Effect of community participation in forest conservation in Ikom Agricultural Zone of Cross River State

Theresa Larry Bisong,Isa Umar Kyari,Kalu Iroha Ogbonna

doi:10.4314/gjass.v16i1.4

Abstract

The effect of community participation in forest conservation via participatory approach has recently become a global strategy to development. The general objective of the study was to assess the effects of community participation in forest conservation in Ikom Agricultural zone of Cross River State. The specific objectives include; to access the need for community participation in forest conservation, to ascertain the benefit of community participation in forest conservation and to identify the areas and levels of community participation in forest conservation Ikom agricultural zone comprises of Boki, Abi, Etung, Ikom, Obubra and Yakurr local government areas. Three Local Government Areas, Boki, Etung and Ikom, were specifically used for the study because they are the main forest areas in the zone. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data for the study, and it was validated b y research experts in the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, University of. Calabar, Calabar. The study respondents were selected using simple handling technique. Using the population frame of the various local government areas one hundred and one (101) respondents were selected from Boki local government area, eighty nine (89) from Etung local Government area and one hundred and ten (110) respondents from Ikom local Government area. A reliability test was conducted using split-half technique while Pearson product moment correlation was used to correlate the data obtained and a coefficient of rxy=80 was obtained. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency tables, percentages and range. The result of the analysis showed that the local communities were in a better position to monitor the forest as they have better knowledge of indigenous methods of conservation of both plants and animal species in their forest. The result also showed a range of benefits derived from community participation which include; increase in food production, income generation and availability of raw materials. The study, therefore recommended that the government should design forest conservation programmes that are participatory, democratic and bottom-top, by integrating the local people in the planning, design and implementation of forest conservation activities. Keywords: Community Participation and Forest Conservation

Highlights

Forest conservation is the preservation, maintenance, sustainable utilization, restoration and enhancement of all species, breeds and strains of a variety of forest resources especially those of economic, scientific and cultural interest to mankind for agriculture either at present or in the future (FAO, 2009)
It could be concluded that community participation in forest conservation would be highly effective when the local people are given full authority to monitor and control forest activities because they appear to have better knowledge and information about forest conservation, as well as animal and plant species dwelling in their forest
From the point of view of the local people, fertile soils exist in association with forest resources, a well conserved/managed and sustainably utilized forest is likely to produce sufficient quantities of food especially using agro-forestry farming systems which involves the planting of food crops and forest trees simultaneously in the same piece of Iand

Summary

Introduction

Forest conservation is the preservation, maintenance, sustainable utilization, restoration and enhancement of all species, breeds and strains of a variety of forest resources (plant and animal) especially those of economic, scientific and cultural interest to mankind for agriculture either at present or in the future (FAO, 2009). Agarwal (200i) argued that any effort to rehabilitate the environment must rely on village members and not the government officials to do the job, because rural people already have the knowledge. Does this knowledge include information about different species of animals and plants, their behaviour and uses, as well as information about the way in which different aspects of the forest ecosystem inter-relate. Depending on a number of historical, social and ecological factors, indigenous communities amass an extraordinary core of knowledge about how to manage the forest and utilize it sustainably. Agarwal (2001) maintained that community participation will enable the government and nongovernmental organizations to explore and exploit these local wisdom and initiatives to better conserve and manage the forest According to him, when local people participate, they will contribute their wealth of knowledge about nature to the conservation process, but where they are excluded from the forestry development process, their contributions and experiences are either lost or left unharnessed

Objectives

Results

Conclusion