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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE PROJECT TOPICS

CONSEQUENCES OF DEFORESTATION ON RURAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME

CONSEQUENCES OF DEFORESTATION ON RURAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME

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CONSEQUENCES OF DEFORESTATION ON RURAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME

1.0. Introduction.

Deforestation is the removal of a forest or tree stand so that the land can be used for something other than forestry. Deforestation includes the conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban areas.

Deforestation happens for a variety of reasons, including the removal of trees for use or sale as fuel (often in the form of charcoal) or lumber, as well as the use of cleared land for animal pasture, commodity plantations, and habitation.

The removal of trees without adequate regeneration has caused habitat degradation, biodiversity loss, and aridity. It has a negative impact on biosequestration of atmospheric CO2.

Subsistence farming accounts for 48% of deforestation, commercial agriculture for 32%, logging for 14%, and fuelwood removals for 5%.

Other factors contributing to modern deforestation include government corruption, unequal wealth and power distribution, population increase and overpopulation, and urbanisation.

Globalisation is frequently considered as a fundamental cause of deforestation, however there have been instances where the effects of globalisation (new flows of labour, capital, commodities, and ideas) have facilitated localised forest recovery.

Deforestation contributes to global warming and is frequently identified as one of the primary reasons of the increasing greenhouse effect. Tropical deforestation accounts for around 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In deforested areas, the land heats up faster and achieves a greater temperature, resulting in localised upward motions that promote cloud formation and, eventually, more rainfall.

The water cycle is also impacted by deforestation. Trees take groundwater via their roots and discharge it into the atmosphere. When a portion of a forest is eliminated, the trees no longer absorb this water, resulting in a significantly drier climate.

Deforestation reduces the amount of water in the soil, groundwater, and atmospheric moisture. Dry soil causes the trees to extract less water. Deforestation weakens soil cohesiveness, resulting in erosion, flooding, and landslides.

1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Forests comprise over one-third of the earth’s land surface and provide numerous environmental advantages, including a significant role in the hydrologic cycle, soil conservation, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity preservation (Sheram, 1993).

Forest resources have the potential to bring long-term national economic advantages. For example, at least 145 countries are now engaged in wood production (Anon., 1994). There is sufficient evidence that the world is experiencing an environmental crisis as a result of widespread deforestation.

For years, forests have been destroyed indiscriminately, and we have only just come to understand the scale of the problem. Nobody knows how much of the world’s rainforests have already been lost, and how much more are being destroyed each year. Data is frequently inaccurate and open to different interpretations.

However, it is clear that the extent of tropical rainforest is shrinking, as evidenced by the Odighi forest in the Odighi Local Government extent of Edo State, and the rate of tropical rain forest loss is increasing globally, despite greater environmental activism and awareness.

Deforestation is the process of converting forest to a permanent non-forested land use, such as agriculture, grazing, or urban development (van Kooten et al, 2000).

Deforestation is primarily a worry for tropical developing countries (Myers, 1994), as it shrinks tropical forest areas (Barraclough et al, 2000), causing biodiversity loss and exacerbating the greenhouse effect (Angelsen et al., 1999).

FAO considers a plantation of trees grown solely for lumber production to be forest, hence natural forest conversion to plantation is not classified as deforestation (but is still recorded as a loss of natural forests). However, the FAO does not consider non-timber tree plantations to constitute forest, although rubber plantations are.

Forest degradation happens when the ecosystem services of the forest are impaired but the region stays forested rather than removed (Anon., 2010).

Forests cover 30 percent of the earth’s surface area, or around 3.9 billion hectares. It was estimated that the original forest cover was around six billion hectares (Bryant etal., 1997).

The Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States of America, and China were the most forest-rich countries, accounting for 53% of total forest area on the planet.

Another 64 countries with a combined population of two billion were found to have forest on less than 10% of their total land area, with ten of these countries having no forest at all.

Among these countries, 16 had quite considerable forest tracts of more than one million hectares apiece, with three of them, Chad, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Mongolia, having more than ten million hectares of forest.

The forest area stayed relatively steady in North and Central America, but it increased in Europe over the last decade. The Asian continent, particularly India and China, has seen a net increase in forest area over the previous decade as a result of their large-scale afforestation programmes. In contrast, South America, Africa, and Oceania had experienced a net annual loss in forest area (Anon., 2010).

1.2. Statement of the Problem

There is sufficient evidence that the entire world is experiencing an environmental crisis as a result of widespread deforestation. For several years, there has been unrelenting damage, which must be controlled to avoid the negative repercussions of deforestation.

Nobody knows how much of the world’s rainforests have already been lost, and how much more are being destroyed each year. Data is frequently inaccurate and open to different interpretations. However, the focus of this research will be on the effects of deforestation on rural household income, specifically in Odighi, Edo state.

1.3. Aim and Objectives

The purpose of this study is to examine the causes and consequences of deforestation in Odighi, using the following research objectives:

To determine the causes of deforestation in Odighi Edo State.

To determine the impact of deforestation on rural household income in OdighiEdo State.

To identify strategies for minimising deforestation.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

What are the reasons of deforestation in Odighi Edo State?

What is the impact of deforestation on rural household income in Odighi Edo State?

What are the strategies for minimising deforestation?

1.4. Significance of the Study

The relevance of this study is:

To propose solutions that can help educators, the general public, and the government understand the causes and consequences of deforestation, thus raising awareness about the negative repercussions of deforestation.

The findings of this research endeavour will also determine the level of deforestation in Odighi Edo State.

This research will serve to improve the existing literature on deforestation, therefore contributing to the

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