Prioritization of Forest Resources for Sustainable Management of Iyiocha Stream Forest Reserve, Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

In this study, forest resources were prioritized based on forest stakeholders’ ranking. Four forest-adjoining settlements were selected using stratified random sampling: Illah and Ugbolu within three kilometer radius; Akwukwu and Aniwalo within six kilometer radius of Iyiocha Stream Forest Reserve (ISFR) boundary. Based on interest of stakeholders, four respondent groups were purposively selected: Timber harvesters, Taungya farmers, Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) harvesters and Staffs of the Department of Conservation and Department of Forestry, Delta State Ministry of Environment. Four sets of structured questionnaire were administered on 165 respondents using sampling proportionate to size. Field inventory was done in 116 plots of 25m×25m in the plantations using stratified random sampling and 20 plots of 50m×50m in the natural forest using systematic sampling. Twenty-seven tree species and 22 NTFPs were identified. Forest resources were prioritized; and timber and 9 NTFPs were picked with final assigned mean values: timber in plantations and natural forest (X1±1.00), taungya farm land (X2±1.24), fuel-wood (X3±1.52), Morinda lucida bark (X4±1.54), Tetrapleura tetraptera fruits (X5±2.03), Treculia africana fruits (X6±2.53), Napoleona vogelii stems (X7±3.02), Olax subscorpioidea stems (X8±3.52), Nauclea latifolia roots (X9±4.01) and Morinda morindoides stems (X10±4.51). Prioritization has helped to identify the forest resources important to the forest-adjoining settlements.