Superhighway: Government seeks explanation on ‘strange’ wildlife EIA mentions - Environews

The roloway monkey is not found in Nigeria. Cross River State EIA claims it is. Photo credit: Sébastien Meys, La Palmyre Zoo

This article appears in Environews

In a move that appear to call the authenticity of the report to question, the Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEv) has categorically stated that such wildlife do not exist in Cross River State – some not even in Nigeria – and therefore wants state officials to address such queries in the updated report that is expected to be submitted in two weeks.

For instance government explained that the Bunbundi bat (Chalinolobus egeria) has not been recorded from Cross River and the pitch shrew (Crocidura picea) has only ever been recorded from Cameroon.

Additionally, noted the FMEv, while the long footed shrew (Crocidura crenata) has not been recorded from Nigeria, the Eisentraut’s mouse shrew (Myosorex eisentrauti) is only found on the island of Bioko.

Similarly, the forest chameleon (Chamaeleo camurunensis) – assumed to be Trioseros camerunensis is restricted to Cameroon, while the Cameroon worm lizard (Cynisca shaeferi) has not been recorded from Nigeria.

Furthermore, both the Schneider’s banana frog (Afrixalus Schneider) and the Dizangue reed frog (Hyperrolius bopeleti) have only ever been recorded from Cameroon.

Also mentioned were the Werner’s river frog (Phrynobatrachus werneri) which FMEv officials say has only been recorded in Nigeria from the Obudu Plateau, and the worm lizard (Cynisca gansi), which is said to have only ever been recorded from Okoloma village near PortHarcourt.

The FMEv wrote: “Many of the species listed in Table 6.1 such as the Indian Malimba, Sclater’s guenon and the Anambra waxbill are not present in Cross River State, though known from Nigeria.

“Appendix A2 is clearly not the work of PGM Nigeria Limited and has merely been copied from elsewhere. This is unacceptable. The list contains many species not known from Cross River such as the Niger Delta red colobus monkey (Procolobus epieni); others such as the roloway monkey (Cercopithecus roloway) are not found in Nigeria and some are not even known from Africa such as the American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbaeianus).

“There is no hedgehog (Erinaceus or Atelerix) (listed on Table 4.56) found in the rainforests of Cross River State; it likely confused with the brush-tailed porcupine.

“Table 4.60 lists threatened mammal species, but Cercopithecus erythrogaster is not found in Cross River and Cercopithecus roloway is not found in Nigeria.”

Designed to link Calabar, the state capital, to the neighboring Benue State, the $3.5 billion Superhighway will pass through biodiversity rich forests in the Ekuri community as well as the Cross River National Park (CRNP), a development observers feel will have far reaching implications for thousands of families and their livelihoods, as well as flora and fauna.

Cross River superhighway EIA fails to impress for 3rd time out

Cross River superhighway EIA fails to impress 3rd time out

NLC (labour union) flags at EIA hearing in Calabar

The Environmental EIA stakeholder event was hosted in Calabar by the Federal Ministry of Environment on the proposed Cross River Super Highway, today, Thursday, 16 March 2017.
It was graced by the State Governor, Ben Ayade who made an emotional case for a speedy approval that cited political detractors, seized oil wells, reduced revenues and enemies of progress willing to sell their future for a few bucks. He stated that the world has moved on from environmental conservation and is practicing management, whatever that means. He came with a flag waving contingent from the NLC and was loudly cheered by his supporters.
Shockingly he left the venue after his speech without listening to any feedback from communities who will be affected by this project and some whose crops where destroyed over a year ago without a kobo of compensation. He did not dwell on his initial seizure of 25% of the land mass of Cross River State for this one road that was fought and reversed a week ago.

So
The EIA for the cross river superhighway has been sent back to the state for being substandard twice. The consultant today acknowledged that the Federal Ministry of Environment scored the process low because of low community consultation, inadequate field work and a host of other issues. Today in the audience community leaders who wanted the project and those who don’t want the project all said the same thing. They have not been consulted. This is the third version of this EIA and they still have not been consulted.

It is mind boggling that a Professor of the Environment is unable to commission competent EIA for the third time in a row.
The THIRD version of the EIA is no better. Here are just a few of its issues, some thrown up at the stakeholder event.
• Again. Poor consultation with communities mentioned and in many places reported, none at all. This is strange when it was easy to mobilize bulldozers to communities and survey the route before they were halted.
• Instances in the document where references are made not to a highway but to an airport or mine. This could be a cut and paste issue from a different document.
• Mention of species found on other continents suddenly attributed to Cross River. Again cut and paste issues from EIA’s belonging to a totally different project
• Mentions of partners who have denied any involvement in the EIA
The Federal Ministry of Environment had this to say
• They are tired of the consultant saying they will correct lapses that don’t get corrected
• Engineering designs should be included in the report
• Environmental safeguard should be addressed
• Social & livelihood plan not addressed
• Baseline data was not thoroughly or adequately done

The third time! This is an EIA commissioned by a Governor that is a Professor of the Environment for a project unknown investors are meant to sink $3.5 billion into. The opposition is not political. Do transparent people oriented projects and follow due process and standards first.

Yes people want roads. The people of New Ekuri for instance want a simple two lane road a few kilometres long to connect them to Ochong on the Federal Highway especially as the AFDB funded road failed to reach it as advertised. They need this as quickly as possible. They also have no water.

Tales of 12 lane superhighways with wi fi and speed cameras that will first destroy property, to evacuate containers to Niger and Chad from a non-existent port, toll vehicles heavily in the process and won’t be completed in the next 10 years are an extremely unfair guilt trip to force on people who need quick, relevant and useful interventions.

EIA aside
Please someone help me do math. Our Governor said today that 4,000 trucks will ply that road per day. Suspend disbelief and say yes. How much will they be charged as toll and for how long to recoup the $3.5billion dollars the as yet unknown investor will spend on the road? Assignment!

Pamela Braide
Thanks to greencode for live twitter updates on the session and Crossriverstate Civilsociety for a fast recap online.

p.s.
I won’t even touch statements like the world has moved from conservation to management. Anyway let me congratulate ALL who fearlessly put themselves on the line to force the Govt. reversal of the 10 km on either side of 400 m “buffer zone”.

Now the 20.4 km width has reduced to 70 m. Without you 25% of the landmass of Cross River State would have been seized for this mess rendering people landless, without homes or compensation in the name of development. All that is required is respect of process and transparency. Dassol.

Other articles on the matter

Superhighway Threatens World’s Biodiversity Hotspot

Cross River at crossroads

Again, EIA on 260km Super Highway Runs into Hitch

Advocacy archive

Cross River Reverses Land Siezure

Small victory!
Do not be quiet. Na who quiet don epp?

The Cross River State Governor has finally listened to protests and possibly council of his own aides and reversed part of the insane land mass he revoked for his superhhighway to nowhere. ie the infamous 10km on either side.
It is nowhere near enough.

1. He should also commit to compensation for the destruction already done so the fight continues.
2. We do not understand how compensation will be given along a 70m width when 400m width remains revoked. Has the 400m width in the first publication been reversed? Will people outside of the 70m width not receive compensation? Clarification is urgently needed.

3. I will not speak on the route until the Fed Min of Env opinion on the EIA the state commissioned comes out. Needless to say an EIA which references animals found in India and China as suddenly being in Cross River Forests and has large copy and paste section referring to mines instead of a road inspires zero confidence that a review actually took place and communities were involved.

For those who wonder what this is about the Cross River Govt has always submitted that a road with of roughly 70m wide would be impacted in its EIA(environmental impact assessment submissions) while revoking the mysterious 400m plus 20km in public.
Now the 10km on either side is gone reverse the entire revocation until an EIA comes out.

In Morocco last year at COP16 Governor Ben Ayade said those who claim he revoked a 20.4km width for his superhighway were peddling "ungodly lies" from the pit of hell... Well now it seems they were not . Aluta continua. It ain't over 'til its over. :D

A

The anniversary of a land grab

NGO RRDC show shocked community members the true extent of displacement

On January 22nd 2016 the Governor Ayade administration of Cross River State in the Chronicle publication revoked rights of ownership of one quarter of the States land mass for a proposed “super highway”. A land mass 5 times the size of London seized for one road. Here is a map with SOME names of communities, towns, villages swallowed by the Cross River 400 m wide highway and its massive 20km offset.

After an outcry from environmentalists the Federal Ministry of Environment put a halt to the project pending an environmental impact assessment of a project which passes through much Nigeria’s last protected forests and over 180 communities. The Governor has been vocal about continuing with the project despite its controversy and the States heavy debt profile.
One year later the absurdity of the 20.4km width and the enormous loss of property and land stands unchanged. Many have no clue the road is gulping an additional 10 km on either side for a so-called “buffer zone” which aides have explained will be used to “build new cities” not reflected in any budgets.
Stories abound of unprecedented logging, documented destruction of farms and possible placement of “MOU” banana, sugar cane ethanol and other plantations owned by foreign investors on this seized land.
Here is a breakdown of the map starting from Bakkasi that shows in detail names of communities affected. This is clearly inconclusive but it serves as a guide. Note if your community name falls anywhere within the pink zone your land and property is no longer yours. If it is on the line then it falls within the 400 m for the actual road. You can neither sell, develop, take any loans or use it as equity for any business. It ceased to be yours 6 weeks after the land was revoked on 22nd January 2016.

Enjoy the silence and happy anniversary! Pamela Braide

Special thanks to NGOCE for providing the map. They have a huge one hanging in the office.

Section 1.

The map from which above excerpts were derived 

Map from NGO's with vegetation

Cross River Government notice. Jan 22nd 2016

Cross River Government notice Jan 22nd 2016

List of communities  affected  by cross river super highway extracted from map
by no means complete

List of communities  affected  by cross river super highway extracted from map
by no means complete

Videos

Amenism vs Doism we can do both

Online you see photos of BMW’s with instructions to type AMEN below it. I wish getting things done was that easy.

This is not an AMEN piece. It is a guide for Cross Riverians, and by that I mean residents and indigenes of the State at home and away who wonder if their land has been confiscated under the auspices of a super highway for which the Cross River State Government has revoked, on January 22nd 2016, one quarter of all the land in the state. Yes you read me right. One quarter. For a 12 lane “super highway” that ends in a rickety 2 lane road in Benue State. Width revoked 400m plus 10km on either side equals 20.4km. And this spans 260km so yes it IS a quarter of the land in Cross River State.

In 2015 Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade announced that he would focus on ambitious out of the box projects. A multi-lane super highway starting at a yet to be built deep sea port with internet access would be built at no cost to the state and end up in Benue State. People naturally rejoiced.

After bulldozers cleared (before their January 22 notice!) the highway was halted by the Fed Ministry of Environment to secure an EIA(environmental impact assessment).

Notes

1. A revocation notice is not “just a notice” as I have heard government aides explain. You will not lose your land, you have lost it. Read the notice.

2. Very few people along the path know they are have gone from landlord to landless.

3. This highway starts at something optimistically called a “deep sea port”. How? The ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon robbed us of our littoral status and that is the singular reason Akwa Ibom snatched our oil. First determine the feasibility of the “deep sea” port for a State that lost its access to the sea.

4. Usually when a high way is being built outliers enjoy business opportunities e.g. petrol stations, restaurants, guest houses, shops. Local market days move as close to the road as is safe and legal. 10km buffer zone says no.

5. People are ambivalent about the environment. But I’ll still drop these numbers. Nigeria has 4% of primary forest left. 70% of that is in Cross River. Much of that falls within the path of this road and its 20km “buffer zone”. Cross River villages do get buried by mudslides. That’s what rushed logging does. Make of it what you will.

Am I against development? Of course not. However the unprecedented quantity of land, the inexplicable path of this road from a deep sea port without a sea and the inability of Government to compensate even people whose crops were destroyed in the initial construction is deeply worrisome. As Odigha Odigha said Cross River State is 70% agrarian, and 90% of our bloody communal clashes are land related. ANY development of this nature requires DEEP consultation and minimal foot print to avoid more confusion and not a 20.4km width.

What can you do?

Typing AMEN will not return your ancestral land title. So here are some tips.

1. Download a copy of the revocation and map notice to confirm if you are affected. Show a surveyor

2. Ask your elected officials what they are doing about this situation. They ALL know what’s going on. Force them to take a stand for their constituents.

a. Local Govt. Chair, Councillor

b. State house of assembly members(communities tried to meet them in the house to no avail)

c. National Assembly legislators — Senators and Rep members

3. Visit or write to the MDA for Lands

4. Discuss this in your holiday meeting at home. Help your community members whose farms and property have been bulldozed without compensation speak to officials. They feel frustrated and abandoned.

Last points

One road evacuating a yet to be built deep sea port does nothing for 70% of our agrarian communities who watch crops rot for lack of feeder roads. Will the crops be airlifted to the highway? Does the highway go anywhere else than rickety 2 lane road in Benue? Our Government should do massive construction of feeder roads to rural areas where crops rot for lack of good roads. Or where sick people can die bumpy bike ride on a track enroute to treatment. Fix what you have and build to serve the unserved.

ENGAGE YOUR ELECTED AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS THIS SEASON. FIND OUT IF YOU ARE HOMELESS.

Next year tell me how it went. I wish you the best. I will post pictures of my meeting with whichever Cross River elected officer I see. Let us help ourselves. AMEN!

Listen to those affected speak here and here and here and here

Pamela Braide

An abridged version of this  article appeared in the 25th of December in Cross River Watch

http://crossriverwatch.com/2016/12/amenism-vs-doism-we-can-do-both-by-pamela-braide/

Now the Climate Change Carnival is over... back to reality

Now that the Climate Change Carnival is over... back to reality

It is a new year ASK QUESTIONS and continue to ask until you get coherent answers from your leaders. They serve you. 

We want development with transparency. Development that will not cause more land conflict crisis in Cross River State Nigeria.

Happy new year and enjoy the picture.

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