Abstract
This study was carried out to assess effects of wood harvesting on the livelihood of forest communities in Ibarapa region, southwest, Nigeria. The study was conducted to identify the various livelihood activities engaged in by forest communities in the region; to assess how wood harvesting in the forests has affected the livelihood of the people in the region as well as to determine the factors influencing wood harvesting in the region. Three hundred copies of structured questionnaire were used to elicit information from the respondents. Focused Group Discussion and Key Informant Interview were also used. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Results show that various livelihood activities were engaged in by the respondents, prominent among which were food crop production, cash crop production, charcoal production, among others. Among the factors that were responsible for wood harvesting in the region, only age, occupation, household size and the distance of respondent’s house to the forest were significant at 5%. It was observed that excessive wood harvesting has negatively affected the forests in the study area as most of the forests have been greatly degraded. This study recommends that the activities of forest communities should be regulated by local authorities and governments, at different levels, in order to sustain the forests in the region.
 Key words: timber, charcoal, lumbering, regression, fuelwood
Highlights
Wood harvesting refers to the removal of forest vegetation, like trees, shrubs for timber, fuelwood and charcoal production without intention of replacement (FAO, 2005)
Though wood harvesting which involves removal of forest wood for timber, charcoal or fuelwood may not lead to total forest clearance and may not necessarily constitute deforestation, such activities are crucial, despite that they may only affect a small proportion of trees per hectare, they can damage wide area of the forest and impact negatively on the livelihood of other people that depend on the forests for survival
It could be inferred that inhabitants of forest communities cuts across different age groups and most of the inhabitants were still within the working age group and this possibly explains the spate of wood harvesting in the region, since most of them were still agile and could move around
Summary
Wood harvesting refers to the removal of forest vegetation, like trees, shrubs for timber, fuelwood and charcoal production without intention of replacement (FAO, 2005). The effects of wood harvesting on the livelihoods of forest and rural communities can be described as great, as most of the dwellers depend on the forests for their living. Though wood harvesting which involves removal of forest wood for timber, charcoal or fuelwood may not lead to total forest clearance and may not necessarily constitute deforestation, such activities are crucial, despite that they may only affect a small proportion of trees per hectare, they can damage wide area of the forest and impact negatively on the livelihood of other people that depend on the forests for survival. According to Nzeh and Eboh (2007), poor people have been able to exploit the forest for food, fuelwood and other marketable products which create both income and employment for the rural dwellers
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