IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WILDLIFE RESOURCE CONSERVATION IN NSUKKA AGRICULTURAL ZONE OF ENUGU STATE

Abstract

The study determined  the impact  of climate  change  on wildlife  resource  conservation  in Nsukka Agricultural zone of Enugu State. Specifically, the study identified the  impacts of climate  change  on  wildlife  habitat,  wildlife  forages,  wildlife  health  and  reproduction, environmental   degradation   threats   on   wildlife   conservation   and   sustainable   wildlife conservation practices to preserve wildlife resources. Five research questions and five null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive  survey research design. Five research  questions  were  answered  and  five  null  hypotheses  were tested  at 0.05  level of significance. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. The population for the study was 138 comprising 115 registered farmers (hunters) and 23 extension agents in Nsukka  Agricultural  Zone of  Enugu  State.  No sample was drawn as the population  was manageable. The research instrument was subjected to face validation by three experts, all from  the  Department   of  Agricultural  Education,   University  of  Nigeria,  Nsukka.  The instrument was trial tested on 20 respondents outside the study area. The data collected were subjected to reliability test using Cronbach Alpha which yielded a coefficient of 0.78. The instrument was administered by the researcher with the help of three research assistants. One hundred and thirty four out of 138 copies of the instrument administered were duly completed and returned reflecting a return rate of 97%. The data collected were analyzed using Mean to answer  research  questions  while  t-test  was  used  to  test  the  hypotheses  at  0.05  level  of significance(p). Findings of the study, among others, revealed that flooding destroys nesting home for wildlife; drought affects forest tree growth and  regeneration;  drought conditions alter breeding sites; climate change favours the  growth of plant pests and diseases; heavy rainfall  events  cause  flooding  of  wildlife  habitat;  thunder  storm  sets  habitats  on  fire; alteration of habitat by extreme weather events makes habitat unconducive; strong winds pull down tree and expose the habitat and excessive sunshine affects vegetative growth. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that the findings on the impact of  climate  change  on  wildlife  habitat  should  be  packaged  and  used  as  tool  for  public enlightenment and  education by the National Orientation Agency to sensitize Nigerians on the dangers of climate change.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Agriculture produces the basic necessities for human survival. It is the production of crops and rearing of livestock for man’s benefit (Tatathi, Naik and Jalgaonkar, 2011). It forms the basis for industrial and economic development (steward, 2000). It includes the raising of animals and cultivation of crops for food, fibre, bio-fuel, drugs and other products meant for sustainability  of human  life. In Nigeria,  agriculture  provides a  source of employment  for more than 70% of her population and contributes 33.69%  to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (National Bureau of statistics, 2013). The major  agricultural  produce in Nigeria are Rice, Cowpea, Millet, Sorghum, Maize, Palm Oil, Rubber, Goat, Sheep, Pig, Poultry, Timber and  wildlife,  among  others.  Apart  from  crop  production  and  domestication  of livestock, agriculture also involves conservation of wildlife.

Wildlife is one of the ecological capitals comprising every form of life from the tiniest microbes to the mightiest  beast and the ecosystems  of which they are part of  (Osinem, 2005). According to the International Hunter Education Association (2003) wildlife refers to plant and  animals  that  are not normally  domesticated  by man  but are essential  for his survival. They are living things that can die and be replaced by others of their type. In the context of this study, wildlife refers to wild animals only. Osinem (2005)  stated that wild animals provide humanity with a cornucopia of goods and services  for food, energy and materials  to  genes  which  protect  the  crops  and  heal  diseases.  The producte  from  wild animals are regarded as wildlife resources.

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Wildlife resources are those products or materials  obtained  from wild animals  to satisfy specific needs of man (Preres, 2001). Wildlife resources include such  products like fibre, food, fuel, meat, industrial raw materials like hide and skin, hoof and timber, among others  (Osinem  and  Mama,  2008).  According  to  the  authors,  wildlife  resources  have nutritional, economic, health, ecological, cultural and religious importance to the users. It is a source of income and a means of livelihood  to  humanity.  Almost  all forms of wildlife resources  are  subject  to  capture  or control  by  man  who  depend  on  them  for survival. Osinem  and  Mama  (2008)  indicated  that  wildlife  resource  exists  in  various  forms  as mammals,  reptiles,  birds,  aquatics  and  arachnids.  The  authors  further  explained  that  a variety of wildlife depend on vegetation for their existence and survival. Machl et al, (2007) stated that tropical cyclones have the potentials to devastate wide expanse of vegetation, causing  loss  of  wildlife  resources.  Conservation  of  wildlife  resources  is  dependent  on climate.

Climate is the average weather condition of a place taken over a long period of time (American  Meteorological   Society  AMS,  2011).  Weather  as  a  climate  variable  is  the atmospheric  condition  determining  the intensity  of sunshine and  amount of rainfall in a given environment. Climate defines the measures of temperature, humidity, pressure, wind, rainfall, sunshine intensity in a given area over  a long period of time (Inter-governmental Panel  on  Climate  Change,  IPCC,  2007).  Farmers  suffer  a  lot  of crop  and  animal  failure whenever there are changes in rainfall pattern and change in climate in general.

Climate change refers to a noticeable variation in weather condition which last for a decade or more affecting both plants and animals in their environment and usually caused by  nature  and  human  activities.  IPCC  (2007)  explained  climate  change  as  a  significant variation  that persists for an extended  period, typically decades or longer. Lemke  (2006) defined climate change as a complete variation in the average state of the atmosphere over time, ranging from decades to millions of years in a region or across the entire globe which can be caused by internal and external forces from space or human activities. Ozor (2009) explained climate change as a variation in weather over time, which could be due to natural variability  or  as  a  result  of  human  activity.  Climate  change  has  some  effects  on  the frequency, intensity and duration of extreme weather events which could negatively affect agricultural  production  in  some  of  the  most  vulnerable  areas.  Wildlife  resources  are generally  more  vulnerable  to  climate  change  than  other  sectors  of  the  economy  like education  and  manufacturing sector. Vulnerability  is the extent to which  climate change may  damage or harm  a  system  (IPCC,  2007).  In  Nigeria,  the  vulnerability  of wildlife  to climate change can be seen in terms of climatic impact on wildlife habitat and forages.

Impact  refers  to  an  immediate  and  strong  effect  of something  or somebody  on another  thing  or person  after an  encounter  (Gadby,  2007).  It is the difference  made or outcome  after  an  event  (Championing  Voluntary  and  Civic  Society  (CVCS,  2013).  It  is a measure of the tangible and intangible effects (consequence) of one thing or entity, action or influence upon another. It is more-or-less the observed differences between the past and present or future state of an object after the effect of change (IPCC, 2017). Impact in this study is the noticeable  effect of climate change  on wildlife  conservation.  It is however, important to note that climate change does not have the same impact on all parts of the world equally and some of the changes  are positive (Ajaero, Akukwe and Asuoha, 2009). According  to the authors,  a normal  climate event such  as normal and adequate rainfall, normal temperature and sunshine favour high growth of wildlife in a breeding season. They

further  stressed  that  this  positively  increases  the  availability  and  sustainable  supply  of wildlife resource product to human beings. The normal climate also favours the growth of wildlife habitat which is very essential in wildlife resource conservation. This agree with the opinion  of Osinem (2005)  who noted  that any effort made to ensure  survival  of wildlife resources  requires  first growing  and protecting  wildlife habitat.  Furthermore,  the author affirmed  that extreme  weather  events such as flooding,  drought,  heat stress,  tornadoes among others  may  drastically  result  in death  and  migration  of wildlife,  lose of forages, habitat destruction and starvation of wildlife which may also lead to extinction of the said species. To ensure sustainability of wildlife resource for man’s use, there is need for their conservation.

Conservation  deals with the wise use of any material  or natural  resources  to ensure  its adequate use and reduce the disappearance (extinction) of such resources (Irandu, 2003). With reference to wildlife, Jibowo (2005) explained that wildlife conservation is the art of making the land produce valuable population of animals. This definition implies that wildlife conservation  focuses  on the  control  of pest  population  to  limit  the  negative  effects  on wildlife. Therefore, in addition to making the environment conducive, wildlife conservation equally  involves  direct  population  management  (control  of  harvest,  transporting)  and indirect management of population through habitat manipulation to favour target species (Egwuma,  2013).  Wildlife  conservation   is  also  defined  as  the  practice  of  protecting endangered plant and animal species and their habitats, (Baldus, Kibonde and Siege 2003). Wildlife conservation is the wise use of wildlife resource in a way that it will be available to the  present   and  the   future  generation   (Osinem,   2005).   Osinem   and   Mama   (2008) emphasized that wildlife conservation efforts is meaningful when the citizens appreciate the positive values of wildlife and the important  role it plays in the maintenance  of  delicate balance of nature. It is therefore noted that wildlife conservation is very crucial to make the resources available for future generations. To ensure that wildlife resources are available for future generations through conservation, its sustainability is necessary in every part of the world including Nsukka Agricultural Zone.

In Nsukka Agricultural Zone of Enugu State, availability of wildlife resources over the years has been encouraging and as the resources serve as source of protein supply to her teaming  population.  Recently,  the production  and  availability  of wildlife  resources  have changed  because  most  of  the  meats  from  wildlife  that  dominate  the  local  market  in different towns in the zone are now scarce. This might be as a result of bush burning, forest destruction  or  irregularity  in  rainfall  pattern  due  to  climate  change  which  limit  wildlife habitat growth and wildlife population. Osinem (2005) lamented that food and habitat upon which  the animals depend on are  constantly  destroyed  by human  and natural  events of climate change and many of the wildlife have gone into extinction and the remaining few species are endangered. It is quite obvious that the activities of man have threatened and sent  some  wildlife  species  into  extinction,  tagged  some  as  endangered  and  are  still threatening it the more. Human population growth has profound direct and indirect effects on   consumption   pattern   of  wildlife   resource.   Human   population   growth   in  Nsukka Agricultural  Zone predispose wildlife to poaching and habitat destruction.  This  eventually leads to increased  hunting  for home  markets.  Many  factors  such  as bush  burning,  over hunting,  deforestation,  and  change in climate affect the availability  and conservation  of wildlife resource in Nigeria of which Nsukka agricultural zone is not exempted.

Nsukka   agricultural   zone  of  Enugu   state  is  endowed   with   abundant   wildlife resources.  Some  species  of  the  wildlife  resources  are  no  longer  available  and  the  few available ones are hardly conserved due to numerous human and  natural factors such as climate change. therefore, there is the need to investigate the impact of the climate change on wildlife resource availability and some of the sustainable conservation practices of the resources.

Statement of the Problem

Wildlife conservation  is very important  for nature posterity.  Protection  of  wildlife habitat is very necessary for the conservation of Wildlife. The habitats of wild animals face a lot of threats both, anthropogenic and natural. The natural factors which threatens wildlife habitat  may include extreme  weather  events  such  as volcanoes,  ocean  current  and  the earth’s tilt, among others. Some extreme weather events associated  with natural climate change may include prolonged drought, flooding, and heat stress. Human or anthropogenic activities contribute greatly to changing the  climatic condition  of a geographical  location over a period of time. Man clears forest to build for residential and commercial purposes, establish infrastructure  and crop  production,  among others. These predispose animals to poaching and migration since there are no hiding places for them.

Any effort made to conserve wildlife resources without first growing and protecting wildlife habitat will amount to wasted efforts. Extreme weather  events  such as flooding, drought, heat stress, tornadoes among others may drastically result in death and migration of wildlife, loss of forages, habitat destruction and starvation of wildlife which may also lead to extinction of some species. Threats to wildlife and its habitat are aggravated by the effect of climate change. Human-induced  climate change has resulted primarily from changes in the amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,  but also from  changes in land use. Climate change have wide-ranging effects in all agricultural zones of Africa of which Nsukka zone  is  not  exempted.  The  impacts  of  climate  change  are  related  to  decline  in  water resources, agriculture, food security, human health, terrestrial ecosystem, biodiversity loss, wildlife and coastal zones. These underscore the need to investigate the impact of climate change on wildlife resources conservation in Nsukka agricultural zone.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose  of the study is to determine  the impact of climate change  on wildlife resource conservation in Nsukka Agricultural zone. Specifically, the study sought to find out the

1.   Impact of climate change on wildlife habitat

2.   Impact of climate change on availability of wildlife forages  (feed)

3.   Impact of climate change on wildlife health and reproduction

4.   Environmental degradation threats on wildlife conservation

5.   Sustainable wildlife conservation practices to preserve wildlife resources

Significance of the Study

The  result  of  this  study  will  be beneficial  to  the  farmers,  agricultural  extension agents, non-governmental organization and other researchers. The findings of the study will provide information to the farmers on wildlife conservation practices. The famers will utilize

the information to preserve wildlife within the locality. The study will also suggest to  the farmers some of the wildlife resource conservation practices that could help them have a sustainable supply of wildlife resource to the market.

The study will provide technical information to the agricultural extension agents on the conservation practices that could be adopted by the farmers. The information will help extension agents in teaching the farmers innovative conservation practices so that wildlife resource  will  be  preserved  for  the  future.  The  findings  of  the  study  will  equip  non- governmental  organizations  with  relevant  information  on  the  sustainable  conservation practices  of  natural  resources.  It  could  help  them  in  selecting  projects  related  to  the conservation of wildlife resources for funding.

The study will also provide information to the foresters on the conservation practices to protect forest natural resources of which wildlife is inclusive. This will  ensure a steady supply of wildlife resources to local users for today and tomorrow. The findings of the study will serve as a good resource material for researchers who may want to carry out studies on the related area.

Research Questions

1.   What are the impacts of climate change on wildlife habitat?

2.   What are the impacts of climate change on the availability of wildlife forages?

3.   What are the impacts of climate change on wildlife health and reproduction?

4.   What are the environmental degradation threats on wildlife conservation?

5.   What  are  the  sustainable   wildlife  conservation   practices   to  preserve   wildlife resources?

Research Hypotheses

HO1: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of registered farmers and extension agents on the impact of climate change on habitat of wildlife.

HO2: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of registered farmers and extension agents on the impact of climate change on the availability of wildlife forages.

HO3: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of  registered farmers  and  extension  agents  on  the  impact  of  climate  change  on  wildlife  health  and reproduction.

HO4: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of  registered farmers  and  extension   agents  on  the  environmental   degradation   threats   on  wildlife conservation.

HO5: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of  registered farmers and extension agents on the sustainable wildlife conservation practices to preserve wildlife resources.

Scope of the Study

This study is limited to Nsukka agricultural zone of Enugu state which comprises of Nsukka, Igbo-Etiti,  and Uzo-Uwani local government  Areas. The study is restricted  to the impact of climate change on wildlife, wildlife habitat, wildlife forages, conservation practices
and  ways of reducing  degradation  threats.  The study is further restricted  to  the use  of structured  questionnaire  to  collect  information  from  registered  farmers  and  extension agents on the impacts of climate change on wildlife conservation in Nsukka agricultural zone in order to help provide relevant

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