Assessment of perception and attitude of city dwellers on urban forestry in Sokoto metropolis

Abstract

This study examined the perception and attitude of urban dwellers on urban forestry in Sokoto Metropolis. It is a well-known fact that urban Sokoto has been expanding at a very high rate since independence. This expansion has resulted in diminishing tree cover in the metropolis due to high demand for land for developmental projects both by the government and individuals. So much has been written on the growth of the metropolis but little was written on the perception and attitudes of city dwellers to urban forestry in the study area. It is on this premise that this study seeks to assess the perception and attitude of people in metropolitan Sokoto on Urban forestry. Data for the study were obtained via primary and secondary sources. Structured questionnaire was used to elicit responses from a total of 347 respondents selected via systematic sampling technique. Sokoto Metropolis was divided into 3 clusters namely, the walled city, the Government Reserved Area (G.R.A) and the fringe settlement. The essence is to have a broad view of the attitudes and practices of city dwellers towards urban forestry. The major finding of the study reveals that all the respondents (100%) viewed urban forestry as a good phenomenon but some of the respondents were incapacitated by lack of water (43%) and space (37%) in their efforts to plant trees. Similarly, the study shows that Government is the major culprit in the decline of tree cover in the metropolis due to indiscriminate allocation of land for other developmental projects. The study recommends the need to enact comprehensive urban greening laws which can provide impetus and a structured framework to greening work as well as encouraging the participation of the citizenry in the process.