Consequences of Deforestation on Rural Household Income (a Case Study of Odighi Edo State)
Chapter One
AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to determine the causes and consequences of deforestation in Odighi and the following objectives are stated for this research study:
- To find out the causes of deforestation in OdighiEdo State
- To find out the consequences of deforestation on rural house hold income in OdighiEdo State.
- To determine the strategies for reducing deforestation.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
THE CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION
The struggle to save the world’s rainforests and other forests continues and there is agrowing worldwide concern about the issue. In order to save forests, we need to know whythey are being destroyed. Distinguishing between the agents of deforestation and its causesis very important in order to understand the major determinants of deforestation. Theagents of deforestation are those slash and burn farmers, commercial farmers, ranchers,loggers, firewood collectors, infra-structure developers and others who are cutting down theforests. Causes of deforestation are the forces that motivate the agents to clear the forests.
However, most of the existing literature typically distinguishes between two levels ofspecific factors: direct and indirect causes of deforestation. Direct agents and causes ofdeforestation, also typically referred to as sources of deforestation, first level or proximatecauses (Panayotou et al., 1999) are relatively easy to identify
but the indirect causes which are usually the main divers of deforestation are the ones thatcause most disagreement and the ones that are hardest to quantify (Bhatnagar, 1991). Similarly, Pearce et al (1994) identified two main forces affecting deforestation.
They are:
– Competition between humans and other species for the remaining ecological niches onland and in coastal regions. This factor is substantially demonstrated by the conversionof forest land to other uses such as agriculture, infrastructure, urban development,industry and others.
Failure in the working of the economic systems to reflect the true value of theenvironment. Basically, many of the functions of tropical forests are not marketed andas such are ignored in decision making. Additionally, decisions to convert tropicalforests are themselves encouraged by fiscal and other incentives.
The former can be regarded as the direct and latter as indirect cause of deforestation.
DIRECT CAUSES
Expansion of farming land
About 60 per cent of the clearing of tropical moist forests is for agricultural settlement(Myers, 1994; Anon., 1991) with logging and other reasons like roads, urbanization andFuelwood accounting for the rest (Anon., 1994). Tropical forests are one of the last frontiersin the search for subsistence land for the most vulnerable people worldwide (Myers, 1992).
Millions of people live on the tropical forest with less than a dollar a day where a third of abillion are estimated to be foreign settlers. However, as the land degrades people are forcedto migrate, exploring new forest frontiers increasing deforestation (Wilkie et al., 2000). Deforestation is proxied by the expansion of agricultural land.
This is because agricultural land expansion is generally viewed as the main source ofdeforestation contributing around 60 per cent of total tropical deforestation.
Shifting agriculture also called slash and burn agriculture is the clearing of forested land forraising or growing the crops until the soil is exhausted of nutrients and/or the site isovertaken by weeds and then moving on to clear more forest. It is been often reported as themain agent of deforestation. Smallholder production in deforestation and the growingnumber of such producers notably shifting cultivators were the main cause of deforestation(Anon., 1990)
Mostly all reports indicate shifting agriculture as responsible for about one half of tropicaldeforestation and some put it up to two-thirds. Shifting agriculture was greatest in Asia(about 30 per cent) but only about 15 per cent over the whole tropical world. It appears thatthe proportion of direct conversion of forest to agriculture is increasing and the proportionof shifting agriculture is decreasing with time.
Forest and other plantations
Plantations are a positive benefit and should assist in reducing the rate of deforestation. Thefact that plantations remove the timber pressure on natural forests does not translateeventually into less, but rather into more deforestation. Indeed, it is feared that agriculturalexpansion which is the main cause of deforestation in the tropics might replace forestry inthe remaining natural forests (Anon., 2002). Theimpact of timber plantations could thus turn out to be quite detrimental to tropical forestecosystems (Kartodihardjo et al, 2000). Tree crops and rubber in particular plays amore important role in deforestation in Indonesia than subsistence-oriented shiftingcultivation (Chomitz et al, 1996). Unfortunately about one-half of the plantations inthe tropics are established on native forest cleared for the purpose. Moreover plantationscan promote deforestation by constructing roads that improve access of the shiftingcultivators and others to the forest frontier.
Logging and fuel wood
Logging does not necessarily cause deforestation. However, logging can seriously degradeforests (Putz et al., 2001). Logging in Southeast Asia is more intensive and can be quitedestructive. However, logging provides access roads to follow-on settlers and log scales canhelp finance the cost of clearing remaining trees and preparing land for planting of crops orpasture. Logging thus catalyzes deforestation (Chomitz et al., 2007).
Fuelwood gathering is often concentrated in tropical dry forests and degraded forest areas(Rowe et al., 1992). Fuelwood is not usually the majorcause of deforestation in the humid tropics although it can be in some populated regions
with reduced forest area such as in the Philippines, Thailand and parts of Central America.
Fuelwood gathering was considered to be the main cause of deforestation and forestdegradation in El Salvador (Repetto, 1990). In the drier areas of tropics, Fuelwood gatheringcan be a major cause of deforestation and degradation.
Overgrazing
Overgrazing is more common in drier areas of the tropics where pastures degraded byovergrazing are subject to soil erosion. Stripping trees to provide fodder for grazinganimals can also be a problem in some dry areas of the tropics but is probably not a majorcause of deforestation. Clear cutting and overgrazing have turned large areas of Qinghaiprovince in China into a desert. Overgrazing are causing large areas of grasslands northof Beijing and in Inner Mongolia and Qinghai province to turn into a desert. One manwho lived in a village on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau that was beingswallowed up by sand told the New York Times, “The pasture here used to be so greenand rich. But now the grass is disappearing and the sand is coming.” Huge flocks of sheepand goats strip the land of vegetation. In Xillinggol Prefecture in Inner Mongolia, forexample, the livestock population increased from 2 million in 1977 to 18 million in 2000,turning one third of the grassland area to desert. Unless something is done the entireprefecture could be uninhabitable by 2020. Overgrazing is exacerbated by sociologicalphenomena called “the tragedy of the common.”
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
This chapter encompasses the steps that were employed in carrying out the study. They include research design, population of the study, sample and sampling technique, validity and reliability of the instrument, administration of instrument, data collection and method of analysis.
Research Design
The researcher made use of survey research design to collect data on the causes and consequences of deforestation in OdighiEdo State.
Nwogu (1991), defines a survey research as one which a group of people or items is studied by collecting and analyzing data from only a few people or items considered to be representative of the entire group.
Population of Study
The population of this study is made up of residents including farmers and hunters, staffs of agriculture and forestry department in Odighi Local Government Edo State.
CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS OF DATA AND DISUCSSION OF RESULTS
This chapter deals with the presentation and interpretation of results from the data collected. Section A of the questionnaire contains the bio-data of the respondents while Sections B and C contain the main questions concerning the causes and consequences of deforestation
These questions are set to elicit information or answers from the respondents. In all, a total of sixty (50) questionnaires were administered to various respondents that make up the sample population.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Forest areas with large numbers of trees, offer many benefits to people and the environment. At a global level, trees remove carbon dioxide from the air, helping to control the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and prevent global warming. And at a local level, forest areas trap cool, moist air near to the ground, thereby reducing temperatures and protecting people, crops and animals from excessive heat, and most importantly, the rural dwellers are better for it since they are mostly farmers and hunters. But despite these and other benefits, deforestation is going on unabated. This research is focused on the causes and consequences of deforestation and it proposed strategies that can reduce deforestation. Causes includes expansion of farmland, logging and fuel wood, overgrazing, urbanization and tourism while the consequences as highlighted includes flooding, climate change etc.
Recommendations
From these research findings, it can be recommended that:
- There should be reduction in population growth and increasing per capital income to reduce deforestation as these negatively affects the income of rural dwellers or household since most of them are farmers and hunters.
- Increasing the area of forest plantation by encouraging and sponsoring planting of trees
- Increasing investment in research, education, training and extension services on deforestation and forestry activities to reduce deforestation
- Proper legislation and adequate policy formulation, enforcement and compliance with forestry regulations will reduce deforestation.
Conclusion
Economic globalization combined with the looming global land scarcity increases thecomplexity of future pathways of land use change. In a more interconnected world,agricultural intensification may cause more rather than less cropland expansion. Theapparent tradeoff between forest and agriculture can be minimized through spatialmanagement and the use of degraded or low competition lands. This can be further addressed by community based forest management which buildson political goodwill and strong community institutions. New challenges from climatechange require urgent action to explore and protect the local value of forests for livelihoodeven more. This is particularly true in the case of emerging activities undertaken as part of government activities where broad forest governance are aligned with it along with people’sparticipation ensuring livelihood benefits of the people dependant on forests. Theserenewed activities will safeguard traditional ways of life and the environmentally importantforest ecosystems of the world. More should be done to protect the rural dwellers as most of them are agriculturally inclined and engaging in practices that promote deforestation affects them negatively as they can no longer farm and experience bountiful harvest as a result of deforestation.
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