A study was carried out in Imo River Estuary, Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria to evaluate the perception of the local people on the environmental and socio-economic effects of timber harvesting and management. Five local government areas were purposively selected based on their proximity to the Imo River Estuary. Despite the high effect rates of timber exploitation, most of the locals of the study area have little or no knowledge of the severity of these effects on their environmental and socio-economic well-being; thereby, limiting the required rate and application of necessary mitigation measures as revealed by the Cmax of 0.89 affirming of the relationship of the perception of the locals to the implications of timber exploitation in the study area. Based on the findings, the constraints hindering effective timber utilization and management in the study area are lack of public awareness and poor value system supported, respectively, by 180 and 165 of the respondents out of 300. Hence, the study suggests that the local people of the study area should be educated about sustainable utilization and management of forest resources. Moreover, state government and logging companies should embark on reforestation, afforestation and regeneration programmes in order to replace extracted tree species and regenerate extinct species.