ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION ON FOREST RESOURCES CONSERVATION IN BENUE NORTH-WEST, NIGERIA

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities are causing Benue State's forests to disappear, and some academics have proposed that urban forest management and community involvement can slow the rate at which forest resources are being destroyed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of deforestation on forest resources conservation in Benue North-West, Nigeria. 392 respondents were chosen using a stratified random sample technique with multiple stages. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the collection and analysis of the data. The effects of deforestation on the conservation of forest resources in the research area were similarly measured using a Likert scale assessment. The study's findings showed that animal grazing (ANG), farming operations (FMO), charcoal production (CHP), infrastructure development (IFD), population expansion (POP), and forest fire (FOF) were the main causes driving deforestation. With a probability coefficient of 1.9%, the manufacturing of charcoal was determined to be the primary cause of deforestation in the research area. Illegal logging and farming operations came in second and third, with probability coefficients of 1.88% and 1.86%, respectively. According to the study, the main impacts were habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, desert encroachment, rising temperatures, plant and animal extinction, soil degradation, water body loss, pollution, and climate disruption. The main detrimental consequences of deforestation on forest resources were determined to be habitat destruction (WMS=4.2>3.05), followed by soil degradation which exhibited moderate effects (WMS=2.99 < 3.05), whereas pollution was evaluated as having the lowest effect (WMS=2.49 < 2.95). According to the findings, deforestation can harm the diversity of plants and animals, resulting in erosion, flooding, and the loss of important commercial and medicinal trees. To stop the effects of deforestation, it is advised that people use farming practices that promote afforestation and replanting.