Abstract

This study assessed willingness of communities to participate in forest conservation in Ondo State, Nigeria. The study specifically described the socio-economic characteristics of respondents in the study area; evaluated the perception of the respondents about forest conservation; and identified factors that influenced the respondents’ willingness to participate in forest conservation in the study area. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 200 respondents. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Likert Scale and Double-bounded Logit Model. Findings revealed that the average age of the respondents were 42 years indicating they were in their active age and most (49.5%) of them had secondary education. Findings also revealed that respondents agreed that forest protection programmes are necessary to sustain the forest reserve with a mean score of 4.7. The double-bounded logit regression model showed that the amount offered as incentive (bid amount), age, marital status, income and distance of respondents’ home to the forests were factors that significantly influenced the respondents’ willingness to participate in forest protection. It is therefore recommended that incentives, such as a monetary value, should be placed on forest resource conservation to ensure the willingness of community members to participate conservation to engender continued provision of goods and services by the forests.

Key Words: Deforestation, Forest reserves, Double-bounded logit, Afforestation, Participatory approach