The South West Regional Delegate of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF), Eben Ebai Samuel, has denied allegations that government has been silent on destruction meted by elephants in the Korup National Park, Ndian Division.
By Immaculate Mkong
Elephants had on Monday, April 19, at about 4 am destroyed two coconut trees, 14 plantain stems, maize crops and egusi pods in Matanimani village, Mundemba Sub-division.
The elephants destroyed the crops along a known corridor where they migrate from the Korup Park to the Rumpi Hills.
The Delegate told The Green Vision that immediately he received information about the destruction, he instructed the Divisional Delegate for Forestry and Wildlife for Ndian to investigate the incident.
A press release from the South West Forestry Delegation indicated that the Second Assistant SDO of Ndian dispatched a team of Forestry and Wildlife personnel, including the forces of law and order to scare the elephants back into the park. The animals however, had vanished into the forest.
Eben Ebai said they constantly sensitize the local people on the dangers of settling and carrying out agricultural activities along elephant corridors.
Among the preventive measures that MINFOF has put in place to curb the rate of such occurrences in future are; regular scaring missions and encouraging the local population to cultivate crops not liked by elephants.
The Delegate equally said that MINFOF is exploring the use of electric fences for farms and pepper spraying of crops.
In addition, MINFOF through the support of the Programme for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the South West (PSMNR-SWR), and partners has put in financial, technical and material support to ensure effective management of the park as well as promote livelihood improvement of the inhabitants of its environs.
MINFOF last year gave financial compensation to a family who lost a member through an elephant attack.
Equally, the Conservator of the Korup National park with funds from PSMNR-SWR paid the hospital bills of a student who survived an elephant attack in Mundemba.
Meanwhile, MINFOF, PSMNR-SWR and partners are carrying out a wildlife survey to determine the carrying capacity of Korup National Park with regard to key-flagged species such as elephants, buffalos, drills, chimpanzees, among others.
Re-iterating government’s determination to find lasting solutions to the recurrent human/wildlife conflicts at the Korup National Park, Eben Ebai told The Green Vision that findings of the survey would inform the management plan of Korup National Park to prescribe options for containing animal population within the park.
Commenting on the general welfare of the park, the Delegate said it is doing quite well in terms of funds and income generation thanks to investment from the government and PSMNR-SWR partners.
He said the park has been working towards improving its eco-tourism potential.
The World Bank is currently sponsoring the rehabilitation of eco-tourism within the park.
According to the Delegate, these efforts are sure to increase the economy of the park and hence impact the economy of the people of the area.
The major challenges now, the Delegate noted, is how to make the villages found within the Korup National Park legal entities through the creation of permanent use zones (PUZ). This is because the administration like the local communities cannot carry out any development activities within a state property – the national park. It is therefore hoped that should PUZ be created in these villages, it will become a big step towards making the settlement of these villages within the park legal.
There is also the challenge of finding sustainable financial mechanisms to support the implementation of the park’s management plan after PSMNR-SWR winds up in 2016.
