Forest conservation policy in Edo State: An assessment of roles of forestry taskforce in realising the set objectives

The study examined the roles of task force forest in conservation in Edo state with the use of data collected from both primary and secondary sources. The data were obtained through the use of well structured questionnaires administered to 90 respondents in 15 communities and forests reserved, based on sampling intensities of 50% to elicit information on activities of task force in forest conservation. Secondary data were obtained from ministry of environment and task force head office. It was to elicit information on involvement of task force members in forest conservation, implementation of forest conservation policies and management of forest reserved respectively. Data were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistic, percentage and inferential statistic using ANOVA. Results showed that there was significant differences (p<0.05) between the beats of forest within and outside reserve. Results also showed that bush fire dominated all the identified threats to forest conservation. The results showed that 37.49% of respondents affirmed that task force members were involved in forest conservation. The results showed that there was significant differences among the land areas of the forest (p<0.05). The findings revealed that the task force officers involved in the implementation of forest conservation accounted for 47.59%, while 19.88% and 52.53% of the respondents affirmed by task force were reforestation of logged areas, the management of forest reserves respectively. In order to ensure the efficiency of task force in forest matters, Government should employ adequate number of field staff for effective monitoring of forest reserves as well as to bring their experience to bear.