Analysis of forest dependence and its determinants in forest communities of Southwest Nigeria

Olalekan Fatoki, Olaniran Thompson, Sylvester Oluwadare Ojo, Olubukola Oyerinde, Titilope Olarewaju

Abstract: This study assessed forest dependence and its determinants among forest households in Southwest, Nigeria. Primary data was used for the study and multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 294 forest households in the study area. Data were collected using questionnaire while descriptive statistics and Tobit regression model were used for analysing data collected. Majority of the households’ sampled were males, married, with mean age of 47.8 and had an average household size of seven. The result shows that large proportion of the households give high priority to the provisioning and physical benefits of the forest such as supply of firewood, medicinal plants and farming activities more than the regulating, cultural and supporting benefits. The Tobit regression model shows that the factors that positively influence forest dependence were length of stay, dependency ratio, farm size and gender (male) while age, non-forest income, distance to nearest forest and credit facilities exerted negative influence. Therefore, the study recommends that medium and long term credit should be made available to forest households and empowerment programs should also be designed for male households in forest communities to create employment aside forestry related ones to ensure successful forest rehabilitation scheme in Nigeria.

Keywords: forest benefits; forest communities; forest dependence; livelihoods; southwest region

Date published: 2021-11-03