THE CREEKS ARE BEAUTIFUL IN NATURE

This is how the creek was before oil exploration


Creek Damage from oil exploration

The Niger Delta  is the largest mangrove swamp in Africa and the third largest in the world. Its dense forest and complex labyrinth of creeks and waterways breathes life into over 339 plant species and more than 100 species of birds and fish. Tall palm trees with thick branches stretch upward before bending to touch the water below. The natural wonder stretches for miles and miles, but today it’s only a fragment of what it once was.

A burgeoning population coupled with rapid urbanization has swallowed much of the mangrove, which is being reclaimed to create more habitable land. Meanwhile, multinational oil companies have dredged the swamp to build pipelines, disturbing the delicate saltwater and freshwater balance, eroding banks, and depriving the roots of plants and trees of vital nutrients. Oil spills have clogged the soil and contaminated just about every community in the Delta, contributing to myriad health problems, including cancer.

The list of environmental mishaps reads like a criminal record. Royal Dutch Shell, one of many multinational oil companies pumping crude from the troubled region, has admitted to 1,693 oil spills since 2007. (Advocacy groups like Amnesty International claim the figure is much higher.) In just one of those spills, in 2008, 100,000 barrels seeped into the Ogoni Land region of the Delta. Thousands of hectares of mangroves were damaged, and 69,000 people were affected. Four months later, Shell was responsible for another spill that further devastated Ogoni Land.

For the Niger Delta communities that rely on farming and fishing, the environmental damage has been catastrophic. All told, the United Nationssays it could take 25 to 30 years and at least $1 billion to clean up pollution from more than 50 years of oil operations here. But the government has done little to help the region bounce back.

Countless studies reveal that access to water, electricity, health facilities, jobs, and education remain limited. A 2006 report from the United Nations Development Programme highlights “administrative neglect, crumbling social infrastructure and services, high unemployment, social deprivation, abject poverty, filth and squalor, and endemic conflict.” The report goes on to call the Delta one of the world’s starkest examples of the “resource curse.”

Stop the destruction of our Land, we want to preserve our land for the next generation to see its beauty. we want to show off what we have to the rest of the world.

The new face of Development.

PROTECTING RAIN-FORESTS FOR PRIMATES AND PEOPLE

The place with the highest number of primate species on the entire African continent is an ancient rainforest in South-Eastern Nigeria. CERCOPAN strives to conserve this forest and to protect its monkeys because both are highly threatened. For effective results, we provide education and practical options for the local communities so that their dependence on the forests becomes sustainable rather than destructive. While hunting threats remain, we provide sanctuary and individual care for orphan monkeys, progressing through their rehabilitation to reintroduction, in suitable cases, into the forest we protect.
Are you a lover of these animals visit CERCOPAN Nigeria.cercopan.org

WHY CHOOSE ECO TOURISM

Growth and Development of EcotourismIn the early 1970s, people in several remote areas of the world knew howimportant tourism could be, but they did not want to destroy the exoticenvironment that surrounded them (Mitlin and Satternwaite, 2000, p.20). Anexample of such a place is a town in Mexico called Cancun. Cancun used to be anexotic prime beach resort and the number of tourists was not very high. Todaythere are more visitors than natives. This is because when developers recognizedthe potentials Cancun had, they drew up a master plan that placed priority onenvironment protection, but Mexico started experiencing political and economicinstability. This instability and recession made the government and some topbusiness individuals affected by the recession to start finding ways to bring moneyinto the economy. They turned to the tourism industry and Cancun was sacrificed.The result of this sacrifice was that the natives were relocated to the mountainside, the exotic beaches became overpopulated and were clustered with visitors,tourists and garbage. This point was emphasized by Daily (1997, p.7). The reefwhich had a very rich Aqua life was damaged by ships coming into the Wharf.Water treatment became insufficient to save what was left of the aqua life. It alsobecame impossible to meet the requirements of the number of growing visitors.Like in the case of Cancun, other exotic beaches and islands got destroyedecologically. The natural and serene environments were punctuated by masstourism, pollution and garbage. When this sad stories were heard, ecologists andtourism leaders saw the importance of preserving the environment for futuregenerations to also experience and enjoy earth’s natural beauty (Costanza, et al.,2001, P.107). Most ecotourism destinations are found in areas with vast naturalsurroundings. Examples of these places are tropical rainforests, coral reefs,deserts, and ice glaciers. Ecotourism is also important because there is thepresence of culture that is unique to the visitor. The focus of ecotourism is toprovide tourists with news about certain natural areas and the culture found withinthose areas. Ecotourism helps to improve the local economy and conservation efforts of the natives.