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Aug 31, 2025Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Socio-Economic Factors Limiting the Effectiveness of Anti-Illegal Activity Measures in Osun State Forest Reserves
Abstract
This study examined the socio-economic constraints affecting the effective implementation of control measures against illegal activities in forest reserves of Osun State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 90 forest guards, and data were collected through structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and a Logit regression model were employed for analysis. The results showed that the majority of respondents were male (57.8%) and within the economically active age group of 31–40 years (51.1%), with low educational attainment, as only 2.2% had a tertiary education. Fuelwood collection (68.9%), agricultural encroachment (62.2%), and illegal resource extraction (62.2%) were identified as the most prevalent illegal activities. Control measures such as boundary demarcation (72.2%), public awareness campaigns (70.0%), and regular patrols (66.7%) were widely implemented but uneven in effectiveness. The Logit regression results revealed that socio-economic factors significantly influenced effectiveness, with age (B = -0.041; p = 0.023), education (B = -0.489; p = 0.011), household size (B = 0.318; p = 0.010), income (B = -0.0004; p = 0.027), and years of residency (B = 0.052; p = 0.013) being significant (Nagelkerke R² = 0.58; p < 0.001). The study concluded that while control measures were moderately effective, their performance was constrained by poor remuneration, low educational capacity, and institutional weaknesses. It was therefore recommended that the government should improve funding, enhance staff welfare, strengthen training programmes, and promote community-based forest management to ensure sustainable forest conservation and reduce illegal activities.
