Ekuri women in Cross River State, Nigeria, have warned that rampant illegal logging is destroying decades of community-led forest conservation and triggering severe hardship, including food shortages, poverty, and heightened insecurity.
The women, from Ekuri in Akamkpa Local Government Area, raised the alarm during a media training programme in Calabar. They detailed how relentless timber poaching is undoing their successful preservation of over 33,600 hectares of communal forest, a model once hailed for sustainable management.
Community representative Agatha Egot explained that economic pressures have eroded traditional safeguards, with some local youths now involved in illegal logging for survival. She stated that forest degradation has drastically reduced access to vital non-timber forest products like afang, editan, atama, and ogbono. These staples, once abundant, are now scarce, forcing women to travel longer distances through unsafe terrain to collect them.
The decline in forest produce and farm yields has worsened poverty, Egot added, making it increasingly difficult for families to afford basic needs and children’s education. assistant secretary of the Ekuri Women’s Forum, Freda Francis, highlighted a surge in insecurity. She said the presence of loggers and unfamiliar armed individuals in the forests restricts women’s access to farms and has led to intimidation, with some loggers allegedly asserting ownership over forest areas.
Francis also noted that logging has damaged natural water systems, leaving streams dried up or polluted. The women alleged that more than 200 truckloads of timber are removed from Ekuri daily, and resistance is often met with harassment and threats.
Furthermore, they decried the destruction of the community’s sole access road by heavy-duty trucks. This damage has isolated Ekuri, raised transport costs, and compounded economic hardship, with cocoa farmers reporting plantation destruction and losses.
The situation underscores the collapse of a renowned community conservation effort, threatening local livelihoods and ecosystems. The women’s appeals highlight the urgent need for enforcement against illegal logging to restore security, environmental health, and sustainable resource access in the region.
