The Hazards of Rural Poverty: Decline in Common Property Resources in Nigerian Rainforest Ecosystems

Time-series data from 15 rural settlements in Edo, Ondo and Ogun States from 1989 to 1991 were used to examine the basis for common property resource management in terms of benefits, depletion and options for sustained land use practices. The results provide evidence for rural stabilization through common property resource utilization. But this stabilization was at great risk of collapse due to changes in land tenure, habitat loss and the importance of biotic resources in the economy. The future is bleak; nevertheless, the main options are smallholder participation in wild-plant regeneration and domestication of game animals through financial support from governments.