The Conservator of Park at Okomu National Park, Edo State, Lawrence Osaze, says the partnership with the Africa Nature Investors (ANI) Foundation has helped in reducing illegal activities at the park.
Osaze made the assertion on Saturday, while speaking with journalists after a tour of facilities at the park situated in Okomu, Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State.
According to him, the collaboration has significantly curtailed illegal logging, poaching, and other harmful practices, thereby making the park more secure.
“The park is relatively peaceful, and logging activities are at the barest minimum”, he said.
He noted that when he took over as conservator in November 2022, illegal logging was a major challenge, adding that ANI’s intervention, including ranger training and recruitment, had improved security.
He said the foundation had played a vital role in hiring volunteer rangers to support the National Park Service.
“We joined forces together, and the story today is entirely different”, Osaze told journalists.
Beyond security, he said the focus was now on community education, enlightenment, and empowerment.
“ANI Foundation is driving initiatives to provide alternative livelihoods for communities surrounding the park.
“We have had series of engagements with communities to gain their support. We are working to ensure they do not rely solely on forest resources for survival”,  he explained.
He said the foundation was invited to the partnership due to its success in the Gashaka Gumti National Park in Taraba and Adamawa States.
Peter Abanyam, ANI Foundation’s Project Manager for Okomu, highlighted the park’s biodiversity, calling it a “hotspot” for species like the endangered African Forest Elephant and White-Throated Monkey.
“Okomu is the primary home of the White-Throated Monkey.
“Aside from a small population in southwestern Nigeria, this park is where you find them in the world,” Abanyam disclosed.
According to him, the foundation’s goal is to make Africa’s wildlife a source of pride, proving that conservation can be sustainable and beneficial to local communities through private sector investment.
He said the foundation supported park protection, community engagement, and youth recruitment into the National Park Service.
He added that it also connected donors to development initiatives for communities near conservation areas.
Earlier at the palace of the Iyase of Udo, Patrick Igbinidu, the traditional chief, pledged the continued support of the host community to the foundation and the national park.
He lauded the commitment of the partners to develop the area and empower the people through savings and loan initiatives.