By PATRICK ABANG, Calabar –
The Program coordinator of Worthy Association for Tracking Environmental Ruins (WATER) Chief Edwin Ogar on Monday said his organization has dragged the Cross River State Forestry commission to Court over what he called illegal logging in Ekuri Community despite the ban.
Chief Ogar said in a statement on Monday in Calabar, said due to massive logging, environmental experts have raised the alarm that if nothing urgent is done by the Cross River State Government, the international community and the general public, in next two years the remaining 40 percent of the Ekuri community forest will be wiped away.
He said so far, 60 percent of Nigeria’s flagship Ekuri community forest project in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River state is gone and WATER is an NGO that is into conservation, sustainable forest management, climate change and is working particularly with Ekuri community in the conservation of Ekuri forest
“Despite the success of Ekuri, the forest now is not as good as it used to be. From the inception of the super Highway that took all of the 33,600 hectares, Ekuri has not known peace. Despite that we fought against the super highway and stalled the process, Ekuri has not known peace since then”.
“The forest that has been acclaimed the best communally managed forest in West Africa is now the envy of loggers. Currently, there is a ban on logging, instituted in 2008 by the governor of Cross River State, meaning that trees are not supposed to be cut for timber. That ban is still subsisting till now but unfortunately, the present regime has disregarded the ban and has approved logging concession in Ekuri of which we are in court already.
“We have instituted a litigation against the forestry commission, which is an arm of the state government, as well as the company that has that concession because my virtue of the ban on logging, government cannot approve logging concession and approving it is against the ban”
“The climax of it is that a logging company with equipment like caterpillars, skidders, loaders etc have also been, according to what we have heard on the news, authorised by the state government to enter Ekuri forest and log without even seeking the consent of the community because Ekuri community forest is a bonafide property of Ekuri community.
“It is not a forest reserve that government is holding for the community on trust, rather, it is owned by the community and as it stands, any company wishing to do business in any community in Cross River State is supposed to obtain permission from the community as the owners but this company never did so. The company is Ezemac international Nigeria company limited. Without permission, he and over 100 individual illegal loggers have ravaged New and Old Ekuri forest.
He said the essence of this is to tell the world that the company is still logging and the world is not saying anything but leaving it to Ekuri alone to battle it out.
“The loggers definitely will soon finish the logging of Ekuri forest and that will not be for the interest of Nigerians because the forest is playing a very vital role in terms of climate change mitigation, providing livelihood for men, providing medicinal plants as well as regulating the climate. Unfortunately, people are looking the other way and nobody wants to talk about it.
“At the rate the company is going, in less than two years, the forest would be gone, irrespective of the size because already, the other side of the forest on old Ekuri axis is almost gone, logging there was done by more than 100 individual loggers and the community did not have the capacity to stop them. Ekuri is a minority community that can do little or nothing to stop them because the financial and technical capacity, in terms of raising resources to sustain such a matter, is not there.
“The logging has taken more than 60 percent and what is left is 33,600 hectares estimated 40 percent and going by the current rate of deforestation, in less than two years, the forest will be gone and only then would it dawn on us the need to have protected that forest because the issue of water scarcity in not just Ekuri but communities downstream, would arise. The issue of non-availability of non-timber forest products is there, the issue of polluted air would also be there.
Chief Oga, therefore, urged the Cross River State Government to take responsibility in ensuring that the environment is sustained or risk the high cost of health and climate issues.
This is because the absence of environmental services also causes a lot of issues. Various old and new diseases will come up, and government has no resources to finance these health issues that will come up.
” The forest plays a very crucial role in terms of stabilising the nation because firstly, it is a source of economic survival both to government and individuals”, he said.
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