AN EVALUATION OF INDEGENOUS KNOWLEDGE IN SUSTAINABLE FOREST.pptx

AN EVALUATION OF INDEGENOUS KNOWLEDGE IN SUSTAINABLE FOREST

1. AN EVALUATION OF INDEGENOUS KNOWLEDGE IN SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF WOODLAND FOREST COMMUNITIES IN NIGER STATE By Jibrin Abdullahi Department of Geography, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria [email protected]

2. INTRODUCTION Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Sustainable development is development that is: economically viable, environmentally benign socially beneficial, and which balances present and future needs ( MA, 2005).

3. INTRODUCTION……..cont’d CIFOR ‘‘ maintaining or enhancing the contribution of forests to human well-being, both of present and future generations, without compromising their ecosystem integrity, i.e., their resilience, function and biological diversity’’ ( Sayer et al. 1997).

4. INTRODUCTION …….cont’d Indigenous knowledge : refers to the unique traditional knowledge existing within and developed around the specific conditions of women and men indigenous to a particular geographic area . (Johnson, 1992 ). Improvements to scientific research and management Identification of new paradigms change away from the positivist and amoral and towards the holistic and ethical

5. AIM AND OBJECTIVE To investigating the level of utilisation of forest resources and to examine traditional practices in the conservation of forest biodiversity in the study area. Know what is being utilised Understand the conservation perceptions Identify conservation methods Identify their implications on sustainable development

6. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study area : Location: 8 o 38 ’ to 8 o 52 ’ North and 6 o 34 ’ to 6 o 48 ’ East 213.101 square kilometres . Kpashimi Forest Reserve lies within the tropical hinterland climatic belt ( ‘Aw’ by Koppen’s classification ) lies within the southern Guinea savanna zone characterised by the woodland vegetation type.

7. Methodology primary and secondary sources of data quantitative and qualitative data were realized structured Questionnaires, semi structured interviews and focus group discussions Pair-wise ranking and scoring method information on villagers’ interest and perception on forest use and conservation. From the nine selected villages . 30,000 inhabitats = sample size (n) of 379 Krejcie and Morgan, (1970)

8. 43 questionaires were administered in each of the nine clusters, including Kpashimi Forest Reserve including Nassarawa , Fapo , Gulu , Lafian Kpada , Makeri , Kunko , Lafian zago , Zago , and Mayaki . total of 373 (96.3%) questionaires out of 387 distributed were returned.

9. Utilisation of forest resources

10. Category df F p Medicinal Food Construction Fire wood 8 8 8 8 -1.507 -1.281 5.622 3.212 2.18 ns 2.18 ns 2.18 2.18 Note: df = degree of freedom, F= F-ratio, p = probability value, ns = non-significant at a = 0.05

11. Conservation Perceptions

12. Traditional Conservation methods

13. Implications for Sustainable Development Conservation of biodiversity is the “management of human interactions with the variety of life forms and ecosystems so as to maximize the benefits they provide today and maintain their potential to meet future generations’ needs and aspirations” ( Reid and Miller 1989 ). traditional knowledge and proximity to natural resources is of prime importance in forest biodiversity conservation goals and sustainable development

14. IMPLICATIONS …….Cont’d This knowledge of conservation is closely linked with traditional lifestyle that encourages sustainable utilization of biodiversity. The challenge now is to bring together indigenous knowledge, values and management practices with western science, in order to create sustainable and culturally appropriate management strategies.

15. SUMMARY local communities depend on their natural environment for survival; they possess valuable ecological knowledge on the vegetation status observed over long periods and hold within their local context traditional knowledge on the conservation of biodiversity. This body of knowledge from local communities is an essential building block in the conservation strategy and sustainable development.

16. CONCLUSION The present study has illustrated that traditional societies surrounding Kpasimi forest have developed an understanding of their biophysical environment over generations . Their practices and knowledge are grounded in ethical, spiritual and cultural values that they confer to nature . Long before the advent of modern law governing the sustainable use of natural resources, local rules and regulations had enforced conservation agenda.

17. RECOMMENDATIONS The strengthening of local regulations that encourage sustainable use of forest resources , Encourage community based natural resources management at grass root levels. Study alternatives to the most used species to reduce the selection pressure on a small number of species currently under heavy exploitation. Develop and incorporate in education curriculums indigenous ecological knowledge to foster acceptance and consciousness of conservation of the younger generations.