RAINFOREST AND GORILLAS IN E. NIGERIA/W. CAMEROON

UNCLAS LIBREVILLE 000150 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EAID NI CM SUBJECT: RAINFOREST AND GORILLAS IN E. NIGERIA/W. CAMEROON ¶1. REO and Abuja Econoff travelled to sites in Cross River State (Eastern Nigeria) in mid-February for meetings with conservation NGOs and local government officials, including the state governor, Donald Duke. This area has notably rich biodiversity, including the last rainforest in Nigeria, several endemic mammals and a relict population of gorillas, which roam forest habitat in both Nigeria and Cameroon. Despite a network of protected areas and well-intentioned leadership at the state government level, resources remain under threat by intense encroachment, hunting and deforestation. ¶2. Nigeria's last remaining moist forest lies in the Cross River National Park and adjacent areas. The lower Oban Division covers a huge expanse (280,000 hectares) of forest land, but has been degraded by years of unchecked poaching and illegal timber felling. The upper park area at Okwangwo (92,000 ha),contiguous with Cameroon's Takamanda Forest Reserve, guards the most significant remnants of forest and wildlife. Unfortunately, park management is weak and unstable, despite increasing interest in the area since the re-discovery of the endemic subspecies of Cross River Gorillas there in the late 1980s. Similarly, cross-border cooperation has been slow to develop between authorities of the two countries. ¶3. NGOs are increasingly concerned about poaching pressures, including the recent killing of three gorillas in the fall of 2005. This was a stunning blow to conserving the estimated 60-80 gorillas left in Nigeria. NGOs in the area have initiated several conservation projects focusing on primate research, most notably the creation of the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, managed by the Pandrillus Foundation. The Wildlife Conservation Society is active in working with unprotected forest areas that lie within community lands between reserve areas. ¶4. COMMENT: During a February 17 meeting with REO and Abuja Econoff, Cross River State Governor Donald Duke expressed interest in conservation as a complement to huge state investments in other tourism projects. Plans for the Tinapa Free Trade Zone project seek to make Calabar an up-scale destination for wealthy shoppers and tourists from throughout the region. Attractions such as the national park, the recently-finished forest canopy walkway at Afi (Africa's longest) and the Obudu Plateau resort could be developed to dovetail with an anticipated increase in visitors to the region. State tourism officials admit, however, that services need to be upgraded for these ambitious plans to draw more visitors to SE Nigeria attractions. END COMMENT. ¶5. This cable has been cleared by Abuja. WALKLEY