What it is like to spearhead mangrove restoration in Calabar, Nigeria
"It is like one chasing you from your home, and you have nowhere to stay anymore. That is the same thing we do to those plant and animal species, because we destroy their habitats..."
Mangroves are very instrumental to the ecosystem and play a key role in the mitigation of excessive flooding and storm surges in the areas where they are found. These woody plants that are either trees or shrubs are important to man and other organisms dependent on them for survival. To be more specific, a recent UN report estimates that mangroves store two to four times more carbon than terrestrial forests, and when they are destroyed, a huge amount of carbon is released back into the atmosphere, proving their essentiality as great carbon sinks capable of helping cool the environment. Also, mangroves are associated with over a thousand different species reliant on them for food and natural spaces – in fact, over 2 billion people living within 100 km of the world’s coastlines are dependent on these plants in one way or the other.
In Nigeria, mangroves are peculiar to local areas in the Niger Delta and constitute parts of the cultures of the people therein. In Calabar, the coastal capital city of Cross River, Nigeria, Anna Obi Akpe, a young conservationist, is reviving the dying magical aura of the mangroves there; due to changes in the global climate and a lot of poverty in the rural areas, the plants are fast depleting. A recent study shows that between 1996 and 2016, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states had lost 8,274 ha, 4,824 ha, and 2,281 ha of their mangrove forests at the rates of 413.7, 241.2, and 114.1 ha/annum respectively, reaffirming the need for improved restoration practices in Nigeria and around the world.
Speaking to Anna, she helps break down the issue to The Habibat Project, further highlighting how she, along with her club members, is tackling it, and how a recently-won grant from the Global Landscape forum (GLF) will aid the restoration cause significantly.
When the Global Landscape Forum reached out to say they had a promising lady doing great stuff on Mangrove restoration in Calabar, we said, “bring her on,” and here we are today. You were selected out of over 300 candidates for the grant and mentorship by the GLF. How do you feel?
Exciting. I think it is indeed a privilege to be selected amongst 300 [competitors] like you said, so I'm grateful for this opportunity given to me by the Global Landscape Forum to act in a capacity where I would contribute to the environment while I learn in the process.
The grant also came with some form of mentorship. How has that been going so far?
Yeah [the] mentorship is still going on – it's definitely not going to end from the area of the Global Landscape Forum. Basically, I don't work alone. I work with members of the club I volunteer with – [the] Biodiversity Rescue Club. So, it has all been mentorship from both sides. During the course of this project, I collaborate with NGOs, government agencies, as well [as] the community which I'll be carrying out this very project.
Let’s delve into conservation. What does conservation mean to you and in what ways can you relate it to the situation In Calabar?
How should I put it [conservation]? When it pertains [to] natural resources, sustainable use should be applied. Sustainable use of every single thing that comes from nature is very important. So, we should adopt the act of reusing [the] natural resources. We should adopt the act of recycling…this is more like the three Rs – reuse, recycle and reduce. The state of conservation here is very poor, in the sense that lots of deforestation [practices] are going on in this environment really – cutting down of trees for agricultural purposes, urbanization, industrialization. So people really do not value the essence of conserving these natural resources, the trees around the forest ecosystem…they do not really see the importance and the need to conduct this process here. So, really, the awareness here is not so much; it's really not so much.
I read that the state of mangroves in Nigeria is even worse than we think. What specific actions have you been taking to correct this issue?
Just like I had mentioned earlier, I work with my club. And so far, we've been carrying out educational activities in schools. Yes, when we go to schools, we educate these children on the importance of caring for these natural resources, the biodiversity as a whole, the flora and fauna species, every form of living thing that exists. We educate them continuously on their importance as well, even in the sites we are presently working on. And in our little capacity, we've been able to replant most of the mangrove seedlings in those degraded sites. Yes, so that's basically what we've been doing so far.
Are these sites you're talking about just in Calabar or beyond it?
There are various mangrove locations, at least you can find them along coastal areas. For certain reasons, we picked interest in this very one; it's accessible to begin with – in Esierebom community, still in Calabar, precisely Calabar South. Over the years, we’ve observed that there's been [a] lot of deforestation there. There's been lot of…all the things that I had [previously] mentioned, urbanization, [deforestation] for agriculture, because they do not have an alternative source of livelihood. So it's all there. So even through the costs of restoring this mangrove site, obviously, an alternative source of livelihood will [have to] be provided, because if eventually we're able to restore these, and they do not have enough awareness. And they haven't gained enough knowledge [as] to why this place should be maintained and conserved, they’ll eventually go back to this site, which would have been restored.
What was the latest project you carried out in that community?
Well, [for] the latest project, it's been on the advocacy level. Yes, since we have not had the financial capacity to go beyond that point. We do that in schools, and in our little capacity, we just plant mangrove seedlings in that site [school area]; [the] few numbers that we are able to purchase. So this funding is going to do a lot more for us.
What other kinds of organisms, along with the mangroves, are at risk in the wetlands…?
…different types of mangroves; other plants that you can find, you can actually find ferns around this area. Yeah, ferns – pteridophytes. You are able to find your shrimps. You're able to find the crabs. You're able to find your periwinkles. Yes, the ones I love. Yes, you are able to find them in habitats like that, even the snakes – the very wild ones. I will just channel my major focus to mangrove restoration at the moment; you can't do it all on your own. So you just pick… I'm focusing on this, which I find more interesting.
What inspired your decision to become a conservator?
Okay. Well, I will just relate it back to my background study in school. I studied in school – plants and ecological studies. That was a first for me. And then it's one of the course[s] I treated in school, the mangroves. So I got to learn about the important role which the mangroves play. You know, lots of attention has been paid to the forest ecosystem, and so little on the mangrove ecosystem. Meanwhile, this mangrove ecosystem stores a lot more carbon than the forest can even store.
What inspired your decision to apply for the stewardship program?
Well, what inspired my decision to apply for it was a need, that there is a problem to be solved, just like I mentioned; a problem that needs a solution. And as a student-led organization, we do not have the funding to carry this out. So this was an opportunity for us to apply and get these grants to proceed with whatever projects or whatever plan we had for our ecosystem. So that was when I thought of applying for this grant. And good thing [that] we got it, so we hope to do a lot with this already. We have our groundwork laid down.
You're young and it seems like a lot of responsibility on you already, taking mangrove restoration head-on. How do you plan to carry others in the community along, so that they can also contribute and play active roles in restoring mangroves to the wetlands?
So while we go ahead with planting, we will definitely work with the community members, the women, the men, and the youth inclusive, because at the end of the day, they will still be the custodians of these sites. It's not like you're going to get external bodies to take care of these places you've restored. They [community members] will still be the ones to take care of it. So, it's better off [for them] to do it themselves. As well, you have created that awareness; you've made them understand the reason why they should do this. So, I don't think you need extra bodies, except the bodies I’ve mentioned, the community members, the women, [and] the youths; that’s after the awareness, really, because they need the knowledge first, [then] they need the awareness. After which I wouldn't work alone but still collaborate with the NGOs, which includes [the] NCF. Right now we work with [the] NCF, Nigerian Conservation Foundation. That's an NGO we collaborate with. We [work with] the people, the right academics, and for the government agencies, we work with [the] Forestry Commission and the National Park.
If I want to do something on mangrove restoration in my community in Abuja, for example, how may I go about it?
Okay, first off, you have to identify a site; finding one is the first step. If you are able to find one, of course, you should do a community entry, because you can't just walk into someone's community and begin to do things your own way. So even as a club, we did a community entry where we met the head of the community. And then we proceeded to meet the paramount ruler of the local government. If you're able to meet these persons, at least, they would pledge their support to you in whatever tasks you want to carry out in that location. So, these are [the] first things, after which you conduct your baseline assessment in those areas. You should know the level of awareness of people around that area, the level of conservation awareness, how much do they know about the mangroves? How much do they know about this project you're about to carry out? That is where you have to educate them. That's when you have to let them know okay, this is it…this is it. And you proceed from there.
Do the mangroves come as seedlings or are there specific seeds you have to purchase?
Well, they don't come as seedlings. We don't call them seedlings; we call them mangrove propagules. So, I don’t know how to describe them; they just come more like in a strand, and then you have to nurse them before taking them to the field.
How has climate change played a role in the deterioration of wetlands generally?
Climate change is as a result of whatever we are giving to the environment. It's more like the effect of what man has caused. Where climate change actually comes in all of this is that, [by] cutting most of these trees down, it doesn't give room for carbon sequestration. There's nothing to serve as a carbon sink anymore. This is what gives room to climate change.
Are the communities there polluted and does that cause damage to the wetlands?
Yes, of course. They are polluted because sometimes…even the location I'm working on, it is actually along the Marian axis, and sometimes most of these fishermen…there are certain chemicals, perhaps herbicides, they release to this water body, and in return, it still goes back to those locations, because they [wetlands] retain all of that. So, it's quite harmful to those ecosystems.
Do you think mangroves can achieve earlier abundance levels as a result of this restoration?
Yes, it's possible. It is like one chasing you from your home, and you have nowhere to stay anymore. That is the same thing we do to those plant and animal species, because we destroy their habitats. Obviously, if we’re able to restore the degraded mangroves or the degraded environment, gradually they will come back. It's not something you're just going to stop in one day. Yes, everyone is making efforts in one way or the other in their different localities. It begins from somewhere. We all can work together to achieve this.
Other than funding, what other kind of support would you need to make this happen?
For other organizations that actually work in the same line as us, I would advise they also find interest at least in doing what we do. They should also try to see how most of these habitats can be restored. It's something we all can do together. The “support” here is working towards achieving the same goal, the same aim, that way, it's going to work. More awareness, social media awareness, by word of mouth, whatever opportunity you have, you just have to say something to someone. The people need to know about this [the importance of mangrove restoration].
Corrections/edits made on 4 December, 2024 to improve clarity of text.
Wow, amazing piece!👏
It's very educative, a lot of awareness like this to improve environmental protection