PAPFor

Cross River National Park, Nigeria

Yuzhou — 2023-09-19T15:26:40Z

The Cross River landscape contains the largest forest block left in Nigeria, with a wide variety of habitats ranging from dense rainforest to montane forest to high-altitude grasslands. Contiguous with forests in Cameroon, the landscape is a biodiversity hotspot of global significance and a centre of endemism for primates, birds, freshwater fish and amphibians. The Oban and Okwangwo Divisions of Cross River National Park are recognised as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and have been proposed as a World Heritage Site.

The region bounded by the Cross River in Nigeria and the Sanaga River in Cameroon is considered an important centre of plant diversity due to its speculated isolation during the Pleistocene era. The ecotone of unbroken and little-disturbed forest from 150 m to 1 700 m is rare in Africa and an important feature of the Okwangwo Division of Cross River National Park. Protection of these forests on the slopes of Cross River National Park is essential to maintain a continuous flow of safe and sustainable water supplies for local communities.

Gorilla country! A view of the Okwangwo Division of CRNP from the Obudu Plateau © WCS Nigeria

Map of Cross River National Park

Despite continued hunting pressure the primate fauna is remarkably diverse, with 19 species present: Cross River gorilla, Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee, drill, red colobus monkey, putty-nosed guenon, mona guenon, red-capped mangabey, red-eared guenon, crowned guenon, Preuss's guenon, Talbot's needle-clawed galago, Allen's galago, Demidoff's galago, Thomas's dwarf galago, potto, angwantibo, vervet monkey, patas monkey and olive baboon. Four of these species are endemic to the region and seven others are represented by endemic subspecies. Cross River National Park also supports an important population of forest elephants.

/Cross River gorilla Gorilla gorilla diehli © WCS Nigeria

A total of 463 bird species have been recorded from Cross River National Park including some that were previously considered endemic to certain highland areas of Cameroon such as the yellow-footed Honeyguide, Ursula's Sunbird and the Mount Kupe Bush-shrike. Cross River National Park also contains several globally threatened bird species such as the yellow-casqued hornbill, mountain saw-wing, Cameroon montane greenbul, grey-headed greenbul, green-breasted bush-shrike, Crossley's ground thrush, white-throated mountain babbler, Bannerman's weaver and the endangered red-headed rock fowl.

Forest elephants Loxodonta cyclotis in Cross River National Park © National Park Service

It has been estimated that Cross River National Park contains more than 1 100 species of butterfly and as such is reputed to be the richest site in Africa for butterflies. The river Cross is reported to have more fish species than any other hydrologically comparable West African river basin with one of the highest fish diversities recorded in West Africa and at least 11 endemic fish species. The region is also known to be a hotspot of amphibian richness and diversity with 61 amphibian species from the Oban area alone.

Cross River National Park is managed by the National Park Service, a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Environment, with support from the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Park rangers on a long-distance foot patrol © WCS Nigeria

PAPFor has supported the management of Cross River National Park through the Wildlife Conservation Society since 2019. The ‘EU Support Programme for the Preservation of Forest Ecosystems in Cross River State' has helped strengthen protection of the national park through support for ranger patrols and renovation of park infrastructure. The project also supports a conservation education outreach programme with surrounding schools, as well as a sustainable livelihood programme for adjacent communities.

Local schoolchildren on a field trip to Cross River National Park © WCS Nigeria

Cross River National Park is a popular tourism destination and is easily accessible from Calabar, the capital of Cross River State.

Park rangers have benefited from refresher training organised by WCS © WCS Nigeria

Conservation education and awareness

Yuzhou — 2022-07-26T17:11:07Z

Without strong levels of support from surrounding communities, many protected areas may not survive. PAPFor will help plan and implement an environmental education program and raise levels of public awareness through support for school conservation clubs and the use of targeted conservation films, radio drama, and social media. Highlighting the link between ecosystem services and the conservation of forests will also help to increase levels of support for areas such as Cross River National Park.

Strengthen management of protected areas

Yuzhou — 2022-07-26T17:09:29Z

Protected areas are the cornerstone of Nigeria's biodiversity conservation strategy. Unfortunately, the protected area network in Nigeria has been greatly neglected by both federal and state governments in recent decades and is in urgent need of financial, technical, and political support to strengthen management. PAPFor provides support for regular anti-poaching patrols by park rangers through ranger training, field equipment, field rations and allowances. PAPFor will also help develop/reha- bilitate park infrastructure including ranger posts, access roads, boundaries, and a communication network.

Support for sustainable agriculture

Yuzhou — 2022-07-26T17:04:46Z

Improving the sustainability of local farming practices such as cocoa, will help boost local incomes, decrease rates of forest loss, and protect important habitat corridors for endangered species. We will sign conservation contracts with local farmers and help organize them into local cooperatives and provide support for processing and marke- ting their produce to help ensure more of the value is delivered back to the farmer. By protecting local forests and promoting sustainable agriculture, the PAPFor project will work to safeguard traditional livelihoods and food security for local communities.

Logging and Forest loss

Yuzhou — 2022-07-26T16:55:27Z

Although a statewide ban on logging was introduced in 2009 it has been largely ineffective, and logging is widespread across Cross River State. Suchlevels of exploitation are clearly unsustainable, and continued forest lossthreatens local watersheds and livelihoods – through reduced water security, soil stabilization, and reduced resiliency to climate change – furtherexacerbating levels of rural poverty.

Hunting for the bushmeat trade

Yuzhou — 2022-07-26T16:50:26Z

Hunting to supply the commercial bushmeat trade is widespread and wildlife populations across much of Cross River State have been largely extirpated outsideof the national park and other protected areas. Bushmeat is a highly valuedcommodity in Nigeria and the bushmeat trade has already decimated populations of large mammals in the forests of Cross River State. Most hunting occurs to supply the commercial bushmeat trade, rather than for subsistenceuse, and most species sold are rodents and duikers (indicating depletion oflarger game species). Unfortunately, there is little or no control of the bushmeat trade and even species that are supposed to be fully protected by law,such as elephant and chimpanzee, may be sold as bushmeat.

Agricultural encroachment

Yuzhou — 2022-07-26T16:46:38Z

The deforestation rate in Cross River is one of the highest anywhere in the world, mainly driven by subsistence agriculture and the practice of shifting cultivation, wherebysmallholder farmers clear small plots of forest each year to plant crops such as cassava, banana, plantain, and cocoa. Large scale conversion of forest for commercial agricultural plantations (notably palm oil, rubber, and pineapple) hasalso significantly impacted the region. Although some of the state's forestreserves have been heavily degraded, Cross River National Park has sur-vived relatively intact due to legal protection provided by the federalgovernment. Fragmentation of the landscape threatens important ha-bitat corridors essential for the conservation of elephants, gorillas, andother large mammals.

A hotspot of primate diversity

Yuzhou — 2022-07-24T11:50:30Z

Despite continued hunting pressure the primate fauna in particular is remarkably diverse, with 19 species resent: Cross River gorilla, chimpanzee, drill, red colobus monkey, putty-nosed guenon, mona guenon, redcapped mangabey, red-eared guenon, crowned guenon, Preuss's guenon, Talbot's needle-clawed galago, Allen's galago, Demidoff's galago, Thomas's dwarf galago, potto, angwantibo, vervet monkey, patas monkeyand olive baboon. Four of these speciesare endemic to the region and sevenothers are represented by endemic subspecies.

Forest elephants

Yuzhou — 2022-07-24T11:50:24Z

Over the past century, forest elephants Loxodonta cyclotis have declined across most of their range and were recently classified by IUCN as “critically endangered”. As a result of hunting and habitat loss, only a few small groups of forest elephants survive in Nigeria today. Cross River National Park contains two important forest elephant populations in Oban and Okwangwo (contiguous with Takamanda National Park in Cameroon). Forest elephants are highly frugivorous and are instrumental in dispersing many tree species.

The sub-montane and montane forests of Cross River National Park

Yuzhou — 2022-07-24T11:50:16Z

The region bounded by the Cross River in Nigeria and the Sanaga River in Cameroon is considered an important center of plant diversity due to its speculated isolation during the Pleistocene era. The ecotone of unbroken and little-disturbed forest from 150m to 1,700m is rare in Africa and an important feature of the Okwangwo Division of Cross River National Park. Protection of these forests on the slopes of Cross River National Park is essential to maintain a continuous flow of safe and sustainable water supplies for local communities.