By: ADEKUNLE M. F.; OLORUNTOBA A. .; AJIBOLA A. A.; AGBEJE B. M.;
Abstract:
An ethnobotanical study of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) extraction in Eriti Community Forest Wetlands was carried out. This was with the aim of providing an additional baseline data for policy makers on the need for the conservation and proper management of forest wetlands areas. Respondents (400) drawn from 8 fringe villages of the Eriti Forest Wetlands provided the data for this study. The methods adopted were group discussions, participant observations and interpersonal interviews using pretested and structured questionnaire. The data analyses were mainly descriptive using percentages, mean, mode and frequency distribution tools. The results showed that the respondents were highly dependent on the extraction of NWFPs for livelihood generation especially at the subsistence level. The NWFPs include medicinal products, edible leaves and fruits, wrapping leaves, mushrooms, wild-animal products, snails, palm wine and chewing sticks. The extraction of these products were gender biased as majority of the respondents were males (75%) and married (97%) indicating that the extraction of these products can be integrated into the family lines. Negative impacts of NWFPs extraction on the wetland ecosystem was observed because of the destructive systems of harvesting. Suggestions were made for appropriate management policies to be put in place for the protection of the wetland ecosystems for environmental sustainability.
Keywords: Non-wood forest products, Wetlands, Ecosystem, Conservation.
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