Man’s Dominion over Land, Forests, Swamps, Waterways

Our fore-fathers valued their waterways and swamps and forests as their livelihoods depended on the many and diverse resources there. Their spiritual lives, and their physical health and well being, depended on their knowledge of nature and the natural resources that they used over the centuries in sustainable ways.  In modern times, many people no longer make use of their resource in the same ways, and land has become too often, something to damage or sell.

           When forests and waterways are damaged through pollution or construction, communities lose resources and livelihoods and hydrological changes are caused such as erosion and flooding which impact people for great distances. When land is sold, it often causes conflicts as the traditional communal ownership system is conveniently by-passed by mischievous buyers and greedy sellers – the so-called ‘benefit captors’ – individuals who benefit from the land to the exclusion of the wider community.

           Both at this local level and at the national and global levels, people are recognizing the need for formal protection of significant portions of land to ensure that there are places where natural resources in the form of ecosystems and biodiversity are kept in their natural state, and to prevent the kinds of deterioration that leads to erosion, flooding, and water and air pollution and conflict.

           With the establishment of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG), experts were required (in an Environmental Impact Assessment) to predict the environmental impact that the company would make on Bonny Island, and suggest ways this damage could be counteracted. Among other suggestions they made, was that NLNG should contribute to the protection of some of the remaining natural forests and ecosystems in the area. Niger Delta Wetlands Centre (NDWC) was invited in 1998 to carry out a pre-feasibility study to identify a location and define a management plan.

           Nature Parks and other protected areas are often established by Federal Governments or State Governments who acquire the land, under decrees for the purpose. Or a company such as NLNG could negotiate with individuals or families to purchase the land once and for all to be used as they see fit over time. Instead of using these approaches, which could permanently remove all rights of the community from decisions and benefits from the use of their land, NLNG supported the suggestions of the Niger Delta Wetlands Centre, that the Park be established as an institution with the land held permanently in trust for the community owners. Thus, the community foregoes it rights to use of the land for the period it is used as a Park, and in compensation for loss of use, a Trust Fund is set up, the interest of which is to be used by the community for the common good. This approach is one also being tested by a few industries and their land-lord communities in other countries.

NLNG has demonstrated its commitment to the Finima Nature Park through support for the identification of the site, initial ecological and biodiversity surveys, implementation of protection and park development activities, and awareness building activities from settlement level to Federal and international levels. It is a sign of successful protection that the ecosystems and biodiversity inside the protected area are regenerating to pre-industrial health. There is now remarkably little encroachment and poaching.

“NLNG is committed to protect the natural endowment of her working environment, and pursue harmonious community relations. To this end, NLNG Management has decided to pursue the establishment of a Nature Park to ensure that some of the ecologically particular areas of the Island are conserved in their natural condition. This is in acknowledgement of the importance of the flora and fauna, the sacrifices of the [local] people and their commitment to develop a permanent record of their natural resources and culture.”

To date, the structure of the Park has been simple and the activities limited to pilot protection and survey activities and complementary community interventions with NDWC’s professional staff providing management, research and advisory services. 

           The time has come to wean the park from its development stage to its institutional stage. The Park has been found to be a unifying project with support by a wide spectrum of stakeholders and it is being patronized by an increasing number of visitors. Happily, from visitors to community leaders, to the youth on the island, there have been many requests to visit, to ‘participate’, and to contribute to the development of the Park. Processes to institutionalize the Nature Park are well under way; once registered with the Federal Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Finima Nature Park will be managed as an NGO through its Directors.

           There are many ways for people to be involved in the complex of activities which makeup a modern and effective protected area. The following describes (1) What a Nature Park is and what it is not, (2) What Buffer Zone activities are and  (3) what ‘Downstream’ goods and services are required to attract support and visitors to the Nature Park and other tourist attractions on Bonny Island.

 What a protected area is and what it is not

The core function of a Nature Park is to protect plants, animals and the physical nature of the environment so that they can be saved for future generations and so that they can provide the environmental functions of their components (prevent erosion, absorb oxygen, etc.). Visitors are encouraged to visit the park without damaging it in any way and thus rules for entering the Park are enforced: no waste (especially metal, glass, plastic), no vehicle and trekking damage to soil, water, plants, animals; no fires; and no destruction of trees, picking of flowers, killing of animals, collecting of insects or fish – for any reason. Forest guards in the Park are trained to ensure a balance is maintained between animals, plants and the environmental conditions: where trees are destroyed, they are replaced; plant and animal biodiversity is monitored, human intrusion is monitored and managed; visitors are taken on tours which are environmentally friendly and appeal to special interest groups such as school children, bird-watchers, joggers, and nature enthusiasts.

The Nature Park in Finima is a quiet natural place to get away briefly from the hectic life of the towns; a place to reflect on our past and our future, a place to feel the cool air between the dry rain forest floor and the closed canopy above, to feel the fresh breeze and to let the warm ocean lap at our toes, to appreciate the power of the moon manifest by the tides and the periodic appearance of jellyfish.

When the ecosystems are preserved, they provide spiritual and aesthetic pleasures. At the same time, and for the most part, without notice, healthy managed forests (a) stabilise our coastline, inhibiting the erosion of the coastline which leads to flooding and destruction of land, and (b) their foliage absorbs toxic chemicals from our air, decreasing the pollution we breathe.

A Nature Park is NOT:

• A zoo for caged animals
• A place for picnics, barbecues and football (except in designated areas)
• A place for racing petroleum-powered vehicles
• A place for swimming, hunting or fishing
• A site for beer parlors and suya stands

Support Zone Area of Park with Direct Benefits to Individuals

Around the nature park, is a zone of similar ecosystem characteristics as those of the Park. In this Support zone, some traditional uses of the forests and waterways are permitted under regulation. Thus some gathering of firewood, harvest of small fish, collection of rattan might be permitted. More importantly, pilot projects which demonstrate the use of plants and animals to provide new opportunities to generate income, are established. Communities are encouraged to learn, replicate, and work with park management in the buffer zone. Beekeeping, market gardening and herb cultivation, tree nurseries, snail farming, grasscutter rearing, etc. are buffer zone possibilities.

Park support structures will be in this area in future. These may include park management offices, a museum with exhibits of ethnology including indigenous languages, alternative renewable energy, ecology and environmental protection for example Tourism, picnics, organized tours and boat trips, will be initiated by the Buffer Zone park staff. A model traditional village will demonstrate how Finima people thrived centuries ago.

 ‘Downstream’ goods and services

Downstream goods and services are required to attract support and visitors to the Nature Park and other tourist attractions on Bonny Island.  Because there is a park, there will be visitors who will need restaurants, food for picnics, souvenirs, etc. These visitors will want to visit other sites on the island and need tour guides to arrange the tours and tell them about what they are seeing. They may want to go on fishing trips; or to observe cultural festivities such as the iria. Crafts, cultural displays, traditional attire, books, snacks, food, drinks, etc. etc. will need to be produced for these visitors.

FINIMA NATURE PARK

Is a unique partnership between:

A Host Community (Finima),

An Industry (NLNG), and a Facilitating NGO (Niger Delta Wetlands Centre)

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE VISITS TO THE PARK:

Visit the NDWC Resource Centre

Plot 167 Zone III, New Finima (Opposite the Water Works) or call or email

William (0803 0965438), karinatein@yahoo.com; or  Miriam (0803 314 2393, Isoun@aol.com)