Land Tenure System and Conservation of Forest Resources: Implication for Climate Change Mitigation in Cross River State, Nigeria

This study investigated Land tenure system and conservation of forest resources, implication in Climate change mitigation in Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of the study, one research question was raised and one hypothesis was formulated and tested at .05 level of significance. Review of literature was carried out according to the variable of the study. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised 73,755 registered farmers in Cross River State. A sample of 495 registered farmers was used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was 18 item structured questionnaire. The research instrument was subjected to validity test by relevant authorities. The instrument was titled Land tenure system and conservation of forest resources, implication in Climate change mitigation Questionnaire (LTSCFRCCMQ). Cronbach alpha method was utilized to establish the reliability of the research instrument. The testing of hypothesis in the study was done with simple regression statistical tool. The result obtained from data analysis revealed that, land tenure system, was a significant predictor of conservation of forest resources in Cross River State, Nigeria. With an F-value of 8.453 and an adjusted R2 of .015. which implies that 1.5 percent of the variance of the dependent variable (conservation of forest resources) can be predicted from the independent variable (land tenure system). It was therefore concluded that, Land tenure system practices conserves forest resources and contributes as a measure of climate change mitigation in Cross River State. It was therefore recommended that, the ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Forestry Commission and Famers Associations should continue to collaborate in order to promote the use of Land rights in the study areas as a means of conserving the forest resources and mitigating climate change.