Examining the Relationship Between Commercial Charcoal Production and Socioeconomic Variables in Nasarawa State, North-Central Nigeria
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Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International 24(3): 1-18, 2020; Article no.JGEESI.56248 ISSN: 2454-7352 Examining the Relationship between Commercial Charcoal Production and Socioeconomic Variables in Nasarawa State, North-Central Nigeria Ekpo Abraham Salamatu1*, Ozim Chukwunonso Emmanuel1 and Adamu Tanko Ogah2 1Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Environmental Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria. 2Department of Geography, Faculty of Environmental Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria. Authors’ contributions This work was carried out in collaboration among all authors. Author EAS designed the study and wrote the protocol. Author OCE performed the statistical analysis and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Also, authors EAS and OCE jointly managed the literature searches, while author ATO managed the analyses of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Article Information DOI: 10.9734/JGEESI/2020/v24i330206 Editor(s): (1) Dr. Pere Serra Ruiz, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. Reviewers: (1) Dione Richer Momolli, Federal University of Lavras, Brazil. (2) Paul Kweku Tandoh, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Complete Peer review History: http://www.sdiarticle4.com/review-history/56248 Received 10 February 2020 Accepted 17 April 2020 Original Research Article Published 25 April 2020 ABSTRACT Charcoal is no longer a source of energy to only rural households but also a demanded commodity in urban areas around the world which has resulted in the commercialization of its production, particularly rural dwellers of developing countries such as Nigeria. Given the observed growing significance of charcoal in rural and urban livelihoods in Nasarawa State, this paper examined the relationship between commercial charcoal production and socioeconomic characteristics of the people involved in the activity. The study employed descriptive survey using both qualitative and quantitative data drawn from primary and secondary sources. Questionnaire was administered to 450 respondents randomly sampled from commercial charcoal producers drawn from 6 communities and 3 LGAs of Nasarawa State. Interviews and Focus Group Discussions were also _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected]; Salamatu et al.; JGEESI, 24(3): 1-18, 2020; Article no.JGEESI.56248 conducted and the data obtained were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics in Microsoft Excel and SPSS (version 23). Results showed that commercial charcoal producers in the study area were mostly between 21 and 50 years with dominance of those between 31 and 40 (30.9%) while those above 50 years were least represented (6. 9%).There was slight dominance of women (52.4%) among the producers and the they were mostly primary (44%) and secondary (35.6%) school certificate. Majority (48.2%) had household size of 4 – 6 and more than half (52.9%) were married and earned 20,000 naira and below on monthly basis (46.4%). There is strong relationship between the socioeconomic status of the respondents and commercial charcoal production in the study area. Their socioeconomic status proved to have served significant motivation to their rising involvement in the activity. Also alternative economic activities that guarantees quick monetary rewards and is all age and gender engaging as well as requires no special skill and huge capitals for a start, should be planned for and introduced in the study area by the State Government. Keywords: Charcoal; commercial; socioeconomic; Savannah; woodland. 1. INTRODUCTION world’s forest is rapidly depleting. The rate of dependence on the savannah woodlands Nature has made several resources available for has exposed the forest to degradation, these man’s utilization. Unfortunately, man’s need is has attracted concerned sectors of the insatiable and consistently growing in scale world government in finding ways to curtail thereby posing danger to available natural this increasing menace against nature. The resources which includes forest resource. United Nations Forum on Forest [4], Charcoal is one of the most utilized product of addresses issues of biodiversity degradation, savannah woodland which is a natural resource, sustainable production and women studies have shown that charcoal is no longer a empowerment as outlined in goals numbers 5 source of energy to only rural households but (Achieve gender equality and empower all also a demanded commodity in urban areas women and girls). around the world which has resulted in the commercialization of its production, particularly Although Africa’s forests support the direct among poor and rural dwellers of developing livelihood of 60 million rural people (providing countries such as Nigeria [1]. In line with Pedro food, medicine, fuel, fibre, non-timber forest [2], any intervention that will be made to protect products as well as social and cultural functions) ecological system while also enhancing income and less directly support 40 million people living through commercial charcoal production must in urban centres in the forest domains [5], seek to understand the nexus between deforestation is continuing at alarming rates in socioeconomic status of the people and many countries [6]. Approximately 30% of the commercial charcoal production activity. Given wood harvested for fuel in Africa is used for that socioeconomic indicators are relative to charcoal production and between 2004 and locations/places; it is imperative to examine the 2009, global wood charcoal production increased indicator variables as they affect commercial by 9%. This is due in large part to the increase in charcoal production in specific area of interest. wood charcoal use in developing African This would make interventions projects more countries, unrelenting charcoal and fuel wood effective, efficient and sustainable given that demand from around the world –especially, developing nations are often devoid of multiple rapidly rising demand from Europe, USA and sources of income and hence, rural dwellers tend China. to over depend on forest resources as source of income. This means that the forests of developing countries (Particularly, Nigeria which ranks The impact of wood fuel and its derivative second to Brazil among top ten wood charcoal (charcoal) gotten from forested woodlands, on production countries) are being harvested at the energy requirements of developing nations unprecedented rates [7]. Often, this is done cannot be underscored. It supplies about 95 unsustainably or not in accordance with local percent of the cooking energy needs in the laws. Road-building by logging companies has developing countries [3]. Inspite of the benefits also opened up remote areas of forests to derived from the forest and forest products, the poaching and illegal logging. 2 Salamatu et al.; JGEESI, 24(3): 1-18, 2020; Article no.JGEESI.56248 In addition, the economic hardship, poverty, rate of forest replacement [15]. With Nigeria unemployment and increase in the price of oil losing about 3.5 percent of its forest yearly, witnessed in past few years, have necessitated which is between 350,000 and 400,000 [16] the need for people to find alternative means of hectares of forestland, the World Bank has making a living in respect of domestic cooking extended Nigeria Reducing Emissions from energy in Nigeria. During the colonial periods, Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) large number of people used firewood as Readiness Programme to Nasarawa State. domestic energy fuel, after the colonial era; there was a change in status quo, people embarked Given the observed growing significance of more on the use of electricity, fossil fuels such as charcoal in rural and urban livelihoods, kerosene and gas as cooking energy. particularly in Nasarawa state, the attention of several authors has been recently drawn to the Nowadays, millions of households use charcoal environmental consequences and socioeconomic as domestic and outdoor recreational cooking implications of its production. Omoakin et al. [17] energy as a result of epileptic power supply, studied the environmental and socio-economic scarcity and increase in the price of oil and gas. correlates of charcoal production in Oriire According to UNDP [8], an estimate of 2.5 billion Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. people lack access to modern energy services. Also, Ajadi et al. [18] looked at “subsistence They rely on traditional biomass sources such as living and global climate change: implications of wood fuel (and its derivatives), agricultural bio-charcoal production for farmers in rural areas residues, and animal dung to meet their basic of Nigeria”. They used a 25-item questionnaire energy needs [9]. These activities are leading to to examine socio-economic implications of destruction of forest cover, a situation charcoal production for farmers of aggravated by illegal commercial logging [10]. rural communities in Nigeria. Tunde et al. [19] FAO [11] indicates that between 1990 and 2005, studied the impact of charcoal production on the Nigeria lost 35.7% of its forest cover and only sustainable development of Asa Local 12.2% of the country’s land is currently forested Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria. In their while 350,000 hectares of land in the country are study, they use questionnaire, focus lost to desertification annually. group discussions and interviews