INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF FOREST RESOURCES IN ABIA STATE NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Forest,  which  is a major  source  of resources  in Nigeria,  is  currently  facing  accelerated degradation and depletion. The growing demand for ecosystem services from forests has led to over-exploitation  of the resources, resulting in the extinction of some  valuable species. This has continued to impact negatively on the capacity of the  forests to mitigate climate change,   conserve   biodiversity,   safeguard   wildlife,   and   protect   land   and   watershed. Approaches  to  forest  management  in Nigeria  have  not  involved  women  in their  desired perspective, irrespective of their dominant role in collection of forest produce. The influence of   gender   relationships   on  access   to   forests   and   forest   resource   management   and sustainability has remained a concern to scholars and practitioners. This concern informed the need for this study. The broad objective of this study was to examine the effects of gender on sustainable management of forest resources in Abia State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to: identify and examine the participation of male and female farmers in the ownership  and  conservation  of forest  resources;  identify  and  describe  the  various  forest management practices and to examine the factors influencing the decision of men and women in the adoption of improved forest resource conservation measures. Others include; examine, the level of adoption of forest resource conservation strategies between the male and female farmers; analyze gender distribution of benefits from forest resource  exploitation,  analyze perceived  importance  of forest  conservation  factors  among male  and  female farmers  and examine   the   major   constraints   militating   against   forest   resource   conservation   and management. Relevant data for the study were generated mainly through the administration of structured  questionnaire  to  farmers,  randomly  selected  from  6  LGAs.  A total of 240 respondents comprising 120 male and 120 female farmers was drawn from the 410,435 farm families  in the  state.  Information  collected  include  socio-economic  characteristics  of the farmers, environmental and institutional factors, gender access to forest resource benefits and forest  resource  conservation  factors.  Data  generated  were  analyzed  using  percentages, frequencies, likert rating scale and Tobit regression model.The major findings were that: use of improved forest management practices was almost non-existent as against the traditional management practices that were common; female farmers in the study area adopted  more improved  forest  conservation  measures  than  their  male  counterparts.  Tobit   regression analysis showed that the coefficient of gender, land ownership, and dependence on forest for income were negative and  significantly (p < 0.05) affected the adoption of improved forest resource conservation practices of the farmers, while credit access and gender discrimination in forest resource exploitation  were positive and  significant  (p < 0.05). The analysis also indicated that forest resource management and conservation is driven by household size, land ownership,  credit access, gender  discrimination  and dependence  on forest for income and energy. The study, among others, recommended the pursuit of forestry management plan with emphasis  on  gender  mainstreaming  in  forest  conservation  and  management;  improved extension outreach to forest dependent communities; pursuance of community based training programmes on forest management and conservation, with emphasis on those resources that are facing the risk of depletion/extinction; and the orientation of village heads on their role as custodians of natural resources in their communities.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background Information

The contribution of forest to the sustainability of livelihood and environmental quality cannot be overemphasized. Forest resources, namely woodland, shrubland, bush fallow and farm bush and trees on farms,  as well as ecosystem  dominated  by trees  (Arnold, 1998), provide households with income, ensure food security, reduce their  vulnerability to shocks and adversities and promote their wellbeing. Indeed, forest environment and the diversity of life,  which they harbour,  represent  an irreplaceable  asset to  the biosphere  and  mankind. Ecologically, their function is unquestionable as they provide two-thirds of the net primary productivity of all terrestrial ecosystems, of which our priceless tropical forest account for about sixty percent (Adegboye, 1992). The rich flora and fauna found in the forest meet the subsistence need of the numerous communities especially those living in the vicinity of the forest (Kailsha, 1993).

Globally,  forest resources have been a source of subsistence  to millions of  people throughout the evolutionary history of our species. Different parts of the forest plants, such as leaf, flower, fruit, seed, twig, pod, stem, root, tuber, bark and exudates and whole plant are used for various purposes. Forests not only provide food, fibre and fuelwood but also supply household  articles,  construction  materials  and ornamentals  to  mankind  (Adegboye,  1992, Adger and Brown, 1994; Louis, 1993; Kailsha, 1993; Odoemena, 2006). Forest hard wood has been a source of hard currencies, fuel wood and security for the poor. In fact, research on non-farm  rural  employment  and  income  shows  that  small  scale  production  and  trading activities in forest products constitute one of the largest parts of rural non-farm enterprise employment  (Liedholm  and Mead,  1993). It is in acknowledgement  of the importance  of forest resources for livelihood  and environmental  stability that its conservation  and hence

sustainable  management  has  been  included  in the  millennium  development  goals  of  the United  Nations.  In Nigeria,  poverty has led to the dependence  of over 90% of  the rural population   on   forest   for   livelihood   and   economic   survival   (United   Nations,   2002; Chukwuone, 2008).

Again, forests play a profound role in the maintenance of soil fertility. Forest leaves and branches of trees cover the top soil, thereby intercepting heavy down pours of rainfall and high velocity moving wind which would have eroded the soil, thereby rendering it less fertile and unproductive. Similarly, dead and decaying portions of forest trees improve the soil texture and structure thus increasing the water infiltration capacity of the soil and thereby enhancing nutrient recycling.

However,  for man to continue to derive these benefits,  forests and their  abundant resources must be well protected against over exploitation. Unfortunately, this is not so. The over – exploitation of forest resources by both genders represents one of the greatest forces in global environmental degradation (Cock and Kock, 1991; GEO, 2000). Although the net loss of  forest  is  slowing  down,  deforestation  and  forest  degradation  remains  an  on-going phenomenon, especially in tropical regions.

Forest resources have continued to provide off-farm employment to a large segment of the rural populace and account for enormous share of household income. For instance, in 1996  in Southeastern  Nigeria,  35.7% of the  rural population  collected  non timber  forest products (NTFPs) daily and it accounted for 94% of total income from minor sources (Nweze and Igbokwe, 2000). Similarly, Bisong and Ajake (2001) discovered that women in southern Nigeria  depend  heavily on non-wood  forest  products  (NWFPs).  In  fact,  many Nigerians depend on forest resources for food, fibre and herbal medicines (Chukwuone, 2008).

The  growing  demand  for  ecosystem  services  from  forests,  calls  for  a  strategic approach   to  optimize   the   capacity  of  forests   to  mitigate   climate   change,   conserve biodiversity, safeguard wildlife and protect land and watershed (FAO, 2005). This has to do with the adoption of sustainable forest management. The forest principle states that to achieve sustainable forest management forest resources and forest lands should be managed to meet the social, economic, ecological, cultural and spiritual human needs of the present and future generation (FAO, 2005).

Sustainable  management  of  these  resources  will  help  guarantee  the  needs  of  the present generation without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs.  One  of  the  cardinal  means  of  ensuring  sustainability  in  forest  resources  is  the application of FAO strategy for sustainable management of forests and trees. This calls for increase  involvement  of  forest  stakeholders  particularly  women  in  policy-  making  and legislation, to enhance the contribution of forests to livelihoods, and to make forestry, a more economically viable land-use option. Indigenous knowledge  of the local people, both male and female gender, especially as it pertains to the use of the forest resources is a key issue in resource conservation and sustainability (Osemeobo and Ujor, 1999).

Women are critical actors in the management of forest resources. Their participation in sustainable forestry management is conditioned by their levels of forest dependence, the biophysical  quality of the  forest,  their  age,  wealth  levels,  caste,  or  ethnicity (Davidson- Hunt,1996; Nuggehalli and Prokopy, (2009). As the main and  most frequent collectors of forest  products,  women  are  more  familiar  with  the  forest  than  men  (Agarwal,  1997). Moreover, they are more burdened than men by deteriorating forest conditions and have a tendency to conserve and to reduce pressure on forest resources in order to mitigate hardship. Men are  largely  involved  in timber  extraction  unlike  women  who  use products  such as firewood, non-timber forest products (NTFP),that demand more frequent interaction with the forests (Pandofelli, Meinzen-Dick and Dohrn, 2009). Women adopt environmentally friendly farming  system  practices  such  as  terracing  and  taungya  cultivation  of  fodder  trees  and

campaign  against  free grazing  in community  forests,  practices  which lower  pressures  on forests (Gbadegesin, 1996; Acharya and Gentle, 2006).

However,  Jackson  (1993)  and  Mackenzie  (1995)  cautioned  against  assuming  a necessary and complementary relationship  between women and sustainability because they may be constrained  by the existing structure of disincentives  such as  limited control over land, labour and technology. Also, women under some settings may prefer not to engage in forest  management  activities  either  because  of  wealth  or  because  they  view  land-based activities as backward (Jewitt, 2000; and Reurreccion, 2006).

Similarly, Chukwuone (2008) submits that conservation initiative, which is an aspect of sustainable management, will be more successful if the indigenous people assume active roles. This is based on the advantages that can be gained by drawing on their indigenous knowledge of the forest resources and by building on the sustainable systems of use that the local people, especially the male and female categories seem to have created (Redford and Mansour, 1996). Participatory forest resource management  is  often seen as an appropriate solution to reducing resource degradation and it is generally assumed that granting property rights  over  to  local  commons   would   ensure   the  equitable  and  sustainable   use  and management of environmental  resources. Through local participation,  nearby communities would be engaged as stakeholders in managing the resources thus ensuring their commitment to long-term management goals (FAO, 1995).

However, the management of forest resources in Nigeria, especially national parks and forest reserves are in the hands of government and local participation is limited. (Forest reserves are areas set aside by state governments for the protection of timber, NWFPs,  fuel wood and other  forest  resources  in  their  domains).  In  principle,  local  people  own  forests  but  the management and control of forest resources are vested in the state governments. In fact, the

first  Forestry Act  enacted  in 1937,  established  the  forest  reserve  system  under  the  state government.

1.2      Problem Statement

Despite  the  importance  of  forest  resources  in  the  maintenance  of  environmental equilibrium as well as its improvement of rural income, the degradation of forest resources has remained an on-going phenomenon, especially in the tropical regions. There is growing demand for ecosystem services from forests. This is impacting negatively on the capacity of forests to mitigate climate change, conserve biodiversity, safeguard wildlife and protect land and watershed. According to Osemeobo and Ujor (1999), NWFPs are being depleted at an unprecedented  rate as a result of increasing population pressure, agricultural practices and demand.

In Nigeria, a great percentage of the luxurious vegetation has been removed and some species have gone into extinction (UN, 2002). For example, Nigeria lost 1.214km of forests between 1990 and 1995. Consequently, an estimated 484 plants and 12 animal species were threatened  with extinction.  A comparison  of Nigeria’s  vegetation  map of  1992 and 1997 showed a sharp decline in vegetation cover in just a period of five years (Chukwuone, 2008). World Rain Forest Movement (1999) records that between 70 and 80 percent of Nigeria’s original forests have been lost leaving a paltry present-day     territory of 12% forest area. Generally, forest depletion in Nigeria occurs at an annual rate of 3.5% (Chukwuone, 2008). Through  their  activities,  the  gender  categories  have  exhibited  profound  impact on forest resources resulting in these visible signs of depletion and degradation of forest resources.

Unfortunately, approaches to forest governance and management in many developing countries including Nigeria, have not involved women in their desired proportion. (Tinker,

1994; Locke, 1999; and Agarwal, 2001). An improved policy environment that has potential to address gender inequality has not necessarily resulted in gains for women even though a large and growing literature illustrates their knowledge of and dependence on forest products (Shanley and Gaia, 2001; Colfer, 2005). Women continued to be disadvantaged by insecure access and property rights to forest and tree resources (Place, 1995; Meinzen-Dick, Brown, Feldstein and Quisumbing, 1997). Furthermore, they disproportionately bear the cost of tree and forest management, realize only a fraction of the benefits and are mostly enlisted to take part in decision-making when forest and tree resources are degraded (Agarwal and Chhatre,

2006). Moreover, because of lack of formal education, unemployment and personal networks, they are too poorly placed to influence resource allocation or research priorities (Crewe and Harrison 1998).

The need to appreciate the gravity of this continued lack of female involvement in the management of forest resources is urgent because women continue to be among the poorest in developing countries and their dependence on forest resources for subsistence and income will assume even greater importance as forests become more threatened because of increasing global trade, climate change, food insecurity, urbanization and energy (CIFOR, 2008). Incidentally, the influence of gender relationships in access to forests, forest resource management  and  sustainability  has  remained  a  concern  to  scholars  and   practitioners. Approaches to forest management the world over have undergone  profound changes: from the central state control prior to the 1970s through the community-based  approaches of the 1980s and the devolution of the 1990s. Yet, women’s involvement in decision -making has hardly kept pace with the earlier changes and they do not seem to fare any better under the devolution programmes (Agarwal 2007, Jumbe and Angelsen, 2007).Women need to assume more visible   roles in forest management   as they face new challenges  due to increasing global interconnectedness and climate change (Mwangi, Meinzen-Dick and Sun, 2009). The female gender constitutes the most important user group collecting forest produce for meeting

the family’s subsistence needs. Therefore, sustainable forest management is not just possible without their active involvement. Similarly, International Union for Conservation of Nature (2011) opines that if the forestry sector ignores gender issues, it will miss a huge opportunity to  reduce  poverty,  conserve  biodiversity  and  bolster  sustainable  development.  However, forest policies and forest management practices have remained gender blind and ignore the intimate  relationship  between  gender  and  forests  management.  As  a  result,  the  women continue suffering and their drudgery increase as the forest degradation continue (Pratima, 1999).

In  the  past,  the  government  established  some  forest  reserves  with  the  aim  of conserving   forest  resources.   Unfortunately,   these  forest  reserves  have  been   seriously neglected  for some time. They received  little or no attention  in terms of  investment  and management  (United  Nation,  2002).  Adequate  manpower,  equipment  and  funds  are  not provided for proper implementation of sustainable forest management. These forest reserves are  seen  as  sources  of  generating  revenue  without  funding  the  forests  for  sustainable production. This has resulted in the over-exploitation of the resources. Currently, Nigeria’s forest resources are under threat due to poor funding and lack of a proper management plan. Thus, the annual total deforestation rate in Nigeria between 2000 and 2005 was put at 3.3% which translates to an annual average loss of 410,000 ha of forest (FAO, 2005).

Furthermore, forest management programmes in Nigeria including Abia State are not participatory. The forest dependent communities comprising of the male and female gender are not involved  in protecting and managing of the forest resources  (Chukwuone,  2008). Generally, little or nothing has been done to involve both genders in the management plans for community forest. In fact, even women who constitute the  most important user group, collecting forest produce and playing stabilizing roles in families, even when headed by men,

are neglected.  They are left out when it comes  to introducing  environmental  and  natural resources management programmes (Rodda, 1998).

Besides,  most community  forest  areas are not under  any systematic  management. Many of the forest resources and species are over harvested as harvests are uncontrolled and carried out in a highly destructive manner. This may ultimately lead  to  extinction of these species if the situation is left unchecked.

This  rural-  based  study  therefore  examined  the  effect  of  gender  on  sustainable management  of forest  resources  in Abia  State.  The  study was  guided  by  the  following research questions:

      Is division of labour and responsibilities  in forestry use in the study area  gender- sensitive?

      What  is  the  nature  of ownership  of the  forest?  Is  it  government,  community  or homestead?

    What is the traditional pattern of ownership of forest by men and women?

      Does ownership determine access to, collection of, use of, and benefits from  forest products?

    What are the various forest resource management practices in place in the study area?

    Are there any constraints on gender in the collection and use of forest products?

1.3      Objectives of the Study

The broad objective of the study is to examine the effects of gender on sustainable management of forest resources in Abia State, Nigeria.

The specific objectives are to:

i)             identify and examine the participation of men and women in the ownership and conservation of forest resources;

ii)            identify and describe the various forest management practices;

iii)            examine the factors   influencing the decision of men and women in  the adoption of improved forest resource conservation measures;

iv)     examine whether there is any significant differences in the level of adoption of conservation strategies between the male and female famers

v)            analyze the benefits derivable by genders from forest use;

vi)           analyze perceived importance of forest resource conservation factors among male and female farmers;

vii)          identify and examine the major constraints militating against forests;  and resource conservation and management.

1.4      Research Hypotheses

This study was guided by the following null hypotheses:

i)             there is no significant difference in the level of adoption of conservation practices between the male and female categories;

ii)             the socio-economic  and environmental  factors of the respondents  are  not significantly related to their forest conservation practices.

1.5      Justification of the Study

Depletion of forest resources has been a source of world-wide concern. In the study area, the forests which stand out clearly as a major source of resources is currently facing accelerated  degradation  and  depletion  (Eboh,  Achike,  Ujah,  Amakom,  Oduh,  Nzeh  and Larsen,    2006).  The  growing  demand  for  ecosystem  services  from  forests  in  Nigeria including   Abia State  has led to over exploitation  of the resources  with the concomitant extinction of some valuable species (FAO, 2001). According to Eboh, et.al (2006) the forest resources  are  under  pressures  from  urbanization,  infrastructural  development,  residential construction and population growth. Though there has been great achievement by most forest management   efforts,   rarely   has   the   objectives   of   sustainability   in   forest   resources management been achieved (Reis 1995).

In Nigeria like most developing countries,  there are weak economic,  political  and legal institutions and poor property rights regime. Opportunistic behaviours such as cheating, corruption and rent seeking abound, so costs of many resources including forest resources are high.  In  addition,  marked  increase  in  responsibilities  of  government  with  concomitant increase in budgetary provisions under stagnant economies has made the situation precarious. Currently, government can no longer meet up with their responsibility of providing incentives for the field workers. Most ministries and parastatals including forest sector no longer receive allocations for capital projects.

With the  lean  government  finances,  at federal,  state  and  local  government  levels coupled with increased expenditures in different sectors, the forests, especially forest reserves in Nigeria and specifically in Abia State have been seriously neglected. UN (2002) reported a general poor funding of forest sector in Nigeria. The report by Osemeobo and Ujor (1999) shows that only about 10% of the budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector was made available for forestry development.  Similarly,  FAO  (2003) report reveals that only 2 to 4 percent  of  the  annual  allocation  to  the  Federal  Ministry  of Agriculture  was  released  to Forestry Department.  Also,  AIAE (2006)  reported  that in 2006 fiscal expenditure  by the federal government, only N6 billion out of a total amount of N1.88 trillion was allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture including forestry department. Moreover, most state forest sector have not received funds for capital projects since the military era of governance in Nigeria. Furthermore,  forest   workers  are  not  regularly  paid  their  salaries,  thereby  diminishing performance incentive. This condition even encourages corruption and unwholesome attitude including over-exploitation of forest resources. This situation may lead to loss of livelihood for those who depend on the forests as it negates the forest principle as earlier mentioned.

The prevailing poverty condition of the forest dependent communities, especially the female  gender  has  made  the  situation  more  dire.  Their  use  of  forest   resources  has immeasurable  impact  on  NTFP  resource  abundance  and   productivity,   though  can  be sustainable if appropriate management systems are put in place (Clark, 2001).

To remedy this ugly trend, there is need to evolve strategies that will inject dynamism in forest resource management by the different gender categories in the  forest- dependent communities.   Therefore,  the  need  for  the  development   of  a   comprehensive   body  of knowledge especially as it relates to gender disaggregated data on forest resources and their management is very dire and germane.

1.6      Limitation of the Study

The study was subject to some limitations.  It focused on the effects of gender  on sustainable management of forest resources. It was limited in time, scope and resources. The study was carried out in six out of seventeen LGAs of the state. The problem of bias and lack of representativeness was avoided by the use of random sampling. The information provided by the respondents  was based on memory recall  as  majority of the farmers do not keep records of their farming activities. However, the problem of memory and intentional biases were  circumvented  by the  use  of  experienced  and  well-  trained  personnel,  vast  in data collection.

Another  challenge  was  the  issue  of  insecurity  due  to  the  menace  of  kidnapping prevalent in the study area at the time. This problem was overcome by engaging indigenes familiar with the terrains, as part of the data collection team. Nevertheless, the results of this study  represent  a  good  approximation  of  the  state  of  forest  resource  conservation  and management in the study area.

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