By Bassey Inyang Correspondent, Calabar
At least $10 million will be required for the conservation of the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) population.
The Country Director, Wildlife Conservation Society, Mr. Andrew Dunn, disclosed this during the official launching of the Revised Regional Action Plan for the conservation of the Cross River Gorilla 2014 – 2019 in Calabar.
Dunn said the amount would cover implementation of all the recommendations contained in the plan over a period of five years.
Dunn said at the moment, some of the required funds had been secured from international donors such as KFW and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. But, he said more funds were still needed for the conservation of the Cross River Gorilla.
His words: “We need to rely less on NGOs and the International Donors these funds need to be raised from within Nigeria itself.”
Dunn said that the Cross River Gorilla is the most important species within the forests of central and northern Cross River State.
“If we protect this critically endangered ape as a flagship species for the region, then we will also ensure the survival of much of the state’s overall biodiversity,” he said.
Dunn stated that “Cross River Gorilla population is spread across a broad landscape including a more-or-less continuous forest area of about 8,500 square km, from Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary in the West to Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary in Cameroon in the East. Within these forests, gorillas are concentrated in rugged mountainous areas that are difficult for people to reach and therefore, less disturbed by hunting and farming”.
Dunn said aside the gorilla, there exists many important species within these forests such as the chimpanzee, drill, leopard, elephant, and red colobus monkey.
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