Civil society organisations and conservation experts on Wednesday called for the immediate amendment of the Cross River State Forestry Law, 2010, warning that the state has lost more than 60 per cent of its original forest cover.
The demand was made in Calabar during a media briefing where stakeholders presented a report titled “Recommended Reviews of the Cross River State Forestry Law, 2010.” The document is the outcome of a six-month consultative process involving academics, legal practitioners, legislators, conservationists and forest-dependent communities.
The stakeholders said that although the 2010 law was considered progressive at its inception, it has become inadequate to address present ecological and economic realities.
Presenting the policy brief, Dr Martins Egot described the situation as critical, noting that thousands of logs are extracted daily through both legal and illegal channels, while unregulated hunting and wildlife trade continue to threaten biodiversity. He added that large swathes of once-dense rainforest have been degraded into grasslands.
According to him, failure to reform the legal framework could result in the permanent loss of one of Nigeria’s most important ecological assets.
“The situation is not simply environmental. It is economic. It is social. It is generational,” he said, stressing that amending the law is essential for protecting livelihoods, ensuring climate stability and securing the economic future of the state.
The report recommended specific amendments to Section 19 of the law, which establishes the Forest Reserve Fund. While the section lists funding sources such as budgetary allocations, licence fees, fines and concessions, it does not stipulate the proportion of revenue to be paid into the Fund nor clearly define how the funds should be utilised.
Stakeholders argued that the lack of clarity undermines financial accountability and results in inconsistent implementation. They proposed that the law should specify the percentage of revenues payable into the Fund and clearly outline its permissible uses, including forest protection, regeneration, enforcement, community participation and capacity building.
A former member of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Nelson Ofem, described the existing legislation as too weak to safeguard the state’s rapidly depleting forest resources.
The policy brief identified five priority areas for reform: alignment with climate change commitments, stronger deterrence against forest crimes, restructuring of governance mechanisms, promotion of ecotourism as an alternative revenue source, and protection of the rights of indigenous forest-dependent communities.
Ken Henshaw of the advocacy group, We The People, also raised concerns over what he described as ambiguity surrounding the office of the Conservator-General. He noted that although the 2010 law mentions the office as a statutory member of the Forestry Commission and Chairperson of the Wildlife Conservation Advisory Committee, it does not formally establish the office or define its qualifications and appointment procedures.
He said the omission weakens institutional accountability and recommended the introduction of a substantive provision to formally establish the office, outline appointment procedures, specify minimum professional qualifications and define its powers and functions.
Stakeholders further highlighted potential economic gains from conservation, citing estimates that global climate funding reached approximately $1.46 trillion in 2022, largely directed at jurisdictions implementing nature-based climate solutions.
They noted that carbon financing and ecotourism could provide viable economic opportunities for Cross River State if the legal framework is strengthened to attract investment.
They described the policy brief as the beginning of broader engagement with lawmakers and warned that minor adjustments would not be sufficient given the scale of forest depletion.
“The future of our forests and indeed our collective future depends on the decisions we make today,” the report stated.