EXTRACTIVISM IN ENEN AKPAN ANYA COMMUNITY FOREST, ASANTING IBIONO IN IBIONO IBOM LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

Transcription

1 EXTRACTIVISM IN ENEN AKPAN ANYA COMMUNITY FOREST, ASANTING IBIONO IN IBIONO IBOM LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA ABSTRACT Udofia, S. I. and Damian, R. I. Department of Forestry and Natural Environmental Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uyo, Uyo The study was conducted to ascertain the extractive potentials of Enen Akpan Anya Community Forest in Asanting Village, Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area (LGA), Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A total of 198 structured questionnaires were administered to 198 households in the community to elicit information, backed up by oral interviews with opinion leaders and key informants. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that majority of the respondents (58%) were females and males constituted 42.00%. Christianity dominated the community (94.95%) and traditionalists (5.05%). Occupations were as follows; farming (47.47%), trading/business (32.82%), civil service (17.17%) and artisans (2.52%). About 43.94% of the respondents had First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC), OND/HND/NCE/BSc holders constituted 26.26%, secondary education (23.23%) while 6.57% had no education. Resources mostly extracted by respondents were firewood (90.40%), medicinal plants (73.20%), vegetables (66.20%), timber (65.70%) and Indian bamboo (63.10%). There was significant difference in the frequency of extraction, with daily and fortnightly collections showing higher significance. All items extracted from the forest were equally used for domestic and commercial purposes. Major constraints to conservation of the forest were climatic factors (88.40%), prohibited days (100%), and lack of forestry extension (85.40%). About 87.40% of the respondents had no knowledge of forest conservation; while12.60% had indigenous knowledge of conservation. The research revealed strong dependence of the people of Asanting Ibiono community on Enen Akpan Anya community forest for their livelihood. Therefore, appropriate conservation measures are recommended for the sustainability of the forest. Keywords: Extractivism, potentials, Enen Akpan Anya community forest, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. INTRODUCTION A forest is defined as an ecosystem with a minimum of 10% crown cover of trees and/or bamboos (ITTO, 2011). It is often claimed that commercial extraction of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) can provide an important incentive to prevent expansion of other ecologically less sustainable land uses in tropical forest areas. The market value of non-timber forest products would be such that rainforests could pay for their own upkeep (Clay, 1992). These positions underscore the immense importance of NTFPs in the livelihood of rural people. Hecht (1992) argued that returns from extractivism compared favourably with other land-use alternatives such as agriculture and cattle production. Such arguments suggest that the commercial extraction of non-timber forest products may provide the underpinnings for a sound conservation and development strategy (Broekhoven, 1996). Adequate knowledge of the extent and economic value of NTFPs extracted from forests could help in according conservation of forest a prominent position in any National or regional economic planning and budgeting. Lescure and Pinton (1993) described extractivism as the collection for sale of non-timber forest products. An investigation by Emperaire and Pinton (1993) in Rio Negro, Brazil revealed that extractivism has the added advantages of conserving the forest productive potentials and also protecting the environment. Sizer (1993) corroborates this view and states that extractivism is a viable means of integrating economic exploitation of the forest with the conservation of biological diversity if a series of control is incorporated to avoid over-exploitation. Non-timber forest products have been defined in different ways by different authors. De Beer and Mc Dermott (1989) emphasize the physical properties of the products and defined NTFPs as all biological materials other than timber, fuelwood and carbon which are extracted from natural forests for human use. In the definition by Falconer (1990), emphasis is on the extraction of forest products by local people for home consumption and for sale, to be distinguished from large-scale extraction for timber and pulp. Falconer (1990) defined NTFPs as those forest products, including by-products such as bush meats and mushrooms that are not processed by large industries. Non-timber forest products are the numerous forest extracts such as bark, roots, tubers, leaves, fruits, seeds, flowers, resins, honey, oils, mushrooms, and firewood (Sunderland and Besong, 2003). They include the wide range of products, both flora and fauna that are produced by forests and woodlands. Research on NTFPs have focused on individual commodity benefit for rural incomes and markets, as an expression of traditional knowledge or as a livelihood option for rural household needs, and, as a key component of sustainable forest management and conservation strategies. All researches promote forest products as valuable commodities and tools that can promote the conservation of forests. Over 70% of rural people in Akwa Ibom State use forest NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,

2 resources and products in one way or the other for their daily needs (NCF, 2000). However, due to the myriad of uses coupled with improper management practices, forest resources have been over-exploited, leading to a continued reduction of fauna and flora diversity, extinction of some species and eventually, the soil is devastated (Nwoke and Omiyale, 1992). Pearce and Turner (1990) and Udofia (2011), observed that tree cover is reduced through deforestation primarily for agriculture, timber production and fuelwood. Since forests are rapidly depleting in our world, there is an urgent need to make effective use of its resources either for human consumption or for sale in order to generate revenue which will improve the economy and lives of the people. As at today, no study has been carried out in Enen Akpan Anya Community Forest as to determine its extractive potentials. This study will help to ascertain the extractive products from the Community Forest and how it enhances the livelihood of the host Community (Asanting Ibiono). The objective of the study therefore, is to determine how Enen Akpan Anya Community Forest has been useful to the host Community (Asanting Ibiono) especially in terms food, medicine, employment generation and income generation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Description of the study area The study was carried out in Asanting Ibiono village in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria (Fig. 1). Asanting Ibiono village is located in the humid and sub-humid tropical climate of Southeastern Nigeria, on the eastern axis of Akwa Ibom State between latitudes N and longitudes E. The annual temperature ranges from an average minimum of 25.5 C to average maximum of 30.5 C while the rainfall pattern has a characteristic bimodal distribution with peaks usually in June and October and the period of low precipitation in August with four months of dry season starting from mid-november ending mid-march. Currently the rainfall pattern is dramatically changing, perhaps due to environmental changes which have made it possible for rainfall to prolong up to December. Asanting Ibiono village boasts of being among the communities with the largest remaining fragments of sacred forests in Akwa Ibom State (Udeagha et al., 2013), but currently being gradually transformed to community forest owing to domination of Christianity in the community. Fig. 1: Map of Akwa Ibom State showing the study area (Asanting Ibiono). Originally, Asanting Ibiono had three forests namely Ndiongo, Okom Ukpong and Mkpok forests, which were later deforested for developmental projects by the founder of the community who was also the first village head of the community, Akpan Obio Mkpong. Enen Akpan Anya was not originally a forest, it used to be a playground (Enen) and the bush surrounding it was inhabited by Akpan Anya and his family which made him the owner of the place (Enen Akpan Anya) and founder of one of the three family units in the village, Nnung Anya. The place became a forest when the inhabitants deserted the place because they wanted to preserve the route passing through Enen Akpan called Usung Ubong (King s road) which was also a link way in those days between Ibiono North, NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,

3 Central, Eastern, Western and Ibiono South, before the advent of highways (Chief Ime Udoka, Village Head; personal communication on the 5th November 2015). Methods of data collection Data were collected in the study area, Asanting Ibiono, using a total of 198 structured questionnaires. There are 198 households in the community. The data collected on the questionnaires were backed-up by oral interviews with the Village Head, the Women Leader, the Women Secretary and the members of the Village Council. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Biodata of respondents The biodata of respondents (Table 1) shows that majority of the respondents (58%) were females while males constituted 42%; clearly indicating the dominance of women in extraction of resources from Enen Akpan Anya community forest. In terms of religion, Christians (94.95%) overwhelmed the community, while traditional worshippers constituted 5.05%. The 5.30% traditionalists could be men because until recently, the forest was regarded as a sacred place where only traditional worshippers formed the management team of the forest. The implication of Christianity dominating the community is that they would not support the forest serving as traditional worship center, and may gradually lose its sacred status. It should however, be noted that sacred roles in forest do enhance conservation of such forest. In terms of occupation, farming constituted the main occupation in the community (47.47%), followed by trading (32.82%), civil service (17.17%) and artisans (2.70%). Field observations during the study revealed that all the traders, civil servants and artisans combined their various occupations with some levels of farming. Table 1 also shows the educational status of the respondents; 43.94% had First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC), 26.26% acquired OND/HND/NCE/BSc, 23.23% obtained secondary education, and 6.57% had no education. The duration of stay of respondents in the community were as follows: years (48.98%), I 20 years (28.78%) and 41 years and above (22.22%) (Table 1), indicating that majority of the respondents have stayed in the community long enough to be able to understand every detail about the community, including agro-ecological environment, and had utilized resources from the Enen Akpan Anya community forest. Extractives from Enen Akpan Anya Community forest Forest resources extracted by respondents from Enen Akpan Anya community forest are presented in Table 2. Item extracted most by respondents was firewood (90.40%), implying that the forest is the major source of firewood for both domestic and commercial purposes in the community. Medicinal plants were the next item extracted by 73.20%. The forest is said to have provided healing plants for Akpan Anya, the first man that lived in the forest with his family and he was a practising herbalist. About 66.20% collected vegetables, 65.70% extracted timber and 63.10% collected Indian bamboo. Bamboo is very abundant in the forest and is used for both domestic and commercial purposes. There were significant differences (p<0.05) among the items extracted from the forest by respondents with firewood showing significantly highest than medicinal plants and vegetables. Other produce that were significant were timber, bamboo and snails. Collection of these items at rate faster than that of regeneration was capable of adversely affecting the future availability of the forest produce/products. The implication is that the high and un-controlled rate of collection of products from the forest, especially firewood and bamboo, can lead to depletion of the resources in the forest leading to deforestation which could affect the environment and climate negatively. There is need for adequate conservation measures to be put in place to safeguard the future of the forest resources. Frequency in extraction from Enen Akpan Anya community forest Rate of extraction from the forest is presented in Table 3. Weekly collection of produce/products from the forest showed highest significance (p<0.05) than daily, fortnightly and monthly collections. However, firewood collection was significant (p<0.05) at daily and weekly collections. This could be so because people use firewood daily for cooking. If regeneration was not done as collection continued, deforestation would result and could consequently cause scarcity of firewood in the nearest future. Usage of extractives by respondents The usage of the extracted items from the forest by respondents is presented in Table 4. Forest resources collected by the respondents were used for both domestic and commercial purposes. The frequencies in some variables for both uses were almost the same because of multiple uses of the produce/products. The result explains clearly that the forest was of immense benefit to the people as sources of food, medicine, and income generation to meet family needs such as school fees and clothing. Thus, the Enen Akpan Anya community forest contributes greatly to the livelihood of Asanting Ibiono Village. Constraints faced in extraction by respondents Constraints faced by respondents in the extraction of resources from Enen Akpan Anya Community Forest, Asanting Ibiono, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria are presented in Table 5. All the respondents (100%) complained about prohibited days called Aded, a day where nobody could enter the forest for any activity and it occurs once a NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,

4 week to give room for the traditional worshippers for performance of sacrifices to their gods. Climatic factors (88.40%) constituted the second biggest constraint to collection of NTFPs from the forest. According to the respondents, excessive and untimely rainfall hindered people from going for collection in the forest and also reduced collection times. Inflation in the price of the produce/products by the few ones who could tolerate rains for collection items could occur, and likely hunger because majority of them depend on the forest produce/products for livelihood supports. Table 5 also shows that 48.90% of the respondents were affected by the seasonal changes or factors of the produce, particularly in the collection of fruits which comes in seasons and mushrooms. Table 1: Bio-data of respondents in Asanting Ibiono, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria Variables Frequency Percentage (%) Gender Male Female Religion Christianity Traditional worship Occupation Farming Trading/business Civil service Artisans Education No education Secondary FSLC OND/HND/NCE/BSc Duration of stay in the community 1 20 years years >41 years , Table 2: Items frequently extracted from Enen Akpan Anya community forest Asanting Ibiono, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria Variables Frequency Percentage Rank (%) Firewood st Snails th Timber th Vegetables rd Bush meats th Mushroom th Fruits and seeds th Indian Bamboo th Medicinal nd herbs/roots Spices th Ropes th Nuts and Gums th Chewing stick th Table 3: Frequency in extraction of produce/products from Enen Akpan Anya community forest, Asanting Ibiono, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria Variables Daily Weekly Fortnightly Monthly Frequency % Frequency % Frequency % Frequency % Firewood Snails Timber Vegetables Bush meats Mushroom Fruits and seeds Indian Bamboo Medicinal herbs Spices Ropes Nuts and Gums Chewing stick About 55.60% of the respondents agreed that women, who were the ones mostly and directly involved in extractivism, were prohibited from entering certain sections of the forest to collect items. According to Chief Ime Udoka, (Village Head, personal communication on 5th November 2015), those sections were very sacred and so females were forbidden in access. Land clearance for farming and other activities by families constituted about 36.40%, as it also hinders the collection of produce/products from the forest. About 43.90% stated that overexploitation of NTFPs affected their availability. This could be a direct consequence of lack of conservation knowledge of collectors, who do not consider regeneration as an important aspect of sustainable forest NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,

5 management. About 85.40% of the respondents said that lack of forestry extension service was a serious constraint faced by them in the extraction of items from the forest. Lack of extension services must have resulted in people s lack of conservation knowledge. Table 4: Mode of usage of extractives from Enen Akpan Anya community forest, Asanting Ibiono, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria Variables Domestic Use Commercial Use Frequency % Frequency % Firewood Snails Timber Vegetables Bush meat Mushroom Fruits and seeds Indian Bamboo Medicinal herbs Spices Ropes Nuts and Gums Chewing stick Total Mean Table 5: Constraints faced by respondents in extraction of produce/products from Enen Akpan Anya community forest, Asanting Ibiono, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria Variables Frequency Percentage (%) Climatic factors Seasonal changes/factors Prohibited days (Aded) Prohibition of women from entering certain parts of the forest Land clearance for farming and other activities Over-exploitation Lack of forestry extension Knowledge of forest conservation Table 6 shows that 87.40% of the respondents had no knowledge of forest conservation, while those with the knowledge constituted about 12.60%. 16% of them obtained the knowledge from friends, while 84% had from indigenous knowledge (Table 6). This therefore, implies that majority of the respondents were not educated on scientific methods of forest conservation and had no idea of what conservation was all about. Lack of conservation knowledge owing to lack of forestry extension service could have led to unsustainable forest exploitation as reflected in Tables 3 and 5). The people only depended on their indigenous knowledge, which was limited in the management of the forest, and might not be adequate in view of the fact that sustainable management of a forest involves adequate knowledge of scientific methods. The result corroborates Udofia (2010), who found that homegarden owners in Akwa Ibom State largely depended on local knowledge in the management of homegardens. Table 6: Knowledge of forest conservation and source in Asanting Ibiono, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria Knowledge of conservation Frequency Percentage (%) Yes No Source of knowledge of forest conservation Sources of knowledge Indigenous From friends CONCLUSION NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,

6 Results of the study showed clearly that Enen Akpan Anya community forest has continued to be a very productive and beneficial forest to the community, affecting all aspects of life of the people. The forest supports the livelihood of the people in the community by supplying them with various items which are used for food, fuel, and medicine and income generation. Thus, Enen Akpan Anya community forest contributes significantly in the livelihood of the people of Asanting Ibiono, Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. RECOMMENDATIONS Adequate conservation education is needed to create desired awareness about appropriate conservation of the forest resources for sustainability. Government should consider extension intervention services so as to help the people manage the forest properly because it supports their livelihood. REFERENCES Broekhoven, G Non-timber Forest Products. IUCN, Gland. Clay, J Some General Principles and Strategies for Developing Markets in North America and Europe for Non-timber Forest Products. In M. Plotkin and L. Famolare (eds.), Sustainable Harvest and Marketing of Rain Forest Products. Washington, DC: Island Press. De Beer, J. H. and McDermott, M The Economic Value of Non-timber Forest Products in South-East Asia. Amsterdam: The Netherlands Committee for IUCN. Emperaire, L. and Pinton, F Ecological and Socio-economic aspect of extractivism on the middle Rio Negro. In Hladik, C. M. et al. (eds.) Tropical Forest, People and Food. Biocultural Interactions and Applications to Development. Man and Biosphere Series. Vol. 13. UNESCO. Paris. 788p. Falconer, J Non-timber Products in Ghana s forest zones: Issues for forest conservation. In Conservation of West and Central African Rainforest, edited by Kavin Cleaver, Moham. M, Mary O., Nicolas E., Axel P., Francis W., World Bank Environmental. lp. Hecht, S. B The Logic of Livestock and Deforestation in Amazonia. Bioscience 43(10): ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organization) Tropical Forest Update, 20(3): 2-5. Lescure, J. P. and Pinton, F Extractivism: A controversial use of the tropical ecosystem. In Hladik, C. M. et al (eds.) Tropical Forest, People and Food. Biocultural Interactions and Applications to Development. Man and Biosphere Series. Vol. 13. UNESCO. Paris. 767p. Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) Documentation of Environmental Degradation in Fifteen Communities in Akwa Ibom State. UNDP. Akwa Ibom State. Nwoke, M., K. and Omiyale, O Evolving conservation in the Rainforest Zone of Nigeria. In Akinsanmi, F. A. (ed.). Proceedings of the 22 nd Annual Conference of the Forestry Association of Nigeria, Kano, 2nd 7th November, pp Pearce, D. W. and Turner, R. K Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment. Harvester Wheatshafs London. pp Sizer, N. C Socio-economic Aspects of Extractivism in Jan National Park, Amazonia. In Food Hladik, C. M. et al (eds.) Tropical Forests, People and. Bio-cultural Interactions and Applications to Development. Man and Biosphere Series. Vol. 13.UNESCO. Paris. 796p. Sunderland, T. S. and Besong, A. J Distribution, Utilization and Sustainability of Non-timber Forest Products from Takamanda Forest Reserve, Cameroon, Smithsonian. Udeagha, A. U., Udofia, S. I., Jacob, D. E Cultural and Socio-economic perspectives of the conservation of Asanting Ibiono Sacred Forests in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, 5(11): Udofia, S. I Gender roles and sources of knowledge of homegarden management in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Agriculture, Food and Environment, 6(1 and 2): Udofia, S. I Importance of Local Knowledge in Forest Resources Conservation. Proceedings of the 1 st Workshop of the Forestry Association of Nigeria, Akwa Ibom State Branch. pp Udofia, S. I Religion and Environment: The Church versus Forest Conservation. In Ijeomah and Aiyeloja (eds.) Challenges to Sustainable Production in Agriculture and Environment: Nigeria in Perspective. Topbase Nigeria Limited. pp NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,