Communities across two of Bayelsa State's major forest reserves are raising urgent concerns about a conservation approach that restricts their access to traditional food and income sources, leaving them exposed to oil pollution and biodiversity loss.
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment, organised community engagements at the Apoi Creek Forest Reserve in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and the Edumanom Forest Reserve (now Edumanom National Park) in Ogbia and Nembe Local Government Areas. The engagements brought together kings, chiefs, elders, community representatives and women from both areas, and documented a consistent message: conservation cannot succeed by excluding the people whose lives are most closely tied to the forest.
The Apoi Creek Forest Reserve, designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2008 (Site #1751) and covering over 29,213 hectares, is home to the critically endangered Niger Delta red colobus monkey. While the Edumanom Forest Reserve spans 41 communities across Ogbia and Nembe LGAs and is home to Nigeria's remaining chimpanzee population, it has been catalogued in the World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas since 2020.
Community Engagement and Dialogue: Forest conservation and access to natural resources
At Apoi, community members alleged that the Southwest Niger Delta Forest Project manages the reserve and deploys rangers who prevent residents from accessing areas traditionally used for fishing, hunting and gathering. HOMEF encountered these restrictions directly: rangers told the team that access to the reserve would cost ₦500,000.
High Chief Jacob Kurobo, the incoming Ebenanawei of Apoi Kingdom, described generations of dependence on the forest; “That forest is the centre of everything. You don't go and find snails, fish, etc. You just go there; you pack them and come back. But because of the reserve, our people have been barred from that environment.”
At Edumanom, communities called for a comprehensive physical ground survey to establish the reserve's exact boundaries, stressing that aerial mapping alone was insufficient. King Ekine Amakiri of Sabatoru warned that decisions made without community participation could leave residents losing access to lands on which their livelihoods depend. The absence of signposts and visible protection measures leaves the forest equally vulnerable to encroachment. HRH Douglas Onungu of Ogbema/Fikoruama community said, “When people come in there, they say, ah, this place is a place that we can go and kill a wild animal because there is no signpost showing that this is a reserve forest.”
Communities must not be treated as obstacles to conservation. Instead, their participation in decisions about management, access and benefit-sharing must be meaningful, informed and sustained, because protecting biodiversity requires transparent management arrangements and fair consideration of the people whose lives are most closely connected to these forests. Conservation must not become another form of exclusion.
Ecological Deterioration and Oil Pollution
Both communities reported serious and worsening ecological deterioration. Apoi community’s Secretary of the Apoi Community Development Committee, Michael Edu, said that “Cedar, mahogany and iroko trees have gone extinct due to exploitation,” adding that antelopes, grass cutters and bush pigs had become scarce. Chief Bibeledei Ebikeseye, Secretary General of Gbanraun, said the soil was no longer fertile, crop production had fallen, and fish species had disappeared. Meanwhile, Edumanom communities reported the loss of indigenous species, including Igbodo (rubber tree), Agali (cotton tree), Ogboro (mahogany), and bush pear, alongside declining sightings of gorillas, antelopes, and squirrels.
Participants also said crops that previously grew without fertiliser no longer yielded as expected. Rainwater that was once clean had become dark and visibly polluted: “Our lands are no more fertile due to pollution, and we still eat from the same lands because we have no option. The rainwater used to be clear and clean, but it's dark now, and we still drink it that way.”
Residents in both areas attributed much of this deterioration to oil pollution. Apoi communities reported major spills in 2017 and 2025, alleging that pollution from an Oando facility at Ogboinbiri spread with the tide towards their communities. At Edumanom, women from Otuabagi reported that oil facilities abandoned by Shell continued to affect their environment, citing a Kebetkache Women Development Centre study that found alarming hydrocarbon levels in Otuabagi women's blood. These accounts require independent environmental investigation, accountability from responsible operators and comprehensive ecological restoration.
Benson Sonny Gilbert of the Idema community, Eduamanom, also raised concerns about indiscriminate herbicide use, deforestation, and logging, and called on relevant government agencies to address these alongside the area's persistent infrastructure deficits.
Despite these pressures, communities reported active conservation efforts. Ebikeseye said: “We don't want animals to go extinct. The ones that are available, we are conserving them. We want to bring back the green life to its normalcy as it was when we were young.” Communities at Edumanom proposed employing local residents as forest guards and restoring disappearing tree and plant species.
Women's Livelihood and Community Concerns
During the engagements, it was discovered that women bore the brunt of consequences morphing into restricted access and environmental degradation. Female participants from Kokolo Ama explained that the reserve had ended traditional bush fallowing practices: “The farming space used to be larger, but due to the forest reserve, the farming space available to us is now smaller and severely restricted, and this has affected our income.” Emomotimi Duabo of Gbanraun further exposed their plight as she said, “The problem is now we cannot go to the forest anymore, so we are hungry. Now there is nothing like entering the forest, nothing like setting a trap, nothing like harvesting snail, ogbono.”
Women from Otuabagi and Etie Ama in Edumanom reported declining yields of cassava, plantain and cocoyam, faster tuber rot forcing early harvests, and health problems, including skin conditions and joint pain, associated with contamination. Some disclosed that crude oil had been used as a home remedy for convulsions and cough! These accounts reinforce the urgent need for accessible healthcare and sustained public-health education in both communities.
Across both areas, residents identified inadequate healthcare, roads, potable water, electricity and education as persistent unmet needs. Stella Oyege of Kokolo Ama said, “There are no facilities in our hospital. There are no qualified teachers to teach our children here. So please, let the federal government hear our cry and come to our aid.”
Apoi Women Leader Mrs Ebifaghe Kemela called for access to the reserve and livelihood support; “Our women here don't have access to the reserved area. We should have access to that very place to look for our livelihood.”
HOMEF's role and project follow-up
Cadmus Atake-Enade, Programs Manager, Fossil Politics at HOMEF, explained that the engagement was intended to gather information about the communities' interests in the forest, the benefits they derived from it and the challenges they faced.
“We've been able to harness a lot of information, the people's interest in the forest, their benefits, as well as their challenges,” he said. “We are here to amplify the community voices. That's our core.”
Atake-Enade said the next phases of the intervention would consider livelihood support, training and other project components informed by information gathered from the communities.
Conclusion
The engagements in these communities provided a platform for residents of Apoi and Edumanom to share their experiences of forest conservation, environmental change and livelihood challenges. The community dialogues documented concerns about restricted access to traditional resources, declining biodiversity and reported oil pollution, while the women's training highlighted the implications of these issues for farming, fishing, gathering forest products and household income.
Participants also described local efforts to conserve remaining wildlife and regenerate the forest through tree planting. Alongside these activities, they identified the need for livelihood support, improved access to productive resources and better provision of essential services.