Communities decry illegal timber exploitation

By Nsa Gill, Calabar

Members of forest communities in Cross River State, particularly Ekuri and Edondon communities, are drawing government’s attention to the high level of timber exploitation by people suspected to be illegal loggers operating with impunity.

They said the exploitation is alarming, happening across communities in Akamkpa, Obubra, Etung and Boki local governments.

The people of Ekuri, whose community is divided into ‘Old and New Ekuri’, yesterday held a peaceful demonstration to demand action from the federal and state governments, as well as other stakeholders in forest management, conservation and climate change.

They carried placards, accusing the state Forestry Commission of destroying their forest and heritage.

Chief Edwin Ogar, the head of Obioform village at New-Ekuri in Akamkpa Local Government, who spoke on behalf of his community, said they were demonstrating because of impunity in the operations of the illegal loggers, “who have taken over our forest.”

He said: “By their activities, the Edondon road, the only access road to old-Ekuri and new-Ekuri villages have been destroyed.

“Our farmers can no longer bring out their goods. Movement to and from Ekuri communities has been impeded. We have complained to the state government. Sadly, the government is not listening to our cries. This is why we are calling their attention in this way.”

Ogar said the government and the public need to know the extent of the destruction going on in the state’s forest communities.

He said, for instance, Ekuri community has a forest area of about 33, 600 hectares and by estimation, about 10,000 of that have been exploited by illegal loggers.

He alleged that it came to their knowledge that the state forestry commission recently approved a concession to a group for logging of the forest reserves in the new-Ekuri forest, against the moratorium that had been in place.

Comrade Innocent Edi, who introduced himself as the central unit leader representing Okom kingdom, said that 16 communities made up the Okom kingdom, namely Appiapum, Iyamoyong, Okuritet, Yamitite, Edondon, Okukuri, Ochon, Oganban, Oyenokpon, Oyenoranghan, Isaban, Odongin and Akamogbagbuni.

He said: “These are communities in Okom kingdom that coincidentally have boundaries with  Ekuri people.”

Edi said there was too much exploitation of the forest without afforestation, adding: “For some of us, we think the government should enact laws and enforce them at the grassroots, because, when these laws are enacted and not enforced at the grassroots, you have the level of impunity we are now seeing, despite the moratorium the state government has made on logging, years ago.”

Contacted on the phone, the Chairman of the Forestry Commission, Chief Tony Undiandeye, blamed the community and the security agents for the allegation of the illegal logging of the state’s timber reserves.

He said: “How does the commission encourage illegal logging?  Are we at the commission, living in the community? Are the loggers logging for the commission? The community members are the ones doing the logging.”

An environmentalist, Mr. Martins Egot, said most of the timbers being exploited at the forest are export woods that attract high international value.

“They have probably found large deposit of the high value timber species in Cross River State. A powerful clique or cabal is behind what is happening,” he alleged.