CONSERVATION experts have identified hunting and other human activities as major threats to gorillas in Nigeria and Cameroon.
They made the submission after a two-day workshop convened by the Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of the Interior, in partnership with the governments of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that of the Republic of Cameroon.
In a report by Andrew Dunn of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Nigeria about three to four gorillas were killed by poachers in the past two years in Nigeria and Cameroon.
In his presentation on the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, the Chairman, Cross River State Forestry Commission Mr. Odigha Odigha, said the “Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary (AMWS) has been inadequately managed since it was established in 2000, and although patrols have increased since 2011 pressure remains high and levels of protection are still poor.
“The estimated gorilla population is 25-30 individuals (based on the 2007 Action Plan). Current threats were listed as: hunting (high); farming (high); logging (low within sanctuary) and NTFP use (medium)”.
He pointed out that the major landslides in Buanchor and Boje areas in July 2012 were discussed and the possible connection with illegal farming activity on surrounding hillsides but key achievements in 2012 included the arrest of 2 hunters arrested for killing gorillas and at least 33 anti-poaching patrols.
He noted that some of the constraints in protecting the gorillas and the forest include “insufficient funding; threats to the corridor linking Afi to Mbe; unclear boundaries of AMWS; shortage of vehicles; presence of large numbers of illegal farms within the sanctuary; lack of training for rangers and very low levels of awareness of the new forestry and wildlife law”.
The experts focused on the need to eradicate illegal farms from within the sanctuary, and the possible linkage between these farms and the catastrophic landslides as the state government was encouraged to formally include conservation education within the school curriculum; as well as the need for all three sections of government to work together: local, state and federal. Other gorilla areas affected in Nigeria are the Mbe Mountains and the Okwangwo Division of Cross River National Park.
Odigha explained that illegal farms will not be removed forcibly and that people need benefits from conservation so that they are willing to leave the sanctuary and alternative livelihoods so that they may be willing to change. Conservation with a human face was recommended.
For the Takamanda National Park in Cameroon, the Conservator, Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) Mr. Walter Egbe, put the gorilla population at 30-35, based on surveys and nest counts but said threats were identified as “poaching (high); encroachment, primarily farming (low); logging (low); fire (medium); livestock grazing (medium) and unsustainable NTFP harvesting (medium) and illegal logging and the movement of illegal timber from Takamanda into Nigeria.
He listed various achievements to include; construction of park infrastructure; the arrest and jailing of 3 illegal loggers; the arrest of 1 international elephant poacher and the arrest of 21 local hunters.
Other sites in Cameroon so affected by similar human threats are Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary, Cameroon, Mone Forest Reserve, Mawambi Hills and Mbulu Hills.
On gorilla tourism, it was recommended that a working group should be established to address the issue of developing gorilla-based tourism to promote conservation of Cross River gorillas and provide an informed proposal to central government while in Cameroon, two sites (Kagwene and mwambi) were considered as pilots and that there should be a feasibility study to compare the two.