Participation of women in forestry activities for sustainable livelihood in area J4 forest reserve, Ijebu East Local Government, Ogun state, Nigeria

Abstract

Forestry participation is the active engagement of local residents in planning, implementing, and sustaining initiatives that aim to conserve and manage forest resources. The study examined the level of participation of women in forestry activities in Area J4 Forest Reserve, Ijebu East, Ogun State, Nigeria. Participation has been identified as a substance of social change. In Nigeria today, however, women are shut out from certain occupational categories due to formal barriers as well as informal barriers to entry. A total of one hundred and thirty (130) respondents were randomly selected for the study and interviewed through structured interview schedule. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution tables, mean and percentages were used in analysing the data while chi-square statistical tool was used in testing the hypotheses. Majority 34.6% of the respondents were between 30 and 39 years age bracket. 87.7% were married while 37.7% of the respondents had secondary education. Results revealed that majority 78.5% of the forests were established more than 40 years ago while 10.0% were established about 50 years ago. The result showed that there was significant relationship between the respondent’s age, religion, education, income and their level of participation in forest activities. Similarly, there was significant relationship between constraints and level of participation of women in forest activities The study recommended that training should be provided for women, women should be involved in planning and policy making of forestry management while gender and social norms must be addressed.