Abstract

The study was carried out to assess women involvement in sustainable fuelwood marketing and impact on wildlife conservation in Wukari Local Government Area, Taraba State. The specific objective was to examine the socio-economic characteristic of the respondents, assess the role of woman involvement in fuel-wood marketing and income generation from fuelwood marketing practice in the area. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain information. The purposive sampling technique was employed to select the study participants and markets, as it allowed for the deliberate selection of cases that were rich in information and experiences relevant to the research question. Specifically, the three markets selected (Wukari, Rafin Kada, and Bantaje) are major fuelwood marketing hubs in the study area, and their selection was guided by the need to capture a diverse range of experiences and perspectives among fuelwood marketers. A total of 60 copies of structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents in the three selected markets. The data generated from the study was analysed using simple descriptive statistics. The results on Age revealed that the majority (43.33%) of the respondents were in the age group of 31-40 years, 65% of the respondents were married. 53.2% had family size of 6-10 members, 43.3% had secondary education while primary education recorded 33.33 % and 63.3% of the respondents had petty trading as their major occupation. The result on the finding of the role of women involvement in fuelwood marketing in the study area showed that 58.33% are involved in fuel wood marketing in Wukari L.G.A. majorly (70%) obtain their fuelwood from those collecting them from the forest and only 30% of them buy the fuelwood and the also sell them. Bad road network is one major challenge facing fuelwood marketers with 41.76% followed by the distance of the forest with 36.6% 33.3% of the respondents indicated that they are earning between ₦40,000 ($26.04) and above in fuelwood market in a month. The study highlights the intricate relationships between economic and environmental factors, stressing the need for a holistic approach to achieve sustainable development. The research recommends improvements on road infrastructure, security enhancement, sustainable forest management, agricultural development, conservation initiatives, and economic empowerment programs.

Keywords

Assessment, Conservation, Fuelwood, Impact, Involvement, Marketing, Sustainable, Wildlife and Women.