State of Africa’s Birds
STATE: What we know about the changing state of birds
Irreplaceable Cross River National Park
Cross River National Park is a large lowland and submontane rainforest in south-east Nigeria which is contiguous with Cameroon’s Korup National Park. One of Nigeria’s most diverse sites, it holds over 350 bird species including the Vulnerable Grey-necked Picathartes Picathartes oreas and Yellow-casqued Hornbill Ceratogymna elata. Hence its recognition by BirdLife as an IBA. It holds no less than 18 primates species, including the critically endangered Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorilla. The National Park is threatened by plans to construct the Cross River super highway. Conservationists are concerned that the highway which, according to the current design, will pass through the heart of the pristine Ekuri rainforest, is likely to attract farming, logging and hunting on a Grey-necked Picathartes found in Cross River National Park. (PHOTO: ©A.P. Leventis) massive scale. This will destroy the area’s extraordinary biodiversity and affect surrounding communities whose livelihoods are dependent on the ecosystem services the forest provides. The construction, which started without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), was opposed by communities and conservation organizations. The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF, BirdLife Partner) and other national and international NGOs, sent a protest letter to the Nigerian president, Mohammadu Buhari, which led to the suspension of the construction. An EIA and Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) were developed by a consultant for the Cross River state government. These were found to be unsatisfactory and inaccurate. For example, some bird species were listed as reptiles or mammals. Mammals not found in Africa were listed as resident species. The report also claimed that international conservation NGOs such as BirdLife and Fauna and FIora International were consulted during report development, a claim they refuted. A panel set by the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Environment rejected both documents. The documents were revised but errors were still found in 2017 in the revised documents. The Cross River State government and the consultant agreed to rewrite both reports, do a professional job and have wider consultation with all stakeholders including the affected communities. Meanwhile the call by NCF, BirdLife and other civil society organizations for the state government to relocate the super highway to avoid damaging Cross River National Park continues.
The rare Cross River gorilla. (PHOTO: ©Pixabay)
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