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Most countries in Africa have promoted some form of decentralized fisheries management either as discrete co-management projects or as a component of broader decentralization processes that cut across other sectors. These initiatives were shaped by an international policy narrative that emphasises participation in decision making and development. A review of fisheries decentralization experiences in Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, and Malawi reveals marked differences in purpose, strategy, and performance. In general, co-management projects are limited by their ability to scale up

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This work was carried out in collaboration between both authors. Author YE designed the study, performed the Hydrographic and Fluid Mud Surveys as well as the Hydrogeomorphologic analysis of the lake, wrote the protocol and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Author AR wrote on the biological productivity and fishery potentials of the lake. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

This study assessed socio-economic characteristics and lifestyle of selected forest based communities in Omo Biosphere Reserve, Ogun state in  southwest Nigeria. The study aim was to explore the influence of socioeconomic factors on their lifestyle, quality of life and implications for forest  environment. A sample of 180 respondents from three enclaves was selected using simple random sampling. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and presented as Tables and charts. The results showed that 86.11 per cent of them were adults between ages 31years and 70years who have families, responsibilities to cater for and have capacity to further expand their land into the forest. Only 2.2 per cent of the respondents  have no formal education indicating a great decline in illiteracy. About 75.56 per cent have incomes ranging between 500,000 to 1,000,000 yearly. 58 per cent respondents have a household size ranging between 6-10 persons. 7.22 per cent have farm size less than 3 Ha while the rest have more up to 10 Ha. 83 per cent of the respondents were involved in cocoa farming while the remaining 17 per cent shared kola, palm and plantain crops  farming. The type of constraints affecting the livelihood strategy often influences the mitigation measures undertaken by farmers in the study area. On health, malaria is the most prevalent disease experienced by 73.3 per cent respondents. However, the health care facilities are far from residents and also inadequate. As a result, about 95.6 per cent resorted to self-medication using herbs in case of illness. Younger and active age groups have their resultant socio-economic implications for forest environment but the obvious is its negativities in respect of exploiting more lands for farming hence, government should ensure increase awareness aimed at protecting the forest in order to prevent further forest encroachers. Keywords: Socioeconomic, Lifestyle, Communities, Forest

This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Author EY designed the study, performed the hydrographic survey and the hydrogeomorphic analysis, wrote the protocol and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Author AR performed the limnologic analyses and discussion on the fisheries aspect of the study. Author AAV(jr) provided information on the study area and sociocultural relevance of the lake to the Bachama people. He also guided and contributed to the structure and content of the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.