Oluwa Forest Reserve, located in southwestern Nigeria, contains some of the last large swaths of old growth — also called “primary” — forest in the region. These forests are home to a rich diversity of wildlife, including endangered species and subspecies such as red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus), Nigerian white-throated guenons (Cercopithecus erythrogaster pococki), white-bellied pangolins (Phataginus tricuspis), and Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti).
But Oluwa and its wildlife are under increasing threat from both smallholder farmers and large-scale plantations. The reserve, established in 1918, has been severely impacted by land encroachment, with thousands of farmers converting forested areas into farms. This has led to significant deforestation, with satellite data from online monitoring platform Global Forest Watch (GFW) showing the reserve lost 18% of its primary forest between 2002 and 2023.
Preliminary data from GFW, as well as satellite imagery, show ongoing clearing of the reserve’s remaining primary forest. Satellite data from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) indicate the reserve has experienced an “unusually high” number of fires in 2024 — the highest since measurement began in 2012.
Oluwa is situated in the humid tropics, where nearly all fires are caused by human disturbance such as slash-and-burn agriculture — also known as “shifting cultivation” — and for industrial plantation expansion. Research shows that unlike ecosystems such as boreal forests that evolved hand-in-hand with fire, humid tropical forests are not adapted to fire and less likely to naturally recover.
Previous Mongabay reporting found that farmers, especially young people seeking livelihoods amid Nigeria’s high unemployment and poverty rates, view the reserve’s fertile land as an escape.
“This place has helped a lot of poor families,” Ayodele Aina, who has farmed in the reserve for more than four decades, told Mongabay in 2023. “For some of us, this is the only means of livelihood we know. And since there are no jobs in the cities, a lot of youths are returning to farming.”
The Ondo state government has attempted to evict farming settlements from the reserve. However, in 2022, some 10,000 Oluwa farmers gathered to protest the eviction, resulting in an injunction from the Ondo State High Court that stopped the eviction process.
In addition to smallholder agriculture, industrial-scale plantations are rapidly expanding within Oluwa, further damaging its remaining habitat. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs shows at least six vast, industrial plantations occupying large portions of the reserve. GFW data, together with Planet Labs imagery, indicate most of these plantations were developed on previously degraded land — but several appear to be expanding into primary forest.
Farmers told Mongabay in 2023 that security is an emerging concern in Oluwa. They said armed groups, including kidnappers and other criminal elements, have turned parts of the forest into hideouts, discouraging conservationists and government officials from fully engaging in the area.
As Oluwa’s forest disappear, its wildlife is increasingly threatened. A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management states that local hunters report that chimpanzees still live in Oluwa. However, researchers from the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria, told Mongabay in 2023 that the fragmentation of the reserve has already reduced gene flow among wildlife populations, increasing the risk of local extinctions.
Citations:
OYEDEPO, J. A; OGUNSESAN, A. A. (2024). Spatial Distribution and Status of Biota Habitats in the Forest Reserves of Omo and Ago-Owu in Ogun State, Oluwa in Ondo State, and Ife and Shaha in Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria. J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. 28 (6) 1859-1867
This article by Morgan Erickson-Davis was first published by Mongabay.com on 21 Noveber 2024. Lead Image: A red-capped mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus) gazes at the photographer with what appears to be displeasure and ire, perhaps thinking about Oluwa Forest Reserve’s ongoing forest loss. Image by Rufus46 via Wikimedia Commons (CC SA 3.0).
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