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13. 	FOREST GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE LOGGING 
PRACTICES: AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN 
Akande, JA, A Adeyemi and Al. Kehinde 
Bowen University 
PMB 284, Iwo. Osun State Nigeria. 
ECOLOGICAL SOCIEn OF NIGERIA 
(ECOSON) 
The ability of a country to follow sustainable development path is determined 
by the capacity of its people and institutions. A decision to pursue 
sustainable forest management (SFM), as a development strategy, must 
analyze timber-harvesting practices and associated ecological / 
environmental impacts. It should also encourage institutional efforts and 
support in concert with the participatory role of the nation's forestry 
professionals. Logging or timber harvesting outside the realm of SFM is 
counter-productive to the environment. Nevertheless, effective codes of 
timber harvest cannot be developed in isolation of potential users and 
interested parties. For logging operations to be environmentally friendly, 
stakeholders must communicate and have a comprehensive harvest 
planning; effective implementation and control of logging practices; a 
thorough assessment of post-harvest regimes; communication of 
assessment results to the planning team in addition to having a competent 
and properly motivated work force. A building block for success is a well- 
informed management and governance structure. Suffice to say, 
environmental and social harmony are essential ingredients for a workable 
mitigation paradigm that will trim down inefficient and illegal logging 
activities. 
Biennial, Conference 
2005 
	
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FOREST GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE LOGGING PRACTICES: AN 
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN 
Akande, lA., A. Adeyemi and A.L. Kehinde 
Bowen University 
PMB 284, Iwo. Osun State, Nigeria. 
Abstract 
The ability of a country to follow sustainable development path is determined by the capacity 
of its people and institutions. A decision to pursue sustainable forest management (SFM), as a 
development strategy, must analyze timber-harvesting practices and associated ecological / 
environmental impacts. It should also encourage institutional efforts and support in concert with 
the participatory role of the nation's forestry professionals. Logging or timber harvesting outside 
the realm of SFM is counter-productive to the environment. Nevertheless, effective codes of 
timber harvest cannot be developed in isolation of potential users and interested parties. For 
logging operations to be environmentally friendly, stakeholders must communicate and have a 
comprehensive harvest planning; effective implementation and control of logging practices; a 
thorough assessment of post-harvest regimes; communication of assessment results to the 
planning team in addition to having a competent and properly motivated work force. A building 
block for success is a well-informed management and governance structure. Suffice to say, 
environmental and social harmony are essential ingredients for a workable mitigation 
paradigm that will trim down inefficient and illegal logging activities. 
INTRODUCTION 
• 
Timber harvesting is a very important economic activity In Nigeria. The annual rate of 
deforestation from 1991-2000 was about 1 %. Poor management of logging regimes coupled with 
illegal felling activities made sustainable forest management an illusion. Illegal logging is 
becoming increasingly politicized as succeeding governments see forest resources as gift of 
nature to be extracted and exploited without much care for replacement or need of the future 
generation. Poor management practices are the main factors influencing the state of 
tropical forests in Africa. Incidentally, the goal of sustainable forest management cannot 
be attained unless environmentally sound harvesting practices are adopted by logging 
operators. 

At the World summit on sustainable development, held in Johannesburg from 26 
August to 4 September 2002, the new partnership for Africa development (NEP AD) 
recognized the need to place their countries on the path of sustained economic growth 
and sustainable development. NEPAD's action plan took into consideration, social equity 
and better governance as part and parcel of Africa's environmental sustainability agenda. 
In theory, acceptable forest practices should achieve a desired outcome such as the 
harvest of commercial timber from a specified area of forest in a way that meets the 
standards for sustainable forest management. 
Good enough, Nigeria is a signatory and subscriber to the African Forest Law 
Enforcement and Governance (AFLEG) initiative. Thus, the issue of poorly controlled 
and illegal logging should not be handled with levity. It is evident that stakeholders' 
value impacts and outputs from forests in allusion to their primary shareholding 
objectives viz: - poverty alleviation, profit maximization and sustained security in the 
way of productive resources and available technology. Judging by the varying benefits 
and role of forest cover to different stakeholders, log removal (harvesting) and 
environmental concerns about any piece of forest land is bordered with various conflicts 
and trade-offs that must be carefully managed through participatory policy formulation 
that can foster mutual cooperation in a common goal of sustainable forest management. 
THE VIABILITY OF THE UN MODEL CODE OF FOREST HARVESTING 
According to Dykstra (1998), the primary purpose of the Food and Agricultural 
Organization (F AO) of the United Nations (UN) model code of forest harvesting practice 
is to serve as reference for member countries. It was developed to help in promoting 
forest harvesting practices to improve standards of utilization, reduce environmental 
impacts, ensure that forests are sustained for future generations and improve the 
economic and social contributions of forests to sustainable development. The model 
highlights a range of environmentally sound harvesting practices that are available to 
forest managers, especially techniques that require only a modest level of investment in 
training and technology. The knowledge of such practices should guide policy makers to 
develop national and local codes of practice to best serve specific needs of all 
stakeholders in the forest harvesting business. 

In order to foster appropriate decisions on the harvesting practice for commercial 
timber from Nigeria and obtain desirable environmental impacts, it is important to look 
into the sustainable development concept from the point of view of a social-entrepreneur 
and environmentalist so as to identify opportunities and appropriate actions. The notion 
of stakeholder partnership in Nigeria forest management should be evaluated as an 
indicator for monitoring the desired outputs. The logging practices should be x-rayed 
from the standpoint of forest ownership (tenure); forest allocation and concession 
practices; logging problems and associated laws; technology in use and industrial 
response or sensitivity to environmental issues. Up until now, Nigeria has not developed 
the necessary human resources, strategies, tools, and financial, legal and political 
mechanism to implement SFM. Community report cards on forestry administration and 
governance are needed to identify key issues in adopting socio-environmentalism and 
multi-sectoral approach to building consensus and collective forest policy and logging 
practices. 
Effective policies are germane to the assessment and / or evaluation of development 
versus non-development issues, sustainability versus non-sustainability, civil inclusion 
versus exclusion, technological advances versus backlashes having significant impact on 
human well being. If improved practices are adopted, maybe through the establishment of 
a national forest act to foster transparency and stakeholder involvement, then it is more 
likely that the ecological, environmental and cultural values of forests will be retained 
while simultaneously providing for the sustainable utilization of commercial timber from 
the forests. 
ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF FORESTRY GOVERNANCE 
In Nigeria, timber harvest has become a revenue engine of successive governments 
(military or civilian) in the forested states (Adeyoju 2000) with environmental 
accountability relegated to the background. Within the past ten years for example, 
forestry governance and logging practices were badly influenced by actions of erstwhile 
administrators (Governors) of Cross Rivers, Edo, Ondo and Oyo States. The situation 
degenerated to the extent that an Edo state military administrator once excised the state 
forest service from the line ministry and transferred this to his office for economic gain. 
In Ondo, Oyo and Cross River States, instances were, when governors or military 

administrators took over the issuance of timber exploitation permits orland collected pass 
harmers from the forest Guards to be managed by political loyalists hired as consultants. 
In all these cases, the forestry professionals, who are generally government employed, 
could do nothing for fear of compromising their career advancement. The reprehensible 
governance mode is, however not only damaging to ecosystem sustainability but also to 
sustainable forest management. More so, it makes it difficult for the State forestry service 
to keep faith with their stakeholders (Adeyoju 2000) and consequent loss of control. 
It is unquestionable that revenue collection is a very important aspect of forestry 
harvest management but the implications go beyond mere book keeping. Because of non- 
professional interventions in forest exploitation and revenue collection, Nigeria appears 
to be on the path of unsustainable forest management. Revenue records in most States are 
frightfully non-reliable, as great disparity exists between the projected and realized 
revenue over years. This trend corroborates F AO (2001) assertion that deforestation and 
degradation is pronounced in many countries in Africa due to poor forest management 
and harvesting practices and the inadequacies of current policies and institutions to 
encourage SFM. 
Truly, forest revenue system (Gray 1997) is supposed to be a policy set by governments 
to collect charges on forest resources for the sustainable development of the forestry 
sector. The implementation should, however, be left in the hand of professionals who are 
skilled on the job. Unfortunately, forestry revenue collection in Nigeria is weak and not 
designed to maximize the benefits deprived from the forest (Olaseni et at. 2004). For 
instance, the mechanism for setting forest charges is administratively arranged without 
consideration for timely reviews (F AO 2001) or stakeholders concerns. The consequence 
is that the forest service is forced to aim at targets that are not in tune with the tenets of 
good forestry manageinent on behalf of the stakeholders. 
Due to forest governance abuse, both the legitimate and unofficial transaction costs are 
borne by timber contractors and concessionaires. The unofficial costs are disincentives to 
SFM and they have serious implications in the timber marketing chain. Unofficial 
transaction costs is an index to the degree of corruption that besets timber harvesting and 
marketing. In Sri lanka, a less developed country with similar socio-economic situation as 
Nigeria, the unofficial transaction costs are estimated to be 19% and 7% of the cost of 

timber to the contractor and the final market pnce respectively (Gunatilake and 
Gunaratne 2002). The offshoot of uncontrolled unofficial transaction costs would be 
increased illegal felling or logging activities, environmental degradation and other 
corrupt influences that reduce social comfort. 
In order to foster appropriate decisions on the harvesting practice for commercial 
timber from Nigeria and obtain desirable environmental impacts, it becomes pertinent to 
weigh carefully issues of governance such as transparency, efficiency, cooperation, 
accountability, strategic vision etc in the course of assessing critical elements of how 
resources are raised, managed, utilized and reported. 
On a macro-perspective, it is useful to explore Nigeria's experience and ideas on how 
to build a more inclusive and real systems that will support her socio-economic capital. 
At the micro-level, proposals for effective forest harvesting from organized civil society, 
governments, NGOs and even the private sector should be gathered as this could provide 
an innovative substratum for building collaborative actions on tropical forest 
sustainability. The rationale is to obtain and manage information that favors sustainable 
logging in the Nigerian forest ecosystem. 
Once those practices that are socially, technically and economically feasible are 
identified, the political institutions can be drawn in to establish policies and legislation in 
the context of Nigeria's cultural and sociological framework, that will motivate and 
enforce the adoption of recommended practices. If improved practices are adopted, then it 
is more likely that the ecological, environmental and cultural values of the forests will be 
retained while simultaneously providing for the sustainable utilization of commercial 
timber from the forests (Akande 2003). 
PARTICIPATORY MANAGEMENT 
Conserving and sustainably managing Nigeria's forests go hand in hand with the 
priority of sustaining livelihoods of millions of people. About a quarter of the world's 
poor depend fully or partly on forest products for their subsistence needs (Scherr et at. 
2002). Similarly, nearly a quarter of the forest area in more forested developing countries 
is either owned (14%) or officially administered (8%) by indigenous and rural 
communities. Experience had shown that the participation of a range of stakeholders 

improves the likelihood of success of all forms of forest management. Participatory forest 
management (PFM) in which the local people are directly involved in the management 
process is widely acknowledged to be the best option from a development perspective 
and potentially in terms of sustainability of forest resources. Local people will only adopt 
F AO model practice if it makes economic sense to them (Dykstra and Elias 2003). To 
initiate change, by communities themselves or by lobbying for a change in policy, people 
need to know alternative harvesting modes in relation to livelihood options. 
Before introducing the F AO model, it is desirable to know how the harvesting system 
works in Nigeria, who the key actors are, what drive their decisions, how interventions 
and policies shall affect stakeholders differently, and to indicate winners, losers and pay- 
offs. 
THE VALENCE OF PARTICIPATION AND MOTIVATION 
Participation brings self-actualization and self-fulfillment. It makes stakeholders to 
achieve happiness in the pursuit of livelihood. The human psychic, as explained by 
Sigmond Freud (Kerby 1975) consists of tripartite elements of Id, Ego and Superego. Id 
was implicated for blind primitive impulses and hostility to management that propels 
illegal logging to amass unscrupulous gains regardless of consequences. A means of 
controlling Id, however, is Ego that imposes rationality of behavior by weighing the 
consequences of actions. For example, if uncontrolled, illegal logging will jeopardize 
environmental comfort and well-being, an egoist will consider if his actions will result in 
self esteem, which is most plausible under participatory forest management (PFM). The 
egoist may also be profit and pleasure-oriented but will not ignore the consequences that 
may follow his actions. 
Another control agent working to put Id in check is the Superego, which acts as a 
conscience and attempts to keep the individual behavior in harmony with social 
expectations. Such agencies abound in developed economies where societal norms are 
internalized and brought to bear in governance of motivation. The complexity of poverty 
may, however, be overbearing in less developed economies like Nigeria, that our goals 
should focus on egoistic tendencies that could be promoted by participatory group 
influence. In this context, environmental tension should be addressed and attenuated 

through collective stakeholder actions, presumably based on expedience to sustain the 
ailing Nigeria forest estates. 
STAKEHOLDER INFLUENCE 
According to Grimble and Wellard (1977), stakeholder is any person or group of 
people, organized or un-organized, who share a common interest or stake in a particular 
issue or system. A broad classification of stakeholders in forest harvesting system 
includes local forest users whose main concerns are to improve family welfare and 
livelihood security. Next are forest clearers whose interest is the land under forest that 
can be used for farming activities. Others are forest industry and other external 
commercial interests in the forest; the State forestry departments or commissions that 
traditionally own the forests and whose concerns include the control of access and use of 
forests, maintenance of forest productivity, recovery of forest rent, protection of 
biodiversity and the environment. In addition, we have the national forest service that 
finances and monitors the social, economic and political influence on forests in 
conjunction with NGOs, donor agencies and civil society pressure groups concerned with 
the welfare impacts of forest harvesting. 
In most PFM situations, local forest users derive a range of benefits from the forest 
(lTTO 2003a), some of which are marketable, many of which are subsistence products 
and others are non-tangible or non-market benefits. It is therefore the perception of what 
the local forest users stand to gain or lose from alternative course of action that 
determines how they will respond to change. Apparently, poverty is high among forest 
users. Thus, finding out who are the winners and losers is central to adopting the F AO 
model code of forest harvesting practice. Cavendish (1997) and Jodha (1986) agreed that 
the poor people depend more heavily than the rich on forests or "common" products. 
COMMUNICATION ASPECTS OF HARVEST MANAGEMENT 
Communication is a vital aspect of development. The implementation of sustainable 
forest harvest practice requires the support and cooperation of concessionaries and forest 
managers who must play their part in improving forest management practices and 
acknowledges the rights of other stakeholders, working with them to find mutually 

acceptable solutions. Participatory governance for building forest-harvesting capacity 
must be continuously and consistently improved through training, education and other 
relevant activities targeted at concessionaires, communities and government officials 
(ITTO 2003). 
Appropriate and consistent forest policies are needed to avoid conflict and overlap in 
both land tenure and timber harvest objectives (Omoluabi et al. 1993). Inconsistent forest 
policies and management approach have always hindered the implementation of 
established management plans, thus having a diminutive effect on SFM practices. For 
example, un-due political interference in forest management increases the uncertainties 
faced by forest-based industries with the effect of reducing their commitment to 
sustainable harvesting techniques. 
During log transport operations, the relatively high transaction costs exemplifies weak 
institutional framework and governance structure that could be improved through 
participatory governance. When such matters are ignored, the costs are inevitably 
shouldered at the forest management level and this can reduce the financial viability and 
civil acceptance of sustainable harvest practices. 
The functions of communication include the surveillance of the environment. It enables 
a linkage between the past, present and future and defines the currents and undercurrents 
of the present while facilitating continuity, which defines the dynamic character of the 
society. It is an interactive activity directed at creating enlightenment, understanding and 
education though discussions and roundtable agreements for mutual benefits (Moemeka 
1994). Communications cannot be effective if the parties involved are not allowed to 
respond to issues that affect them. Therefore, in order to achieve desirable level of 
success in SFM, reasonable communication process should be encouraged among the 
stakeholders and the communication strategy should be all embracing (vertical and 
horizontal integration) with inbuilt feedback mechanism. 
Stakeholder commitment is needed to create policy conditions conducive to sustainable 
harvest practice through the establishment of a well-structured regulatory, institutional, 
political and economic framework (Olaseni et al. 2004). Concessionaries are less likely to 
embrace sustainable harvest practice if government policies do not encourage it and 
financial impediments in the form of taxes and other non-tax expenses constitute severe 

disincentives. In such circumstance, it is not strange to find timber production costs 
exceeding the local market prices that are being undercut by illegal logging and accruable 
revenue eroded by other illegal charges and non-relevant government fees. 
CONCLUSION 
Without human and institutional resources capable of resolving various conflicts that 
beset forest exploitation and utilization, the forestry sector cannot develop. Foresters, 
planners and logging operators need guidance on desirable forest harvesting techniques 
and the kind of practice that are socially desirable and environmentally acceptable. The 
gesture shall motivate the development of participatory and reliable code of forest 
harvesting practice regardless of whether they are intended to be voluntary or mandatory. 
Two is better than one is a common maxim. An open line of communication among 
stakeholders vi:- businesspersons, environmentalists, forest owners/managers and local 
forest users shall promote better governance of harvesting regimes and is the main key 
for resolving conflicts and disillusionment that made no-one ready to pay the right price. 
In summary, environmental and social harmony are essential ingredients for a workable 
mitigation paradigm that will remove inefficient and illegal logging activities. 
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