Cross River State Governor, Sen Bassey Otu, has lifted the ban on the 15-year forest moratorium in the state and dissolved the earlier-constituted anti-deforestation task force on logging.
This was contained in a press release signed by Prof. A. Owan Enoh, Secretary to the State Government, and made available to newsmen in Calabar.
It reads in part: “The general public is hereby informed that the Governor of Cross River State, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, has approved the immediate lifting of the ban on logging in Cross River State.
“The Anti-Deforestation Task Force on Logging is hereby dissolved. As enshrined in the Cross River State Forest Law and Regulations 2011, any Illegally sawn wood across the State is considered an offence and faces compounding. Furthermore, the prohibition on sawing wood in the forest reserve is still in force.
“All registration of forestry-related activities such as timber permiteeship, non-timber permiteeship, and registration of farmers in the forest reserve are to be reported to the Cross River State Forestry Commission for compliance.
Adding, “all ongoing farming and mining in forest reserves are expected to report to the Cross River State Forestry Commission for authentication.”
The statement further called on members of the public to ensure compliance as the government sues for the cooperation of all, stressing that defaulters of this directive will be prosecuted.
Recall that the administration of Governor Liyel Imoke had in 2008 imposed a one-year ban on logging to allow sanity and accountability in the forest, which paved the way for the state to benefit from the REDD+ programme.
Regrettably, the ban surpassed one year and has remained to date, promoting illegal logging, thereby making environment experts raise the alarm that over 91,000 tonnes of timber leave the state every year due to illegal logging and warn that, if not curtailed, in the next 10 years, the forest may disappear.
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