Vol. 1 No. 3 (2025): Socio-economic Impacts of Ecosystem Service Degradation in Southern Ecological Zone of Taraba State Nigeria

The degradation of ecosystem services poses a critical threat to rural livelihoods and socio-economic stability
in resource-dependent regions of sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the perceived socio-economic
impacts of ecosystem service decline across five Local Government Areas (LGAs); Bali, Gashaka, Sardauna, Takum,
and Ussa—in the Southern Ecological Zone of Taraba State, Nigeria. Employing a mixed-methods approach,
data were collected from 450 randomly sampled households using a structured questionnaire with a 5-point
Likert scale, complemented by 15 key informant interviews. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and thematic
analysis were utilized to analyze the data. Findings reveal a hierarchy of perceived impacts, with declining
community well-being ranked as the most severe (Mean = 3.69), followed by disproportionate impacts on
women (Mean = 2.10) and heightened youth unemployment (Mean = 2.09).