NIGERIA'S MBE MOUNTAINS FUNCTION AS IMPORTANT WILDLIFE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 000088

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W, OES/PCI
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USAID/AFRICA/SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DAVID ATWOOD
ACCRA FOR REO FISHMAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EAGR TBIO EAID ECON NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA'S MBE MOUNTAINS FUNCTION AS IMPORTANT WILDLIFE
CORRIDOR FOR THE ENDANGERED CROSS RIVER GORILLA

REF: ABUJA 2292

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SUMMARY

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1. (SBU) Regional Environment Officer (REO),ESTH Officer, and
World Conservation Society Country Director visited Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS) projects in Cross River State that
support the conservation of the critically-endangered Cross River
gorilla November 22 to 24. The team also met with leaders and
members of the Conservation Society of Mbe Mountains (CAMM),a
community-based conservation association, and local forestry
officials, who highlighted the challenges of balancing local
communities' economic development needs with protecting the
gorillas and their forest habitats.



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THE MBE MOUNTAINS REGION

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2. (U) The Mbe Mountains region is home to a number of endemic and
endangered primates, including the critically endangered Cross
River gorilla, the most threatened taxon of ape in Africa (N.B.:
Fewer Cross River gorillas exist now than the more well-known
Central African mountain gorillas END NOTE.) Fewer than 300 Cross
River gorillas survive, spread across a mountainous area of about
12,000 square kilometers at the headwaters of the River Cross
between Cameroon and Nigeria. About 100 Cross River gorillas live
in Nigeria, dispersed across the northern part of Cross River
State, while about 200 of this subspecies of gorilla remain on the
Cameroon side of the border. Most gorillas reside within this area
in 11 discrete sites, geographically separated from each other by
10 or more kilometers. Three sites are located in Nigeria: Afi
Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Cross River National Park, and the Mbe
Mountains. The remaining eight sites are located across the border
in Cameroon.




3. (U) The Mbe Mountains Forest Reserve, covering an area of about
80 square kilometers, is not only home to its own population of
gorillas, but also constitutes an important wildlife corridor
linking gorilla populations in the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
to the west and in the Okwangwo Division of Cross River National
Park to the east. The WCS estimates that about 30 gorillas reside
within the Mbe Mountains forest reserve.



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THE CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION OF THE MBE MOUNTAINS

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4. (SBU) The U.S. team visited Wula, one of nine villages
surrounding the Mbe Mountains, to meet with state forestry
officials and leaders of the Conservation Association of the Mbe
Mountains (CAMM),an association of the nine villages that surround
the Mbe Mountains and manage the communities' forests and wildlife.
A general assembly of four persons from each village and a board of
trustees govern the CAMM, established through USAID funding in

2006. Management and technical committees run the association's
activities.




5. (SBU) The CAMM employs nine eco-guards who conduct patrols to
protect wildlife and collect data on gorillas and other fauna using

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cyber-trackers (hand-held digital devices equipped with Global
Positioning System that allow patrolling rangers to record and
transmit key data to a central database maintained by WCS). CAMM
leaders, however, complained about lack of funding and capacity to
conduct their conservation efforts. They said that nine eco-guards
are too few to adequately cover 80 square kilometers of
forest-covered area, especially considering that eco-guards remain
under-equipped and under-trained.




6. (SBU) The CAMM depends upon outside financial support to conduct
its activities. The U.S. team suggested looking into developing
and implementing small, income-generating micro-enterprises that
could help to finance the association's conservation efforts, such
as allowing a limited amount of sustainable harvesting of
non-timber forest products, beekeeping, and pig-rearing in the
forests. (N.B.: The U.S. team shared the communities' complaints
with senior state officials in Calabar, who promised to help the
association through Cross River State's newly-enhanced Community
Forest Department. Mission Abuja has also transmitted a
75,000-dollar proposal from WCS for consideration by the DOD's
Africa Command Biodiversity Fund to assist the capacity of CAMM,
and the U.S. team understands that WCS may request additional
support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for possible
financial support from the U.S. Great Apes Conservation Fund as
well. END NOTE.)




7. (SBU) CAMM leaders expressed a desire to integrate federal and
state conservation laws into the community's laws and customs,
which they believe will result in better acceptance and enforcement
of the laws. The leaders noted the low level of conservation
awareness in the community and expressed a desire to institute an
environmental education component in their programmatic activities
to address the problem. The CAMM leadership appealed to state
officials for enhanced social services, arguing that local
villagers would remain unlikely to support conservation efforts
fully, unless they perceived concrete economic benefits, including
improvements in schools, clinics, water and electricity supply, and
infrastructure.




8. (SBU) The U.S. team also visited a ranger patrol station at the
Obudu Cattle Ranch on the northern border of Cross River National
Park and received a briefing on the rangers' activities. (N.B.:
Another population of gorillas lives in this area. END NOTE.) The
rangers reported success in catching and prosecuting potential
poachers, and noted that enhanced protection activities had led to
a decline in poaching and hunting activity. They complained about
lack of adequate equipment and poor working and living conditions
at the patrol station as major challenges. (N.B.: Rangers are
posted at patrol stations for one week at a time on a rotating
basis and they have to transport water and other supplies over
difficult terrain. The U.S. and the WCS teams agreed that
installing an underground reservoir for collecting and storing
rainwater, along with a simple water purification system, would be
the best solution, as the area receives substantial rainfall during
the long rainy season. END NOTE.)



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COMMENT

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9. (SBU) The CAMM's community-based approach to protecting the Mbe
Mountains forest reserve and wildlife represents an innovative
grass-roots initiative that recognizes the communities'
custodianship of the forest and its wildlife. Communities,
however, lack the resources and capacity to carry out sustained and
effective conservation of such resources. The newly-reiterated
promise by the Cross River State Forestry Commission to provide
support to the CAMM is encouraging. Until such support
materializes, however, continued support from the WCS and other
international NGOs is vital. The CAMM will need to become

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self-sufficient through establishment of sustainable,
income-generating micro-enterprises to allow the organization to
promote the long-term survival of the Cross River gorilla.




10. (U) The REO in Accra cleared this cable.
SANDERS