This paper examines the different mechanisms used by multinational corporations (MNCs) in Nigeria seeking to make long-term social investments by meeting the critical challenge of improving water provision. Community enterprise – an increasingly common form of social enterprise, which pursues charitable objectives through business activities – may be the most effective mechanism for building local capacity in a sustainable and accountable way. Traditionally, social investments by MNCs have involved either donations to a charity, which then assumes responsibility for delivering social outcomes, or direct management of social investment in-house. These approaches have been criticized, however, for their limited contribution to local capacity building, their focus on short-term outcomes, and the restricted role that they afford to communities. Partnering with community enterprise, provided there is sufficient local capacity to support it, is the most effective mode of governance through which MNCs can manage social investments in developing countries. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2007community enterprise, corporate social investment, Nigeria, social enterprise,

Varieties of resources abound in the forests of Nigeria and especially in Abia state, an economic treasure house of resources. Sustainable management of the forests in Nigeria is crucial for a consistent supply of forest resources. Ten forest reserves were surveyed to determine the extent of the government’s involvement in sustainable forest management in Abia State. The government consider the forest reserves, as a revenue-generating venture, leading to the excessive exploitation of forest resources in the state. The exploitation is without regard for sustainability as the harvest is consistently higher than its growth. The government’s involvement in funding the forestry sector over these years has been the payment of salaries to staff of the State forestry department and revenue collection, while international donors, corporate organizations and private sectors have not considerably invested in the Abia State forest sector. The survey revealed the challenges militating the productivity of the forest sector in Abia State, namely: inadequate capital, administrative incompetence and bureaucratic bottleneck, political instability, ecological challenge, insufficient skilled personnel, corruption, lack of forest equipment and inefficient forest laws. Training should be organized for the forest staff and communities to ensure the sustainable use of forest resources. There is a need for the modernization of forestry practice in Abia State and all that go with it being accorded a well-deserved priority in the present economic dispensation in Nigeria.