The Ekon II Permanent Use Zone Agreement (PUZ) signed between the Erat people and the Korup National Park is a momentous document for a people who had been rendered illegal residents after the creation of the park. Traditionally a gathering and hunting people, the Erat people had been virtually dispossessed of their livelihoods, and had lived for years in fear of losing their ancestral land. An elite of the village of Erat, who only gave his name as Daniel M. says the PUZ document is very significant to them because it gives them legal status to live inside the park area.
GV: How instrumental will the PUZ be to the development of Erat community and the Korup National Park?
Daniel M: It provides the opportunity to bring in development partners who can develop the community faster. The document also provides guidelines to manage the different management sectors in the park. We now know what kind of activities we can implement in the different sectors. In the past, we could not harvest timber here because it was considered illegal, but now we can harvest timber once we respect the guidelines; for instance harvesting timber for the development of the village and not for commercial purposes. We now have a community farm; we are going to develop cash crop plantations which will spur development in the community. Because of the PUZ agreement, we now have a road; so I think this management agreement will really boost the development of this area.
Besides, we could not farm properly because there were no roads to transport agricultural produce to the market. The price of bush mango here is triple the price in Mundemba. So we have a good market information system which will enable us to match our prices to those of external markets in order to generate more income.
GV: Ekon village is enclaved and might be exposed to underdevelopment…
Daniel M: Though we are enclaved inside a rainforest with no roads, we are fairly developed. We have a nursery, a primary and a secondary school, a health centre, and other social facilities. We are fortunate that our children are development-oriented and they love going to school. We have tried to improve on the standards of living in this village. We have been here for a long time; we existed prior to the creation of the Korup Native Forest Reserve and the creation of the National Park in 1986.
GV: Being a border village to Nigeria where Boko Haram insurgents are based, what security challenges do you face and what measures have been taken to make the village safe?
Daniel M: Well, let me tell you that we have had attacks in this village, not even from people from Nigeria, but from one of our neighboring villages. Bur we are fortunate that one of the closest villages to us in Nigeria is inhabited b our brothers. We are from the same tribe and speak the same language. We have family ties with them so they won’t allow anyone from there to harm us; so there is security.
(Interviewed by Mkong Immaculate Kelighai)
