Socio-Economic Characteristics and Level of Awareness and Perception on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Programme (REDD+) by Rural Communities in Akure Forest Reserve, Nigeria

Rural communities around Akure forest reserve depend mostly on forest and its products for their livelihoods, which results in its high rate of deforestation. Meanwhile, the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation programme (REDD+), one of the international forest-governance initiatives to address sustainable forest  anagement and climate change mitigation has been introduced to the reserve. This research investigated the socio-economic status of the communities in Akure forest reserve, level of dependence on the forest resources and their level of awareness and perception about the REDD+ project. Six communities were selected randomly from around the reserve which were in the readiness phase of the REDD+ project. Data were collected through household survey with the use of semi-structured questionnaire administered to 120 respondents (household heads) selected randomly from the communities as well as information from 6 key informants (village heads). Descriptive Statistics and Chi Square test were used in the analysis of the data and the result showed that the main income-generating activity in the communities was farming accounting for 70.8% of the respondents. This affirms that the high level of the households’ dependence on forest resources is traceable to their socio-economic characteristics. Considering the level of awareness of REDD+ project, results revealed that the level of awareness of the key informants about REDD+ was very high (83.3%) while it was very low at the local community level with only 35% of the respondents being aware of the REDD+ project among which 23.3% found it beneficial. Therefore, to enhance the level of effectiveness of REDD+ project implementation, there should be an increase in the level of awareness in the communities. Keywords: Forest Communities, Awareness, REDD+ Project, Rural livelihood, Deforestatio

Socio-Economic Characteristics and Level of Awareness and Perception on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Programme (REDD+) by Rural Communities in Akure Forest Reserve, Nigeria

Rural communities around Akure forest reserve depend mostly on forest and its products for their livelihoods, which results in its high rate of deforestation. Meanwhile, the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation programme (REDD+), one of the international forest-governance initiatives to address sustainable forest management and climate change mitigation has been introduced to the reserve. This research investigated the socio-economic status of the communities in Akure forest reserve, level of dependence on the forest resources and their level of awareness and perception about the REDD+ project. Six communities were selected randomly from around the reserve which were in the readiness phase of the REDD+ project. Data were collected through household survey with the use of semi-structured questionnaire administered to 120 respondents (household heads) selected randomly from the communities as well as information from 6 key informants (village heads). Descriptive Statistics and Chi Square test were used in the analysis of the data and the result showed that the main income-generating activity in the communities was farming accounting for 70.8% of the respondents. This affirms that the high level of the households\u2019 dependence on forest resources is traceable to their socio-economic characteristics. Considering the level of awareness of REDD+ project, results revealed that the level of awareness of the key informants about REDD+ was very high (83.3%) while it was very low at the local community level with only 35% of the respondents being aware of the REDD+ project among which 23.3% found it beneficial. Therefore, to enhance the level of effectiveness of REDD+ project implementation, there should be an increase in the level of awareness in the communities

Socio-Economic Importance of Tree Nursery Enterprises in Lagos State, Nigeria

There is a growing interest to understand the role of tree nursery enterprises in Nigeria and the horn of Africa. Tree nursery enterprises, which are vital economic activities in major cities of Nigeria and particularly in the city of Lagos are not adequately studied and well documented. Therefore, this study seeks to fill a gap in understanding the socioeconomic importance and profitability potential of tree nursery enterprises. Multistage sampling technique with a 3-stage design was adopted in this study using aquantitative data collection techniques through the use of structured questionnaire administered to 120 nursery entrepreneurs. Data were analyzed using descriptive, inferential, and budgetary analysis. The result revealed that tree nursery entrepreneurs are literate, mostly male in their youthful age. Furthermore, the total annual revenue earned by the respondents was \u20a61,712,222.22 with a mean annual net income of \u20a61,458,038.72 while the return per naira invested was \u20a65.71. This shows that tree nursery enterprise is profitable in the study area. However, most entrepreneurs were faced with shortage of land for establishments of tree nursery in the study area. Therefore, appropriate actions in reducing cost of land lease/purchase are recommended to encourage new entrepreneurs and strengthen the sector\u2019s development

Sero-survey of rubella IgM antibodies among children in Jos, Nigeria

Sero-survey of rubella IgM antibodies was carried out among children aged 0-10 years in Jos, Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from the subjects and sera extracted. Of the 93(100%) assayed for the rubella IgM antibody, 42(45.2%) were seropositive for rubella IgM antibody while 51(54.8%) were seronegative. A breakdown of the seropositive subjects reveals that 14(15.1%) of the infected children were males while 28(30.1%) were females. Those subjects within the age groups of 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6 years had the highest prevalence of 8(8.6%) followed by those within the age groups of 7-8, 9-10 years with 7(7.5%). Blood transfusion as a risk factor did not show any significant influence on the status of the subjects. The demographic data of the mothers of the subjects were also linked with the seropositivity of the children