Impact of Deforestation on Rural Livelihood in Mbieri, Imo State Nigeria

Abstract

Globally the rate of deforestation and forest degradation is around 13million hectares, occurring mostly in developing countries. This study aimed at assessing the impact of deforestation on livelihood sources in Mbieri a rural community in Imo State, Southeast Nigeria. Multi-Temporal Satellite Images were analyzed for changes in land use and land cover in the area, while random sampling method was used to administer the questionnaire, and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) method was used to elicit information on drivers of deforestation, income levels and perceived effects of deforestation in the study area. Six land use/cover types were identified namely; farmland, bare soil, built-up surface, water bodies, secondary forest and primary forest. GPS coordinates of the sampled deforested areas were also recorded and used to overlay on the Satellite processed data on land use and land cover. Data were further obtained from the satellite imageries of Landsat 4, thematic mapper (TM) and Landsat 7 and 8 ETM+ covering the year 1986, 2000, and 2016 respectively. Results from satellite image analysis revealed that land use changes have negatively impacted deforestation leading to loss of primary forest and reduction in secondary forest. Built-up areas and farmland increased from 13.92% and 11.47% in 1986 to 32.86% and 21.97% in 2016 respectively. While the primary forest reduced from 35.94% in 1986 to 10.78% in 2016. Population increase and agricultural expansion were identified as the major drivers of deforestation in Mbieri. Impacts of deforestation on the people include loss of valuable species of flora and fauna, decreased earnings from the sale of forest resources and loss of farmland to erosion of exposed surfaces. It is recommended that forest plantations be increased by using vacant and unused lands which will have net positive benefits also, deliberate reforestation should be embarked on to avoid environmental degradation and possible increase in ambient temperature.