Determinants of adaptation strategies to climate change in Nigerian forest communities

The impacts of climate change are increasingly being felt by forest communities of Nigeria. Based on this, the determinants of adaptation strategies were assessed across five broad ecological regions within Nigeria using a random sample of 400 rural households from forest communities. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed using the logit model. The major adaptation strategies identified using were agroforestry, erosion control, changed timing of operations, use of improved cook stoves, changed cultural practices, irrigation and migration. The determinants of adaptation strategies were: level of education, mode of transportation (use of motorized vehicle) to access markets, detection of climate change, household size, access to electricity, number of years of forest use, number of extension visits and net revenue made from the forest, which were significant at p ≤ 0.05. Primary occupation (farming) and age of the household head were shown to be negatively associated with the adoption of different adaptation options. Seasonal rainfall and temperature were shown to impact on the use of different adaptation options. These findings could be used to incorporate adaptation strategies into national development planning in forestry and the agricultural sector to build resilience among forest communities in Nigeria, and the wider West African region.