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A growing body of evidence demonstrates the importance of forests and wild animal-based foods for diets within tropical environments. However, deforestation and associated land-use changes can have competing effects on nutrition and food security as communities reorient from wild food use and subsistence-based agriculture to import/export markets. This research examines dietary differences and associated changes in food security during intermediate stages of deforestation and market integration in the agriculture-forest frontier of Cross River State, Nigeria. We used participant responses to mixed-methods interviews (n = 528) in six communities to measure individual dietary diversity, household food access, and short-term nutritional status, with specific attention to animal-based foods and the cultural and economic values attached to them, in two interior forest (n = 177) and four forest-edge (n = 351) communities. Multivariate analysis of dietary compositions revealed differences in food categories and types of meat consumed between forest environments. People in forest-edge communities reported consuming less bushmeat and dark green leafy vegetables, and more pulses, domestic meat, fish, eggs, dairy, other vegetables, sweets, condiments, and non-red palm oil compared to interior forest communities. Bushmeat was highly preferred and had more economic value than other animal-based foods, regardless of location. Forest-edge communities had fewer households involved in bushmeat related activities, and fewer hunters per household. However, traders in forest-edge communities sold a larger proportion of meat to people outside of the community than did traders in interior forest communities. Measures of nutrition and food security, but not wealth, improved in relation to dietary patterns in forest-edge communities compared to interior forest communities. Our results may reflect a "best of both worlds" scenario during the intermediate stages of deforestation and agricultural expansion near forested areas, where people have access to forest resources, increased ability to Friant et al.Food Security in the Agricultural-Forest Frontier capitalize on forest goods, and access to market goods as they become integrated into market economies. Understanding the dietary consequences of environmental change is important, as food-related experiences may shape the trajectories of livelihood practices and landscape changes in tropical forests of biodiversity significance.

Various definitions have severally been adduced to poverty as the major cause of most environmental problems ranging from resources depletion, species extinction, deforestation, erosion etc. Majorly man’s activities on the biosphere has tended to impact negatively on the environment, this activities are primarily carried out to sustain man’s existence on the planet earth. These activities include faulty farming practices, indiscriminate use of agrochemicals including fertilizers for agricultural purposes, urbanization and industrial development. This research took a cursory look at the activities of rural farmers cultivating vegetables and other market gardening activities in order to sustain themselves during dry season as safety net for shortfalls in family income and food. These activities are done along watershed and this involves clearing, tilling, use of inorganic manure, herbicides amongst others. Researches including this have shown that these farming practices are detrimental to the ecosystem and have contributed greatly to affecting the ecological balance of the supportive ecosystem. This research therefore set out to assess how these dry seasons agriculture carried out within the study areas has affected the environment vis a vis climate and weather variation. The research adopted field experiment where data were collected twice per year for a period of five years from the farm site and the local meteorological station at Ogoja. The authors used bar graphs to present data from the field. Using rainfall, temperature and soil moisture content data for five years, the authors gathered that this farming activities has impacted negatively on the environment affecting both weather and climate variation. It was also observed by the researchers that though the data for five years was very minimal for any positive generalization, but findings shows that there were some noticeable changes attributed to these activities. It was recommended that hand dug well or boreholes should be used as sources of water supply to avoid destruction of the watershed. It was also suggested that farm yard manure should be used instead of the inorganic manure that has become detrimental of late to both the environment and human health.

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The study examined the perception of forest stakeholders on the ban on logging in Cross River State, Nigeria. The research was carried out from October, 2014 to January, 2015. Data was collected through the administration of structured questionnaire to 351 respondents that were randomly selected from four forest stakeholders, including: forest communities, Forestry Commission staff, timber dealers and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) on environment. One local government area was selected purposively, from each of the three senatorial districts of the state. Findings shows that majority (86.9 percent) of the respondents were males, in the age brackets of 30-50 years, while 8.5 percent were in the age brackets of 20-29 years of age. Most of the respondents (62.4 percent) had secondary education, while farming, civil service, trading and logging, constitute 81.8 percent of the respondents’ occupation. Findings revealed that majority of the respondents from forestry commission (100 percent), timber dealers (100 percent), forest communities (98.3 percent) and NGOs (96.2 percent) were aware of the ban on logging. Most of the respondents from forestry commission (42.3 percent), timber dealers (41.4 percent), forest communities (45.0 percent) and NGOs (38.5 percent) agreed that the reason behind the ban on logging was to protect and conserve the State’s remaining forests. Findings revealed that the ban on logging did not reduce timber exploitation as claimed by 65.4, 74.3, 55.5 and 61.5 percent of the respondents from forestry commission, timber dealers, forest communities and NGOs respectively. Furthermore, 65.4, 95.7, 87.8 and 53.8 percent of the respondents from the stakeholders affirmed that prices of sawn wood increased during ban. Result also indicated that there was a significant increase (P< 0.05) in the prices of sawn wood during the ban. Majority (96.2, 61.4, 86.9 and 61.5 percent) of the respondents attested that some people who depend on logging activities, lost their means of livelihoods and majority (92.3, 85.7, 91.3 and 96.2 percent) of the respondents agreed that taskforce members were corrupt. Again, majority of the respondents from forestry commission (69.2 percent), timber dealers (90.0 percent) and forest communities (59.0 percent) agreed that they want the ban on logging lifted.