Bio-diversity

Project goal is to to conserve endangered biodiversity and ecosystems in Ekuri community forest. Project objective is to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Ekuri Initiative for conservation actions and to empower the Ekuri villagers economically through improved knowledge and alternative livelihoods. Despite the modest achievements of the Ekuri Initiative, it is still faced with various problems. Among them are low level of conservation awareness; low level of knowledge and skills on sustainable forest management, project development and resource mobilization and management of non-timber forest products. Others problems include annual deforestation through farming and hence destruction of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity; lack of skills to add value to farm and forest products to improve quality, prices, earnings; increased incursions into Ekuri forest by outsiders caused by the overgrown and non-visible boundary line of the Ekuri community forest and over-hunting of wildlife. Project activities include; Workshops on the following: on environmental education, boundary tracing and cleaning, forest management and control, project formulation and resource mobilization, Non Timber Forest Products management, intensive agriculture, cocoa and oil palm nurseries, Mid=term review and monitoring, animal husbandry; goat farms, Web designing/hosting, Monitoring, reviews and final evaluation. Groups involved are the farmers and women of the community.

Nigeria