VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY: A GENDER ANALYSIS OF FOREST BASED-COMMUNITIES IN SOUTH-WEST OF NIGERIA.

Abstract

Climate change and climate variability is a global phenomenon that has caused serious concern to many sectors of the economy and people’s livelihoods in Africa. In this regard, community based dwellers most especially farmers and forest resources dependent people in Southwest Nigeria are particularly vulnerable to changes in the climate that affect the availability of forest resources, farm productivity and their weather-dependent livelihood systems. The purpose of this study was to analyze and provide empirical information on gender-based vulnerability in term of climate variability on source of livelihood, dependence on forest resources, awareness of the community to climate change information. Also involvement in decision making about forest management and climate change among forest based communities in Southwest Nigeria. The study was conducted in selected five states of Southwest Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select states. Two forest based communities were selected again purposively from each state making total combination of 10 communities in all states based on accessibility, free access to the forest reserve, dependency on forest resources for livelihood and rain-fed agriculture practices. The formula by Cochran(1977) was used to estimate the sample size. Data collection for the study was carried out in two phases. Firstly, detailed survey using a structured questionnaire administered to 306 respondents randomly in sampled communities across the selected states followed by the second phase which was a Focus Group Discussion and in-depth interview with the respondents. The male and female were distributed equally. Using 3-scale rating approach, high, medium and low scale to the effect of climate variability on their source of livelihood, female are rated highest on the medium scale with 84% while male had 82%, female also had higher percentage (23%) compared to male (8%) on high scale, while low degree for male and female was 12% and 3% respectively. Female gender depended much on forest resources more than male for home consumption alone (88% to 87.5%) while male had higher percentage of home consumption and occasional sale (12.1%) to female (10.8%) on a 3-point rating scale. Based on awareness and understanding climate change, male had slightly higher awareness (51%) to female with low awareness (15.9%). Also in governance and decision making on sustainable forest management, female are more involved in decision, participation in sustainable forest management, community social networks (51%) to male(49%) while male are more in representation, re-organizing in time of climate change, dominated community committee and belong more to government representative (65%) to female (35%). The Chi square test shows that there is variation in association between the male and the female based on the factor assessed. Factor analysis also shown that most of the dependent forest resources by the respondents are climate decisive resources.The results of the study confirmed disparity in gender vulnerability to climate change in terms of resources dependent, source of livelihoods, level of awareness on climate change, decision making and alternative coping measures between male and female in their respective community. Majority of the coping mechanism includes off-farm jobs, changing of planting date, planting different crops, fetching water, agroforestry, mulching among others. Based on these findings, the study therefore recommended that for adaptation and mitigation to the impact of climate change to be successful and effective in forest dwelling communities, gender mainstreaming policy needed to be as matter of urgency to be adopted. Therefore, gender sensitive approach with full participation of men, women, youth and elderly ones both within the household and community level for adjoining forest communities in Southwest Nigeria in climate change was recommended. Other significant factors such as: education, sensitization, adaptive capacity building programmes, access to timely climate change information and sustainable agricultural practices, local participation in sustainable forest management, resource allocation and benefit sharing in adaptation and forest resources management should be considered in mitigation and adaptation to climate change and variability.