Introduction
Cross River National Park is a huge 4000 square kilometres national park resided in the Cross River States of Nigeria. The national parks essentially comprise tropical rain forest in the northern and central part. The coastal region has mangrove marshes. The park is divided into two separate sections, Okwangwo (established 1991) and Oban (established 1988).
Illicit lumbering, sever and burn cultivation and poaching has been a common factor in the national park. The flora and fauna of the national park can only be conserved through eco-tourism. Spreading awareness to the local people also holds a good hope.
The pristine rainforests in Africa have been recognized as a biodiversity hotspot. Sixteen primate species have been recorded in the park. Rare primates include frequent chimpanzees, drills and gorillas. Another primate, the grey-cheeked mangabey, appears to have lately converted extinct in the region.
Departments
Cross River National Park has 4 departments.
- Ecotourism
- Park Engineering and Maintenance
- Park Protection
- Finance and Administration
Most departments have working male agents than female due to the difficulties of the job. Over 90% of the employees have males at different ranger stations.
Still, the total number of the employees are incompetent as compared to the size of the national park. The other major factors are unqualified rangers, payments disputes, poor facilities and career possibilities.
The Director of the Park Management Committee heads the Cross River National Park. The committee has set up a station at Kanyang as a groundwork for research and development.
History
Cross River National Park was intended to start in 1965, though it didn’t start before 1988. A budget of $50 million was provided by The World Wide Fund for Nature to start the work in two divisions. The program also promised many jobs to the villagers residing there like running the park, maintaining ecotourism, etc.
The park was finally completed in 1991 by Federal Ministry Government Decree. The theme animal chosen was Cross River Gorilla. At the first half, the park was not successful, as the fund were not enough for its maintenance.
Tourism
The government is looking for the investors for the national park to spread more awareness. The awareness about the tourism, the awareness about the advantages, the job opportunities and strengthen the eco-tourism potential. The park has been presented the slogan “The Pride Of Nigeria”.
The main tourism potential holds gorilla watching, bird watching, mountaineering or hiking, fishing, boat cruising. There is a small zoological garden dwelling extinct species of animals. Botanical garden, Kwa falls and Agbpkim Waterfalls are other tourist attractions.
