forest area. Questionnaires were administered on one adult person per household in five selected villages namely Ludasa, Lonla, Loda, Petu and Gbogi. The five villages were purposively selected as a result of their proximity to the forest areas. Questionnaires were administered to 20 household heads purposively selected from each village. Time land was acquired and property owned were considered as the main criteria for defining households. Direct economic uses of the forest were ascertained by asking the respondent about the satisfaction derived from using environmental resources and whether payment should be made for the resources.
This study was framed within the model that sustainable management of environmental resources is a consequence of heavy reliance on subsistence extraction of resources. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages. The result shows that 38 % of respondents have acquired land in the study area since birth, while literate respondents accounted for 27% in property ownership. There is a high reliance on environmental resources for food, natural honey, medicinal plants, wild fruits and use of wood for fuel. Also trades in wild animals and their products were on the high side. Knowledge of respondents about the management of trees for resources such as timber with arable crops (92%), resins (95%), shade for domestic animals/understorey crops (92%), soil conservation (83%), water conservation (75%) was high. Many approved payments for managing environmental resources. Sustainable management of environmental resources by local residents in natural forested areas could only be achieved if an alternative means could be provided to reduce heavy reliance on resources for survival.
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Keywords
Environmental resources, Sustainability, Management, Payment
Citation
Ogunsusi, K. and Adeleke, B. O. (2016): Assessment and Utilisation of Environmental Resources at Ode-Irele Forest Area, Nigeria. Proceedings of NTBA/NSCB Joint Biodiversity Conference, Unilorin, 20-24 June, 2016. Pp 218-223.