Image: Pascal Walschots
Newly elected government officials in Nigeria are attempting to build a six-lane superhighway through an irreplaceable lowland rainforest.
Living in the rainforest are the last 300 Cross River gorillas, chimpanzees, and 14 other primate species. In fact, nearly 80% of all primate species in Nigeria are found in this area.
In addition to primates, the rainforest provides a home for countless other rare and endangered species that are already under threat due to human activity. This includes African forest elephants, buffalo, 350+ species of birds, 950 species of butterflies, 42 species of snakes, and 1,545 species of plants.
The region has also been identified as one of the oldest rainforests in Africa and is a well-known biodiversity hotspot.
Cross River Gorilla. Image: Julie Langford
Knowing all of this, it would seem that protecting this invaluable area at all costs is a no-brainer. But not so much.
This $3.5 billion, 162-mile long superhighway will run right through it.
The superhighway is an effort to attract “financial inflows into the Cross River economy,” according to Chinedum Nwajiuba of Imo State University.
Demolition has already commenced despite multiple protests and pleads from locals. The project was given the go-ahead by president Muhammadu Buhari over a year ago, and construction started almost immediately. The forest clearing began even before an Environmental Impact Assessment was conducted and approved.
African forest elephant. Image: Thomas Breuer
Ekuri community leader Chief Abel Egbe said, “The construction of a Superhighway is welcomed, however, we don’t desire a highway that will render us homeless, destroy our ancestral forests, land and all the wildlife.”
Local and international environmentalists and humanitarians are now stepping forward. A petition to stop or re-route the highway has generated over 250,000 signatures from individuals in Africa and across the world.
Approximately 1 million people and an undetermined number of animals will be forced out of the rainforest if the superhighway moves forward. Please help protect this precious forest and those that live in it by signing the petition here.
