Impact of Land Use Changes on Wellbeing of Residents Around Onigambari Forest Reserve in Oyo State, Nigeria

Land can be put to many productive uses based on man’s needs. However, these uses often result in changes in the ecosystem with attendant effects on human wellbeing. Therefore, the impact of land use changes on wellbeing of residents around Onigambari forest reserve in Oyo State, Nigeria was investigated. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 137 respondents for the study. Interview schedule was used to elicit information on socioeconomic characteristics, causes of land use changes, livelihood activities and wellbeing status before and after land use changes. Percentages, means, were used for data analyses. Average age of respondents was 50.5±14.47 years, majority (89.2%) were married, had high literacy level (76.7%), male (68.3%) and had farming as the main source of income (65.0%). Climate change (𝑥=1.97), loss of fertility and low productivity of lands (𝑥=1.73) and land fragmentation by inheritance (𝑥=1.73) were the main perceived causes of land use changes by the respondents in the study area. Overall well-being of the respondents was relatively better before (𝑥=13.9) than after (𝑥=9.6) the land use change. It is therefore concluded that land use changes had negative impact on the wellbeing of the respondents in the study area, leaving them worse off. There is need to regulate land use around the forest reserve in order to sustain the wellbeing of residents around it.