IIARD International Institute of Academic Research and Development

International Journal of Agriculture and Earth Science (IJAES )

E- ISSN 2489-0081
P- ISSN 2695-1894
VOL. 11 NO. 5 2025
DOI: 10.56201/ijaes.vol.11.no5.2025.pg28.42

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Assessment of Deforestation in Mbaav 1 Forest Reserve in Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria

Verinumbe, I, Ancha PU, Imeh ST, Umaru PM

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Abstract

The study investigates the ongoing issue of deforestation in Mbaav1 Forest Reserve, located in Gwer East Local Government Area (LGA), Benue State, Nigeria. Deforestation in the reserve is exacerbated by socio-economic factors such as agricultural expansion, population growth, logging, and development projects. Understanding these drivers is crucial for effective policy formulation and sustainable forest management. The primary aim of this study is to assess changes in forest cover in Mbaav1 Forest Reserve between 1989 and 2019, with particular emphasis on the socio-economic factors driving deforestation. The study specifically examines the socio-economic characteristics of local communities, land use changes, the extent of deforestation, and the key drivers of these changes. Data were collected using both primary and secondary methods. Primary data were gathered through semi-structured questionnaires and interviews with 387 community members, while secondary data were obtained from Landsat satellite imagery (1989, 2009, and 2019), For socio-economic analysis, simple descriptive statistics were used to present data on respondents' characteristics, including income, age, education, occupation, and household size. To examine the influence of socio- economic factors on deforestation, a binary logistic regression model was adopted. Landsat satellite imageries were analyzed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing tools. The supervised and unsupervised classification methods were used to detect and classify land cover changes. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was also used to map vegetation changes. The results of analysis revealed significant relationships between deforestation and factors such as income, population growth, developmental projects, and land-use activities. Notably, income had the highest influence on deforestation, with a unit increase in income leading to a 1.35 increase in de

keywords:

Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Mbaav1 Forest Reserve, Land-use Change, Remote Sensing and GIS.

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