The Role of Shelterbelt in Desertification Control: Local Perspectives, Obsevations and Analysis from Semi-Arid Areas of Katsina State, Northern Nigeria

Abstract

Shelterbelt/afforestation is among the approaches adopted by the donor nations and tiers of government for ecosystem restoration in arid and semi-arid areas of northern Nigeria, This study investigate the views of the local people where these shelterbelts are located. Household survey, focus group discussion and transect walk were used in the data collection. Some of the respondents acknowledge the impact of the shelterbelt/afforestation project in ecosystem restoration and minimising the menace of desertification. However, it has been observed that this project contributed to the reduction in plant biodiversity due to natural ecosystem replacement with exotic species; disruption of natural biological process and decrease in soil moisture as result of increasing water consumption by the new tree species.   It is concluded that to successfully reduce the impact of desertification in the area environmental planners must determine which vegetation a given environment can sustain naturally.