Conservationists and environmentalists have expressed fear over the safety of tourists and eco guards at the famous Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary and Drill Ranch in Buanchor community, Boki local government area of Cross River State.
This is owing to the reported activities of illegal miners, loggers and unauthorised armed men.
The two places are massive protected habitats for rare and endangered animal species managed by the state government and frequented by international tourists, researchers and students.
The programme officer, Pandrillus Foundation, Zack Schwenneker, Mr Odigha Odigha, former Chairman of Cross River Forestry Commission, Dr Martens Egot, Executive Director of PADIC-Africa, amongst others, have called for stronger ties with forest communities and state government to protect the reserved forests.
They, alongside other stakeholders, spoke at a town hall meeting held in Buanchor community in Boki LGA aiming to address security issues around the reserved forests.
Schwenneker said the reserved sites in Buanchor are facing constant encroachments by farmers, hunters, loggers and other illegal activities.
He said these challenges are hindering eco-tourism from flourishing in Buanchor and other conservation areas across the state.
Worried over the security of the lives of tourists, he said, “The Onemile square is supposed to be a protective area. There shouldn’t be any hunting, trapping and logging.
“In December, we had international tourists, and people entered inside the camp with guns. ”Schwenneker disclosed.
On his part, Dr. Odigha warned that illegal activities in the reserved areas would scare potential international and local tourists.
He warned that too many threats could degrade the status of the area.
Odigha advised the community to protect the beautiful landscape of the Afi Mountain Sanctuary, describing it as God’s own home.
Leaders of the Buanchor community also expressed worry over the illegal logging activities, saying “Logging activities happening in the northern part of the sanctuary is a critical issue, and the government should look into it.”
They agreed to work with NGOs that are interested in building a tourism hub in their forest to protect the habitats.
In his contribution, the Director, of Eco-Tourism and Art Development, Cross River State Ministry of Art, Tourism and Culture, Mr. Clement Omina said, “ We are calling for a tripartite where the communities that are host to some of the attractions we find around us have to be part of the tourism project from the point of view of developing the tourism product to marketing the tourism product.”
Speaking earlier, the Executive Director of PADIC-Africa, Dr Martens Egot noted that the meeting was to look at areas where the communities living around the Afi Mountain would feel the impacts of activities and operations of NGOs both local and international.