Valuation of Ecosystem Services Provided by Derived Savannas in Kwara State: Implications for Land Use Policy

Derived savannas in north-central Nigeria occupy a transitional ecological zone that provides significant but poorly quantified ecosystem services to rural populations, making them vulnerable to conversion decisions driven by perceived low productivity. This study quantifies the economic value of key ecosystem services provided by derived savanna vegetation in Kwara State, including carbon storage, non-timber forest product provisioning, pollination, and water regulation, with implications for state-level land use policy. A benefit transfer methodology supplemented with primary valuation data was applied across three savanna landscape types in Kwara State: intact savanna, degraded savanna, and agropastoral mosaic. Carbon stocks were assessed through field biomass measurements, while non-timber forest product values were derived from household income surveys. Pollination services were estimated using agricultural production data and pollinator dependency coefficients. Hydrological regulation values were derived from proximate watershed management costs. Total economic value across service categories ranged from N485,000 to N1.2 million per hectare annually, with intact savanna generating the highest composite value. Conversion to large-scale crop agriculture generated comparable net income over ten years but delivered no regulating or supporting service value. The study argues that current land use decisions in Kwara State systematically undervalue ecosystem service flows from derived savanna, recommending incorporation of ecosystem service accounting into state land use change approval processes and fiscal incentives for savanna conservation on private land. Keywords: ecosystem services, economic valuation, derived savanna, Kwara State, land use policy