Assessment of Urban Growth and Deforestation in Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Authors: *Uzonu, I.U. And Nwachukwu, B.
DOI Info: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10442775
ABSTRACT
The study assessed urban growth and deforestation in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Data on the rate of deforestation which was obtained from world resource institute website were utilized, data on determinants and effect of urban growth were obtained through questionnaires. Purposive sampling technique was used to administer 400 questionnaires to the respondents in the area. Trendline analysis and relative importance index (RII) were used to analyze the data. The result showed that the highest (255 ha) deforestation rate was in 2001 while the lowest (5 ha) was in 2006. The linear trend line equation was positive, inferring that deforestation in the study area increased during the study period; and that deforestation rate in the study area is expected to increase by 5.57 ha per annum. The study also revealed that the extent of forest in 2000, which is the base of the study, accounted for 71.0% of the total landmass while in 2020 the forest landmass decreased accounting for 45.5% of the total landmass of the study area. Findings also showed that the spatial growth of Ebonyi State is mostly by increase in population as a result of immigration and natural birth. Finally, the RII revealed that the growth of the state has an effect on all the factors stated with increase in the cost of land having the highest mean ranking. Based on the aforementioned findings, the study recommended that the state government should prioritize afforestation and reforestation programs to restore degraded areas and increase forest cover.
Affiliations: Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria.
Keywords: Deforestation, Forest Cover, Landmass, Land Use, Spatial Growth
Published date: 2023/12/30
