75 Nigerian Journal of Wildlife Management ©2018 Copyright Wildlife Society of Nigeria Nig. J. of Wildl. Mgt., 2018, 2(2): 75 - 81 https://wildlifesocietyng.org/ojs/index.php/wildlifesocietyng-journal/index _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Assessment of Human Activities in Ogbese Forest Reserve, Ekiti State, Nigeria *Ogunyemi O.O. and Orimaye, J.O. Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management, Ekiti State University, P. M. B. 5363, Ado-Ekiti. Nigeria olumide.ogunyemi@eksu.edu.ng Abstract In recent times, biodiversity has become an easy target for over-exploitation due to over-population and the quest for a better life. This over-exploitation has led to the destruction of the flora and fauna composition of our forest reserves. The study was undertaken at the Ogbese Forest Reserve to identify the human activities altering the biodiversity in the Reserve. Data were collected with the use of a structured questionnaire administered within the boundary towns and surrounding villages. Data were presented descriptively. The study revealed that farming (66%), hunting (43%), and illegal wood felling (14.8%), fuelwood harvesting (49.6%), honey gathering (5.1%) and fishing (2.2%) were the activities carried out by the respondents in the reserve which have altered the ecosystem of the reserve. To halt the ongoing degradation of the ecological system of the Reserve, preventing human activities in the boundary of the reserve should be accorded a priority by the government. Keywords: Human activities, forest reserve, biodiversity, ecosystem, Introduction Man has consciously or unconsciously destroyed the environment that provides his food, drugs, clothing, water, shelter and other essential needs. The modern man has been the most injurious and unkind to his environment, even as historical records show that man’s brutality to nature and his overexploitation of land resources leading to the extinction of many flora and fauna species. Omiyale (2001) reported that out of the land area of 923.768 km 2 in Nigeria, forest account for only 9.61%; 48.53% grassland; 1.05% fresh and inland wetlands; 0.3% tree crop plantation and 20.33% farmlands and that within the past 20 years, an estimated 43.48% of the total forest ecosystem has been lost through human activities. Wild animals in the forest are often indiscriminately killed irrespective of the age and sex, without any regard to management principles. Young animals, pregnant female, and mothers still caring for their helpless young ones are usually eliminated (Osemobo, 1990). Shifting cultivation and the forest destruction is other human activities that contribute immensely to the declination of wildlife resources (Osemobo, 1990) The resources inside the natural forest have been battered by various human activities especially by de-reservation of tree crop plantation or large-scale farming operations (Adeyoju, 2001). The basic human life - support systems of the biological environment have always been characterized by change, as the inevitable consequences of all human land use throughout history (Martter, 1986). Pristine natural ecosystems have been altered significantly by humans at some point in the past (Turner et al., 1990). Nwoboshi (1989) asserted that the changes in natural ecosystems have led to the loss of not only wood and non –wood forest products but also its vital functions in moderating climate, controlling water