New Nigeria-Cameroun biosphere reserve underway 

EXPERTS from six countries have commenced the process to strengthen trans-boundary conservation between Nigeria and Cameroun with a proposal to creation of a new biosphere reserve.

To ensure the actuallisation of this proposal, the conservationists set up a Small working groups to quickly finalise nomination forms from Nigeria and Cameroon and once finalized the application will be jointly submitted to UNESCO in 2016 for the creation of a new trans-boundary biosphere reserve between Nigeria and Cameroon, to be called the Cross River-Korup-Takamanda Biosphere Reserve.

This position was taken in a recent workshop sponsored by the Great Apes Programme of the Arcus Foundation in December last year in Calabar with more than 40 international participants from six different countries to review and strengthen trans-boundary collaboration between Cross River National Park in Nigeria and Takamanda National Park and Korup National Park in Cameroon.

A release endorsed by Andrew Dunn and Onaoyom Imong of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said that this was the 7th trans-boundary workshop held between Nigeria and Cameroon since 2008 representatives from the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nigerian National Park Service, UNESCO, members of the Nigerian Man and the Biosphere Committee, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Ministry of Forests and Wildlife (Cameroon), Arcus Foundation, the IUCN-WCPA Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group, the Wildlife Conservation Society and many others.

The workshop explained, “trans-boundary conservation refers to the cooperative management of an area, by two or more countries, that straddle international boundaries for conservation purposes and may include adjacent national parks and other protected areas.  Transboundary conservation offers a number of benefits as well as challenges.  Connecting two or more areas increases the size of habitat available for protection, generally a single large area is considered more effective at preserving biodiversity than numerous smaller areas.

“Joint management activity can also enable the pooling of limited resources to minimize replication and maximise productivity.  Moreover transboundary cooperation can enable broader political collaboration between countries by using environmental management as a tool to foster good relations and reinforce confidence.  Yet it requires significant political will and commitment from governments, as well as the support of surrounding communities.  The current transboundary initiative between Nigeria and Cameroon is being supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society, an international NGO with country programs in both countries”.

To date, the conservationists explained “trans-boundary activities between Nigeria and Cameroon have focused mainly on joint patrols, sharing of information and exchange visits.  A biosphere reserve differs from a national park since it promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use.  They are also ‘Science for Sustainability support sites’ – special places for testing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and managing changes and interactions between social and ecological systems, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity.  Biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located.

“Their status is internationally recognized.  Biosphere reserves have three interrelated zones that aim to fulfill three complementary and mutually reinforcing functions: a strictly protected core area to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation; a surrounding buffer zone to be used for activities compatible with sound ecological practices that can reinforce scientific research, monitoring, training and education; and a transition area is the part of the reserve where the greatest activity is allowed, fostering economic and human development that is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable”.

In a similar workshop over 50 participants from Nigeria, Cameroon, the USA, UK, Switzerland and France met in December last year in Calabar at the instance of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in partnership with the Governments of Nigeria and Cameroon, to discuss strategies to save the critically endangered Cross River gorilla.

While declaring the workshop open, the Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade stated that the development of tourism is the flagship of his administration, stressing that Cross River State has a comparative advantage over other states due to the presence of nature-based attractions such as the Cross River gorilla.

The Governor who was represented by the Commissioner for Ministry of Environment, Mr. Mike Ikor Eraye emphasized that the revenue from ecotourism could be used to fund the conservation of the Cross River gorilla and also for an environmental education and awareness campaign in the state.