by Tracy Kirkland and Kielly Dunn
Cross River State
Cross River State, located along Nigeria’s southeastern border, is home to the nation’s last remaining intact rain forest and mangrove forest, both of which serve as wildlife sanctuaries for many endangered species. In 1991, the World Wide Fund for Nature, in collaboration with the Nigerian Conservation Fund, created Cross River National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary to protect 4,000 hectares of one of the most biologically rich ecosystems on earth. Identified by Conservation International as a biodiversity hotspot (one of the 25 most ecologically rich and threatened places on the planet), the park is the last protected haven for endangered wildlife and some of the last populations of endemic plants in West Africa. The rain forests of Cross River State are also home to 2,000 indigenous forest communities, comprising 1.5 million residents whose livelihoods are highly dependent on forest resources. Despite the promise of protection, however, oil extraction and logging corporations still pose a threat to Cross River’s forests, mangroves, wildlife and indigenous communities.
Victory!
A recent groundbreaking decision by Cross River State’s governor, Mr. Donald Duke, offers an illustrative example of how grassroots organizations can work together to promote change at the local, state, and national level and safeguard Nigeria’s precious natural resources. On July 7, 2004 Western Metal Products Company (WEMPCO), a Hong-Kong corporation, was ordered to close down its logging operations and evacuate the area. This decision is a major breakthrough for Nigeria and several Greengrants grantees, including Biakwan Light, NGO Coalition for the Environment (NGOCE) and the Rainforest Resource Development Center (RRDC) that have led a long battle to halt the company’s illegal practices and protect the largest remaining ancient rain forest and mangrove forests in western Africa. Although the fight is not over – much depends on enforcement of the decision – this is a huge victory for Cross River State’s forests.
Campaign Strategies
The campaign against WEMPCO began in 1993 and was headed by a local Nigerian NGO, Ikom Conscience, but was dissolved in 1997 due to infiltration of WEMPCO employees and supporters. Soon after, Odey Oyama, former director of Ikom Conscience, founded RRDC, a recent Greengrants grantee that has been working to implement a statewide mobilization campaign — at both the grassroots and policy levels — to protect and conserve the Cross River environment. Strategies taken by RRDC to combat the illegal operations of WEMPCO and others include: lobbying legislators; and building collaborations with relevant government institutions, such as the Cross River State Environmental Protection Agency and National Park; promoting partnerships with regional environmental organizations, community-based organizations, village chiefs, local schools and churches.
One innovative campaign strategy was the use of umbrellas to serve as appropriate campaign materials during the rains. Umbrellas were used to effectively display campaign messages to community members in affected areas and to stimulate public debate around the issue. RRDC has also worked to teach children about the importance of forest protection in Cross River State by visiting schools and organizing writing contests. RRDC has successfully changed the attitudes of community members who now view illegal logging as wasteful and destructive, and not as providing jobs.
When WEMPCO built a wood-processing plant on the Cross River, NGOCE, a Greengrants grantee since 1997, began protesting construction of the plant. The group asked the Nigerian Federal Environmental Protection Agency to review the project, and it became the second project ever to be reviewed by the agency.
As a result of the legal and grassroots efforts of RRDC, NGOCE and others, the government did require WEMPCO to produce an environmental impact statement (EIA), although the company continued illegal construction throughout the process. Noting the shortcomings of the EIA and the lack of public participation in the review process, NGOCE successfully filed suit in federal court for an injunction against the company. As a result, the court ordered a moratorium on logging in the six square miles that the EIA addressed. These six square miles included some of the most ecologically sensitive portions of WEMPCO’s logging concession. This suit was especially important because it helped set new standards in Nigeria for enforcement of laws requiring environmental impact assessments. After evaluating the extent of the damage done by WEMPCO during its 12 years of operations, the chairman of the State Forestry Commission concluded, “The state has been bled very badly by the company.”
Other Grantee Efforts in Cross River State
Greengrants has also been encouraging efforts to protect Cross River’s rain forests over the past decade by supporting the work of Nigerian grantees like Citizens for Environmental Safety, Eco Conscious Development and Esuk Mbat Community Forest Committee. These grassroots organizations have developed workshops in order to provide training and information on alternative sustainable economic development opportunities, such as honey production, mushroom and snail farming, and tree oil extraction as alternatives to low paid logging and oil extraction jobs.
Biakwan Light has used Greengrants funds to establish a “Skills Acquisition Center” to help youths identify their economic needs and find ways of meeting them without taking low-paying jobs with logging companies. Similarly, the Boki Forest Initiative is investing its grant in a project to teach local youths about income-generating projects that do not depend on forest resources, such as cultivation of the cassava plant for use as food and animal feed. The group is also helping young people plant trees in deforested areas in order give water sources a new lease on life.
Mangroves
Greengrants also supports groups that work to preserve and restore the wetland ecosystems of Cross River National Park. Although they often receive less attention than the upland rain forest, mangroves are an important part of the rain forest ecosystem and are highly threatened by logging activities and oil extraction activities. Cross River also possess a large expanse of mangroves that forms a delta adjacent to the Niger Delta ecosystem. Mangrove forests, vital to healthy coastal ecosystems, provide flood and erosion protection as well as support the livelihoods of the numerous coastal communities of Cross River State.
Forest degradation and oil pollution are two of the greatest threats to mangrove forests and jeopardizes the health of the last remaining stands. Mangroves are also harvested for fuelwood, charcoal and timber, and many mangroves are located in logging concessions that directly impact mangrove forests. Intensive logging often results in flooding, soil erosion and sedimentation that damage the natural regeneration of mangroves. Oil spills and leaks also suffocate mangrove plants and aquatic life, and contaminate fresh water supplies. As a result, massive mangrove die offs are common in areas where coastal oil exploitation occurs, such as Cross River State where mangroves, once rich in biodiversity and teeming with marine life, are now being rapidly degraded.
Fortunately, however, grassroots groups such as Akpabuyo Bakassi Green Movement (ABGREMO), Edem-Odo Community Forest Alliance and Mangrove Forest Conservation Society of Nigeria have worked hard to safeguard the rights of coastal communities and preserve the last intact mangrove stands. Efforts include grassroots campaigns, educating community member and policymakers about the importance of protecting mangroves and training community leaders to monitor oil and timber company operations.
Enforcement
If enforced, the closing of WEMPCO operations in Cross River State is a big step, but it is by no means the end of the struggle. Other international oil and logging companies continue to operate in the area with little oversight, and local poverty and lack of opportunity give these companies a huge advantage. Until the people of Cross River State gain a greater voice in forest policies and develop viable economic alternatives to forest destruction, the forests and mangroves of Cross River State will remain in peril. With the help of Greengrants grassroots organizations such as RRDC,NGOCE, ABGREMO, Citizens for Environmental Safety, Eco Conscious Development, Esuk Mbat Community Forest Committee, Biakwan Light, and Boki Forest Initiative are providing the next generation of Nigerian resource users with the knowledge and skills they need to use the forest sustainably.