Cameroon timber
No fewer than 20 Civil Society Organizations, CSO, working on environmental and forestry issues in Cross River State have demanded that the state Forestry Law enacted since 2010 be amended.
They met in Calabar on Wednesday to announce that after six months of regular interface to review the content of the law, they were convinced that most of its provisions have become obsolete and not at par with present realities.
The CSOs in a list of recommendation released to the press, disclosed they would lobby the state House of Assembly to look at the laws again with a view to amending them for the greater good of the state and posterity.
Leaders of the coalition include renowned conservationists and environmentalists such as Dr Odinga Odinga, a former chairman of the state Forestry commission, Dr Martins Egot, Pastor Nelson Offem, a former lawmaker, as well as Ken Henshaw of We The People.
In their press statement, they explained that the 2010 law was enacted to provide a framework for forest conservation and management but that the realities of 2026 have become significantly different from those of 2010.
“For instance, climate change has intensified. Nigeria has made new national and international commitments on emissions reduction, afforestation, and forest restoration. Forest crimes have become more organised. Enforcement challenges have grown more complex. Meanwhile, economic opportunities linked to conservation, such as eco-tourism, have expanded globally.”
They insisted that the legal framework must evolve to meet these new realities.
In view of the wanton deforestation of the vast forests in central and northern parts of the state said to be the largest in Nigeria, with the most biodiverse tropical rainforest ecosystem, they have called for strengthening deterrence against forest crimes.
The group lamented that illegal logging and wildlife trafficking continue to undermine conservation efforts and the weak or absence of laws cannot stop them.
“Weak penalties and enforcement gaps have allowed these activities to persist. The current law allows for penalties that could act as incentives for forest crimes to continue. For instance, if a truck was seized during the commission of a forest crimes, the penalty is a meagre N200,000, a sum most illegal loggers will gladly pay and continue their crime.”
They recommended stronger and more proportionate sanctions in line with the gravity of the crimes, improved monitoring systems and better coordination among enforcement agencies.
They called for reformation of governance structures and promoting eco-tourism as an additional economic pathway.
According to them, forest communities were never part of decision making on issues affecting their forests.
As a result, they called for laws that will support community participation in forest governance, co-management arrangements, recognition of traditional knowledge systems and community-based monitoring mechanisms.