Get Guardian on GoogleThe Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and its international partners have invested about 200,000 Canadian dollars in postgraduate research aimed at strengthening conservation efforts for the critically endangered Cross River gorilla.
The five-year Community Conservation Graduate Student Scholarship Programme, funded by the Wilder Institute in Canada, has supported six students, comprising one PhD and five master’s students, at the University of Calabar.
Speaking during the project’s concluding study committee meeting in Calabar, Director of Technical Programmes at NCF, Adedamola Ogunseyan, said the research focused on gender, land-cover changes and environmental degradation in the Afi Mountains and the wider gorilla landscape.
He said the funding covered tuition, accommodation, living expenses and medical care, adding that the beneficiaries also participated in exchange programmes in Ghana and attended a conference in Lagos.
Ogunseyan described the Cross River gorilla as a unique subspecies found only in Cross River State and parts of Cameroon, noting that its conservation could also create opportunities for ecotourism and improve community livelihoods if properly managed.
Also speaking, Senior Scientist for Wildlife Conservation at the Wildlife Institute, Canada, Dr Andrew Macintosh, described the gorilla as one of the most critically endangered apes in the world, with one of the lowest population numbers globally.
He said the partnership was established to strengthen local research capacity and equip Nigerians to understand and address threats facing the species.
Macintosh, however, said it was too early to determine the impact of the research programme on the gorilla population, stressing that conservation required sustained monitoring and long-term community engagement.
He explained that the five-year initiative was a starting point towards developing local conservation professionals who could contribute to protecting the species and its habitat.
Head of External Relations at the University of Calabar and project coordinator, Dr Blessing Ntamu, said the programme had recorded progress, with one PhD student and four master’s students graduating, while the remaining master’s student was expected to complete the programme before the end of the year.
Ntamu identified the camera documentation of a Cross River gorilla in its natural habitat, reportedly for the first time in decades, as one of the breakthroughs associated with conservation efforts in the area.
She said the university would work towards ensuring that recommendations from the students’ research were considered for implementation, while urging stakeholders and communities to protect the endangered species.
Chairman of the Project Advisory Committee, Uchenna Achunime, said seven partners were involved in the initiative, with NCF serving as the principal implementing organisation and the University of Calabar as the host academic institution.
Other partners include the Afi Mountain community, Cross River National Park, Cross River Forestry Commission and the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation Research in Ghana.
Achunime, who is also NCF’s Director of Business Development and Partnerships, said the committee met every six months to review progress, adding that the research had provided useful insights into human activities, wildlife interactions and threats to the gorilla’s habitat.
