Mission to the Cross River landscape, Nigeria

NAAO regional coordination visited the Cross River landscape in Nigeria in May, thanks to the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which has worked in the landscape since 2001. Its NaturAfrica project began in late 2024.

The field visit focused largely on the northern (Okwangwo) division of the park, its peripheral protected areas (Afi River Forest Reserve, Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Mbe Mountains) and the Obudu plateau (Anape village and the mountain resort). Meetings with the rangers, community chiefs, village committees, eco-guards and women’s cooperatives were instructive. One highlight was a visit to an extra-curricular school conservation club in Butatong, where some 50+ children aged 11-16 shared their enthusiasm for protecting the forest and its animals, with articulate discussion and some excellent singing.

Community and stakeholder relations are well facilitated by site coordinators, and it was inspiring to hear the commitment to forest protection expressed by local communities in Wula (Mbe mountains), Anape (Cross River National Park) and Buanchor (Afi). The success of the Mbe Mountains Community Conservation Association has prompted interest in Afi to develop a similar structure. 

With the dramatic landscapes and unique species, the landscape has strong potential to develop tourism, although certain activities (e.g. gorilla habituation) would take many years to develop. Plans to develop a deforestation-free, sustainable cocoa sector in the landscape during the current project is a promising response to the very visible threat of deforestation in the region, to support local suppliers to comply with the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) and to develop a sustainable green economy in the landscape.

Photo collage below: (left to right, from top): Cross River National Park; conservation club at Butatong; rangers in CRNP; women's cooperative at Wula II; cocoa pods; with the team of WCS Nigeria at their Calabar HQ; Conservator of parks Joseph Asam Ntui. 

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