Appraisal of Covid-19 on Forest Resources and Extension Approaches Towards Sustainable Rural Livelihood
The people’slivelihood is largely dependent upon forests and related resources which comprises the tangible and intangible ones. Tangible resourcesare in the form of Timber, Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) such as mushroom, fruits etc. while intangible services include a wide range of vital environmental services by the floras and faunas which includes erosion control, carbon sequestration among others. Assessing these tangible resources was always through active physical involvements by the actors in the management of the forests. Unexpectedly, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic which was earlier endemic to China have created a barrier to man in the management and utilization of these forest resources. Imposed lockdowns, curfews, social distances meant less team work, access and utilization of forest resources globally. The unavoidable reliance on forest resources especially by rural dwellers in developing nations like Nigeria was observed to spike up. Thus, further depleting the encroached forest resources while in the west forest restorations were reported. Comparative results revealed issues of poverty, food insecurity and lack of information as the factors in Nigeria. Extension models for sustainability of forest resources was advanced
