Evaluation of Loggers’ Knowledge of Environmental Consequences of Logging in Kwarra, Wamba L.G.A, Nasarawa State

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue VI, June 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

Evaluation of Loggers’ Knowledge of Environmental Consequences of Logging in Kwarra, Wamba L.G.A, Nasarawa State

Adana M.Y¹, M. K Dahiru², M. Alkali³, Nasiru Umar^4
1&3Department of Environmental Management, Nasarawa State University, PMB 1022, Keffi, Nigeria
⁴Department of Geography, Nasarawa State University, PMB 1022, Keffi, Nigeria
²Department of Geography, Federal University of Lafia, Nigeria

Abstract: – Evaluation of loggers’ knowledge of environmental consequences of logging in Kwarra, Wamba L.G.A, Nasarawa State. Stratified sampling technique was employed for data collection. The sample points were stratified into 23 villages where each village represents a stratum. The result obtained from the respondents’ knowledge on the impact of logging on the environment revealed that 51.7% of the respondents are aware of the fact that logging can pose significant impact on the environment while 48.3% are ignorant. Out of the number of the respondents that are aware of the impacts or effects of logging on the environment, 44.4% of them cannot say specifically what constitutes the impacts. However, it is also revealed that much of the impacts was related to soil erosion; while degradation, change in the amount of oxygen, absence of some medicinal plants and economic trees accounts for only 4.4%, 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.2% respectively. The study concluded that the Loggers in Kwarra District are not ignorant of the impacts of logging on the environment; despite the knowledge of the impacts, but could not do anything to mitigate the impacts. So, the study recommended that policies and laws that support conservation of natural resources should be fully implemented.

Key words: Evaluation, Logging, Environmental consequence, Kwarra, awareness.

I. INTRODUCTION

Hardly any part of the world has remained unchanged since the arrival of the species Homo Sapien (Pallavi et al, 2010). It is the action of the human race that can make or break the future of the earth as a planet. However, Logging is one of the environmental issues that affect every life on this planet. The reason for this can be that a single disruption in the earth’s delicate balance can mean certain single destruction of the very place that cradles the lives of many species (Joycelyn, 2010). Therefore it is imperative for man to consider the environment in his quest for survival so that the adverse impacts of his actions on the environment, and himself can be reduced to the barest minimum. Failure to do this is self destructive (Michael and Prasad, 2010).Yet the scale of human pressures on ecosystems everywhere has increased enormously in the last few decades.

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