‘It affects climate mitigation’ — stakeholders decry deforestation in Cross River

Stakeholders in the environmental sector and civil society in Cross River have lamented the “high rate” of deforestation in the state’s forests.

They expressed this at a multi-stakeholder event organised in the state which brought together members of the civil society, traditional leaders, academia, environmental activists, as well as government representatives.

Ken Henshaw, the convener of the event and the executive director of We The People, said deforestation is perpetuated by state and non-state actors.

He said the destruction of Cross River forests has been happening since the 90’s, adding that “as of 1991, the total forest cover located in Cross River state stood at 7,920 square kilometres”.

“By 2008, the forest cover considerably declined and dropped to about 6,102 square kilometres occupying only 28.6 percent of the entire surface area of Cross River state, while between 1991 and 2021, the state lost 1,514 square kilometres of forest cover, and between 2007 and 2014 for instance, the rate of deforestation has increased tremendously, leading to lost of 1,070 square kilometres of forest in seven years,” he added.

Odey Oyama, the executive director of Rainforest Resource and Development Center, said the degradation of the forest environment is destroying the state’s pristine forests.

He said it is also reducing the state’s ability to benefit from projects such as the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) programme; the global climate change mitigation, and the millennium development goals programme of the United Nations (UN).

“The forestry commission, as an institution of government saddled with the statutory responsibility of sustainable forest management, has been very negligent and complacent and oftentimes, the commission would maintain a conspiracy of silence than wake up to its duties whenever cases of illegal logging are reported to them,” he said.

In a keynote address, Odigha Odigha, former chairman of Cross River forestry commission, said no community in the state is spared as trucks loaded with timber find their way out of the state daily.

He identified funding, tree planting, and incompetent forest protection employees as some of the challenges facing the forest sector.

He charged the stakeholders to ensure forest governance is improved by electing into power a candidate who is willing to protect the state forests.