Land degradation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria has been aggravated by deforestation with resultant
losses of vital biodiversity. In this paper, we provided an assessment of land degradation with drivers of
deforestation in selected states in the Niger Delta. Data were collected with multi-stage sampling procedure and
analyzed using descriptive and Tobit regression methods. Results show that average age of the farmers is 51.55
years with average years of education being 8 years. The farmers recognized a degraded land through the colour
(20.79%), depth of the soil (4.4%) and performance of maize crop (71.73%). Deforestation is positively influenced
by sex of the household heads, market distance, population per forest land, purchased land, sold land, fertile land
and population density. Legislations for curtailing the pace of deforestation should be enforced with some hints on
population control