Women Participation in Renewable Natural Resources Exploitation in Nigeria

This study is based on secondary data obtained from several complementary sources. Data on arable land covering crop area cultivated, output and yields over time was obtained from Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; GDP statistics on individual RNRs sectors were obtained from the national income accounts published by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The land use and vegetation data was obtained from the report of the World Bank-supported 1995 Nigeria Forest Resource Assessment (satellite imagery) which assessed Land use-Land Use Change between 1976/78 and 1993/95. Fuel wood data and related statistics were obtained from the Federal Department of Forestry, the FAO website and forestry outlook reports. The micro-level data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was particularly useful for the purpose of analysing the contributions of non-wood forest products to household incomes and consumption. Probit and Logit regression using aggregate yield index (AGG)for selected crops was developed and regressed against poverty, arable land per farming population, and female literacy, among others variables. The study found that female influence contributes negatively to environment sustainability and improvement in female literacy rate is an important factor towards environmental sustainability in Nigeria. The study concludes that strategic actions needed for sound environmental management require a holistic, multidisciplinary and intersectoral approach hence women's participation and leadership are essential to every aspect of that approach.