Management of Forest Resources in Nigeria: The Case of Mamu Forest Reserve in Anambra State Nigeria.

The papers sets to discuss the environmental impacts of natural resources exploitation and its effects on the sustainable development of forest reserves in Nigeria. The study was carried out to ascertain the effects of deforestation on the Mamu Forest Reserve. This forest reserve which has about 4,000 gmelina trees and also home to other species of flora and fauna covers an area of about 25 kilometer square and lies between Enugu and Anambra states. From the study, it was observed that the geographical location of this forest reserve has been a source of constant conflict between these two sister states due to lack of clear cut border demarcation. This conflict which seriously affects the management of this forest reserve has made the exploitation of the vast natural resources that abound in this area an all-comers affair with its negative effects on the environmental, ecological, social, economic and cultural lives of the inhabitants of the surrounding communities in particular and the southeast region in general. Instead of becoming a blessing to the region, the massive exploitation of this forest reserve has turned out to become a natural resource curse. From the understanding of the role this forest reserve plays, it becomes clear that its destruction has exacerbated climate change in the region which in turn leads to such ugly phenomenon as erosion menace which is currently ravaging the entire southeast region of Nigeria. It is equally a widely held view that living forests have multiple interactions with the climate system, far beyond their carbon content. The unsustainable exploitation of this forest reserve has resulted in species extinction which has greatly disrupted the ecological balance as well as the hitherto harmonious land use pattern of the region. Mamu Forest Reserve, which is the only largest remaining expanse of tropical forest in the southeast region, for example pumps tons of water annually into the atmosphere via evatranspiration which provides the vapour that keeps the regional climate humid and rainy. This calls for urgent action to preserve the remaining areas of this reserve as this will preserve the climate-stabilizing interaction which exists as well as slowing down carbon emissions. Finally, the study explores effective and sustainable approaches which will combine regional action and national/international support for the management of the reserve. This study was made possible through the identification of the problem, formulation of hypotheses and collection of data which were tested to verify the hypotheses.