Logging Effects on Non-Timber Forest Products (NFTPs) Availability in Etung Rainforest Ecosystem, Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The effects of logging activities on the availability of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), which includes special, non-wood, minor, alternative and secondary forest products was assessed. The NTFPs are useful substances, materials and/or commodities obtained from forests which do not require harvesting (logging) trees. They include game animals, fur-bearers, nuts, seeds, berries, mushrooms, oils, foliage, medicinal plants, peat, fuel wood, and forage on which the rural forest communities in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria depend was examined. The study relied on primary data through direct field measurements. Forty-two plots of 50mx100m were laid in the logged and unlogged sites of the forest – twenty-one either way. This was achieved through stratified random sampling. Thirty-one (31) NTFPs were identified and enumerated and the results were compared with the unlogged areas which served as controlled plots. The students’‘t’ test was used to test for significant difference. A mean of 1.37 in the quantity of NTFPs in the unlogged sites and 1.98 in the logged sites were revealed. This implied that reduction in the quantity of NTFP as occasioned by logging would undermine the quality of rural life as the people’s livelihood is intimately connected to the forest; hence nationalization of the remaining forest is therefore recommended.