The Okomu National Park located in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State was established in 1935 and is one of the seven parks in the country that is facing challenges.
The park, it was learnt is a wildlife sanctuary and a rainforest ecosystem that is the habitat for many endangered species.
The challenges according to Daily Trust findings are threatening the existence and hindering the smooth operation of the parks, especially park rangers carrying out their duties.
Among the challenges faced by the parks, it was gathered are conversion of the forest to plantation by cocoa farmers, illegal lumbering of trees by loggers and hunting of animals, among others.
The development it was learnt has limited the operations of the park, as these activities are threatening the conservation of the park as well as wildlife species in the forest reserve.
It was also learnt that quite a huge segment of the reserve forest has been lost to illegal encroachers, while most of the animal species have been chased out by hunters and illegal encroachers.
The national park, according to Daily Trust findings covers an area of 202.24 square kilometres but it is shrinking following encroachment by farmers.
It was learnt that due to the large size of the park coupled with the lack of perimeter fence, it is easier for encroachers to enter the forest and also made it difficult for the park rangers to effectively protect the forest reserve.
A local community member, who only gave his name as Issac, said people are encroaching on the forest because of its large nature.
He said before the park management got to know of any encroachment because of its large nature, especially loggers, they have already wreaked havoc on the forest.
“The forest is too big and it is not fenced. People can enter the forest on all sides and it takes time before the authority might be aware of it. “
He said at times, cattle rearers often stray into the reserve because it is not fenced.
Speaking with Daily Trust, the Conservator of Park, Okomu National Park, Augustine O. Obekpa, identified logging, encroachment by cocoa farmers, hunting as well as funding among others as the challenges facing the park.
Okomu National Park is a rain forest and it covers an area of 202.24 square kilometres.
He said “The forest itself plays a vital role in human life, it mitigates the impact of climate change effect among others and as you are destroying the forest you are robbing the environment of being able to withstand the effect of climate change.
“Also, the forest is the home of wild animals and as people are encroaching on the reserve for farming and lugging, they are destroying the forest and also destroying their habitats. As a result, they will run away as they don’t have a place to live, leading to the extinction of the animals in the forest.
“As a result, some animals like elephants among others hardly stay in the forest now, unless the zoo, but it would be more interesting if it is in a natural environment like the forest reserve.
“Some farmers have encroached on the land for cocoa plantations but we don’t have issues of armed herdsmen.”
According to him, hunting is another challenge because hunters go around the forest hunting for animals to kill and in the process, drove them away.
“But, as they are doing logging, farming and hunting in the forest reserve, we are also halting them down through arrest and prosecution”.
He explained that the park rangers are always on ground patroling, arresting and prosecuting encroachers in line with the enabling Act of the park.
He said many people have been prosecuted over encroachment and that the essence is to deter the loggers, farmers and hunters from encroaching on the land to carry out illegal activities.
“As you know, the park is not fenced and that gives room for people to encroach on the vast land.”
He said to checkmate the illegal encroachers, the rangers patrol the parks frequently to ensure that illegal encroachers are nipped in the bid.
“To do this effectively, we have rangers who are not in the office but strategically located close to the park so that they can easily get information and act quickly and protect the park because the park is not fenced”.
He said that the government is trying but funding is still a challenge due to the size of the park, adding that they still need more funds to keep the park tight.
He, however, advised those carrying out illegal activities in the park to desist from it as they would be arrested and prosecuted.
On his part, an environmentalist, Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), noted that lots of protected forests have been lost to illegal encroachers across the country.
“Okomu forest is a forest that houses endemic species like white monkey among others.”
According to him, converting a forest to plantation is not the same as having a forest still standing, adding that it leads to the release of more carbon, which would have been absolved if the forest is left tight.
“Conversion of forest to farms or plantations reduces the quality of the entire environment or the ecosystem.This leads to the extinction of species and also affects the neighbouring communities.”
He noted that having armed individuals in the reserve is something the security agents should deal with because it is a mark of insecurity for the entire region and not just the forest reserve.
“Any encroachment on the forest reserve is an illegal activity that should not be tolerated by the government in the interest of the forest reserve and neighbouring communities.
“It is going to lead to loss of plants and animal species, affect the quality of the water bodies of rivers and streams in the forest reserve and it is also going to lead to the displacement of communities who have been leaving in harmony with the forest reserve”.
He said when people are allowed to treat the forest as their personal property, trees would be cut down and converted to plantations and its implication would lead to loss of a variety of biodiversity, conflict and contribution to global warming by releasing the carbon that the forest reserve actually stored.
“Considering planet impact and the right of a community to live in harmony with nature, we should be expanding forest reserves and not destroying them into farms or plantations.
He advised both the Edo State and the federal government to look into the disruption of forest reserves because what is happening in our forest reserve is alarming and without doing this it means our fight against global warming is nothing.
Also speaking, another environmentalist, Barr Nosa Tokunbor urged the federal government to set up a probe panel on the forest reserve and bring those who violate the existing park laws to book.
“What we need to do to address the encroachment is by strengthening existing policies and laws to halt deforestation on our reserve forest by arresting perpetrators.
“This development is threatening national forest reserves or the animals that are protected within that area and resulted in poaching, which is an illegal act within the national park.”
He said as people are carrying out deforestation on the reserve, they are chasing the animals out of the only place they understand to be their home to elsewhere when their life can be threatened.
“Government should strengthen the existing policies and enforce the laws that are already existing to ensure that forests are well preserved. National parks are monuments that need to be protected and the government should live up to its responsibility.
He, however, called on those who want to deforest for charcoal and other purposes that the new approach now is “As you are cutting one tree, plant another”.
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