case studies undp: ekuri initiative, nigeria

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: EKURI INITIATIVE, Nigeria

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-ekuri-initiative-nigeria 1/12

Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

NigeriaEKURI INITIATIVE

Empowered live

Resilient nation



UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that woor people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadththeir impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practitionthemselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners – vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succeto scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to ‘The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years

the Equator Prize’, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiative’s searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver HugheWen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu

DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la ParBrandon Payne, Mariajosé Satizábal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Ekuri Initiative, and in particular the guidance and inputs o Edwin Ogar. All phcredits courtesy o the Ekuri Initiative. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Ekuri Initiative, Nigeria. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New York, NY.

http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdf




http://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858



PROJECT SUMMARYLocated in Nigeria’s Cross River State, the Ekuri communitymanages a 33,600-hectare community orest adjacent to theCross-River National Park. Community orest managementbegan in the 1980s, when the villages o Old Ekuri and NewEkuri united in response to the proposed logging o theirorest. The project would have included the construction o a road linking the villages to local market centres; instead,the community decided to sustainably manage the orestas a community asset, generating income, subsistencematerials and ood.

Levies on the sale o non-timber orest products bycommunity members nanced a road that eventuallyreached Old Ekuri in 1990 and New Ekuri in 1997. Inaddition to allowing arm and orest products to reach newmarkets, the road has also made possible the transport o construction materials or two schools, a health center, anda civic center where the community meets to discuss orestgovernance decisions.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2004

FOUNDED: 1997

LOCATION: Cross River State, eastern Nigeria

BENEFICIARIES: 6,000 community residents

BIODIVERSITY: Cross River National Park

3

EKURI INITIATIVENigeria

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 9

Policy Impacts 9

Sustainability 10

Replication 10

Partners 11



4

he villages o Old Ekuri and New Ekuri, jointly known as the EkuriCommunity, are located seven kilometers apart in Cross River State,

astern Nigeria. The villages all within Akamkpa Local GovernmentArea, and together own 33,600 hectares o community orest situatedn the buer zone o the Oban Hills Division o Cross River Nationalark. Around 95% o this land is covered by primary or secondary

orest. The Ekuri Community speaks Lokorli, an indigenous languageot spoken anywhere else. The community is rich in tradition,

with strong cultural cohesion and respect or traditional chietainnstitutions. The primary occupations o the 6,000 communityesidents are arming, producing non-timber orest products andandicrats, and small-scale trading, hunting, and shing.

A West Arican – and global – biodiversity hotspot

he Cross River National Park is the largest protected area in theNigeria-Cameroon region, orming a signicant part o the Guinean

orests o West Arica, a global biodiversity hotspot. The park isivided into two separate sections: Okwangwo, established in 1991,nd Oban, established in 1988. The park has a total area o 4,227 km²,

most o which consists o primary tropical rainorests in the northnd central parts, with mangrove swamps on the coastal zones.

he southern Oban Hills Division o the park measures 2,800 km2 inrea and shares a border with Korup National Park in the Republic o

Cameroon, orming a single protected ecological zone. The divisionas a rugged terrain, rising rom 100m in the river valleys to over,000m in the mountains. The rainy season lasts rom March to

November, with annual rainall o over 3,500mm; the soils are highlyulnerable to erosion where stripped o plant cover. The orestemains largely untouched in the less accessible areas, but aroundhe margins it has been considerably aected by human activity inecent decades. In some places secondary re-growth has occurred,

but other areas contain large plantations o oil-palm and rubber.legal logging is a serious threat and is on the rise.

A orest-dependent local economy

Population growth in buer zone villages has also increased hupressure on the orest ecosystem rom rural livelihood activitieslocal economy is based on subsistence agriculture and the gatheo orest products or sale to urban populations; these econactivities constituted the traditional livelihoods o Ekuri commmembers. Because the nearest market was ar away and goods hbe carried by head-load, high-value orest products were prioriover arming produce. The main items traded were bush maruits (Irvingia gabonensis) and edible orest leaves (Gnetum s

but also included the meat o wild animals, including endang

species such as chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and drill (Mandleucophaeus). Rattan canes (Laccosperma and Eremospatha spp.)

chewing sticks (Carpolobia, Massularia, and Garcinia spp.) weretraded to a lesser extent.

During the 1980s, the Ekuri Community did not have a workingrunning into the community. To access staples such as salt, skerosene, and clothing, community members had to trek overhours to reach the nearest road. These items were transported to the village on the heads o those making the trek. In 1982, Old began negotiations with a logging company to construct a roathe Ekuri Community in exchange or logging rights. This atteby Old Ekuri was vetoed by Chie Otey Esira, the Village Hea

New Ekuri. In explaining his disagreement, the Chie recountedoutlined the enormous benets the Ekuri people had historireceived and continued to gain rom the orest. He strongly advor the conservation o the orest so that these benets mcontinue to sustain the community in perpetuity. As an alternto mortgaging the orest and community’s source o wellbeingChie proposed construction o the road through sel-help eHis appeal was well-received by the community. Rejection o oconcessions in exchange or an access road marked the obeginning o Ekuri Community’s involvement in sustainable management.

Background and Context



55

Beginnings o collective action

A high degree o support rom within the community allowed orhe rapid mobilization o human and nancial resources. Levies weremposed on the proceeds rom sales o non-timber orest products,nd were collected rom every member o Old and New Ekuriillages. This levy system was in place or our years until the amounteeded or construction o the 40 km road was pulled together.

Construction o the road began in 1986, reaching Old Ekuri in 1990.At the inception o the Cross River National Park in 1991, the EkuriCommunity approached the park authority to gain ormal supporto manage their orest on their own. The request was approved andCommunity Forest Ocer was based in the Ekuri community or

wo years to build the oundation o a ormal community-managedorest system – the rst o its kind in Nigeria. The Ekuri Initiative wasormally established in 1992, ten years ater the genesis o the idea.n 1997, the completed road reached New Ekuri village.

A community-based response to an environmental threat

he stated reason or the initiative’s creation was to protect andaeguard the orest, both as an inherited responsibility rom pastenerations and as a responsibility to uture generations. This

ecognized the spiritual and cultural values o the orest or the Ekuri

community, as well as the ecosystem services it provides. Ekuraimed to develop sustainable orest-based livelihoods and impeconomic opportunities or members o the community thathelp in community development and poverty reduction. Foconservation has also ensured the protection o watersheds anextension, the provision o resh water or local people. The initialso acknowledged the importance o protecting the diverse rao plant and animal species that populate the orest.

The organization’s main objectives are to promote poand programs that relate to the sustainable management conservation o Ekuri community orest, and to promote commdevelopment projects and strategies that ensure integrand participatory rural poverty alleviation. A key compoo this has been disseminating and exchanging knowledgedevelopment and conservation; Ekuri has also actively engagecapacity building exercises. This has included providing trainincommunity development groups and community-based enterpconducting research to better understand the challenges athe Ekuri community, and oering community leadership traiFinally, the initiative has also played a vital role in identiying intand external sources o unds or community development,building partnerships with government, development agenNGOs and the private sector.

“My community has experienced climate change but has not been engaged in mechanisms

adapt to climate change due to poor knowledge on how to go about it. However, we are engage

in climate change mitigation through a Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Fore

Degradation (REDD+) program, although this is still in its infancy.”

Chief Edwin Ogar, Ekuri Initiative



6

Key Activities and Innovations

he Ekuri Initiative is involved in awareness-raising, conservationctivities, sustainable orest management, community development,nd poverty reduction initiatives with the community members

o Old and New Ekuri. Activities ocus on these two villages, butlso extend to neighbouring communities such as Okokori, Etara,yeyeng, Owai, and Maminyin. The target beneciaries are the mostulnerable and economically marginalized o these communities.

Participatory orest zoning

he initiative began in 1997 with a perimeter survey o the 33,600ectare Ekuri community orest, allowing or a better understanding

o the area to all under community management. Community landboundaries were initially demarcated through a process o careulegotiation with six neighboring communities with support rom

he Ford Foundation. Thirty-two community members were alsoiven training on developing timber inventories, and a preliminary

and-use plan was developed or the orest.

his plan delimited eight zones: an agroorestry stream buer zone;protected area and animal corridor zones; non-timber orest product

nd orest management zones; arming and cash crop zones; andcotourism zones. The last category includes the Agumdugum Peak,he Lowai Falls, and other picturesque sites. To date, however, pooroad access to Ekuri has limited the development o the site as a

ourist attraction.

Communal orest ownership and beneft sharing

he entirety o the Ekuri community orest is under communalownership, including trees on individual arm plots. Every Ekuri

ommunity member has the right to harvest trees or their own use,but not or commercial sale; communal sales take place through the

kuri Initiative. This is substantially dierent rom other communities,where orest areas have been claimed by individuals and sold toogging companies, accelerating the loss o orests. The system o

communal ownership has been underpinned by the equitsharing o benets rom Ekuri’s various income generating activ

Two 50-hectare plots have been set aside in which trees gror sale are harvested using a directional technique, a prothat reduces damage to the orest and to the soil. The groualso engaged in the harvesting o non-timber orest productscommunity has introduced regulations or orest and arm prodincluding a registration ee or products, the regulation o sale pto dierent buyers, and the introduction o sales taxes and ees. Each product has its own committee to oversee these activand to ensure that 70 percent o weekly revenues are paid into

community treasury.

In its eorts to reduce poverty, the initiative has developed mcredit schemes, given trainings and skills development workshprovided scholarships, technical and nancial support to arm



7

nd invested in value-added secondary processing equipment andhe transporting and marketing o non-timber orest products. Theseorts have increased the nancial viability o alternative livelihoodsor community members, and in turn have decreased pressures onorest resources.

Accountability and governance structure

At the beginning o each year, the villages outline communityevelopment activities or the year and set aside revenue to address

hese identied needs. Copies o the income and expenditurebooks are kept with both the Treasurer and the Financial Secretary.

he decisions on the use o unds are based on approvals by eachkuri village at meetings. An end-o-year report is presented to theommunity to allow or accountability, evaluation and eedback.

A board oversees the initiative; the board in turn is advisedtrustees, who devise policies or the organization. All dratpolicies have to be presented to the General Assembly, consiso all Ekuri community members, beore they are considered byboard. The board then tailors the decisions to refect the prioritithe Ekuri community. The active participation o the communithe governance o the orest, community development and povreduction eorts contributes to the sustainability o the prog

and o the initiative as a whole. Compliance is made possiblthe act that governing decisions are made by the commuthemselves, as opposed to being imposed rom above or outside the community.

“Make policy that guarantees the active participation of local communities in biodiversi

conservation, not only for the long-term survival of biodiversity but for the sustainable developme

of these communities and the world at large.”




8

Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTSThe Oban Hills Division o the Cross River National Park is mostly

overed with lowland rainorest. Common tree species includeBerlinia Conusa, Coula edulis, Hannoa Klaineana, Klainedoxa

Gabonensis,Arican Mahogany and Red Ironwood. About 1,568 plantpecies have been identied, o which 77 are endemic to Nigeria.

These include 1,303 fowering plants, 141 lichens, and 56 mosspecies; the orests are also home to perhaps as many as 950 species

o butterfy. Over 350 bird species have been recorded; the area isone o only two locations in Nigeria where Xavier’s Greenbul is ound.Other notable species include the Bat Hawk, Cassin’s Hawk-eagle,

Crested Guineaowl, Grey-throated Rail, Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo,Bare-cheeked Trogon, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, Green-backedBulbul, Grey-throated Tit-fycatcher and Rachel’s Malimbe. Finally,here are at least 75 mammal species, including the Arican bualo,he endangered Arican Forest Elephant, Chimpanzee, Preuss’s Red

Colobus and Sclater’s Guenon, and the highly endangered Drill. Thedivision may contain up to 400 chimpanzees.

The personal costs o conservation

The Ekuri initiative began while the 33,600-ha area which nowonstitutes the community orest was still largely intact. Ekuri’s

primary objective has been to sustain and protect this area.

Protection has come against great odds, including attempts to coercend intimidate the community into granting logging concessions.

n 1989, the Chie o the Ekuri Community reneged on his initialommitment to protecting the orest, and secretly agreed to lease orest concession to a logging company. This was not discovered

until 1994, when the logging company began construction on aoad rom a neighbouring community. The Chie was dethroned andhe logging concession was blocked, but in 1996 a court ordered hiseinstallation and sentenced six Ekuri leaders – Patrick Akwa, Abel

Aimor Ogar, Raphael Akamo, Abel Egbe, and Chies Edwin Ogarnd Clement Agbor – to two-year prison sentences or obstructing

logging o the community orest. They served these sentences rathan concede the orest area, and the community was able to ba successul civil suit against the deposed Chie, his supportersthe logging company.

As a result o these personal sacrices and the eorts ocommunity as a whole, total orest cover has actually increwithin the Ekuri Community area. In line with the land use activities o 1998, satellite arms outside the arming zones that abandoned have been regenerated, increasing the area o oRoughly 31,000 hectares o land is currently under orest covEkuri Community. The orest is no longer under threat rom log

due to the cancellation o all orest concessions in Cross River Sby the state government. The eorts o the Ekuri Community plan integral role in changing attitudes to logging, and the orenow a pilot site earmarked or Nigeria’s Reducing Emission Deorestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programme.

Ongoing threats to wildlie

Despite its eorts to protect the orest, however, wildlie populahave continued to decline due to overhunting or the commemeat trade and rom poachers rom the nine communneighboring Ekuri. Hunting, water pollution and poisoningshing) are severe constraints to the regeneration o wildlie sp

numbers. With unding rom the UNDP-implemented GEnvironment Facility Small Grants Programme, the initiativimplementing an extensive environmental education prograin the Ekuri community, and attempting to expand this to OkoEtara and Eyeyeng communities. Plans are also being developework in partnership with the Cross River State Forestry Commito intervene in a urther six neighbouring communities, buthas been delayed due to a lack o resources. This would attemcombat continued species loss rom the activities o unemployouth in the region.



SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

Activities o the Ekuri Initiative have brought socioeconomicmprovements through job creation, increased orest-basedevenues, diversied livelihood options, and access to more diverse

markets. While the initiative has created direct employment or somevillagers, individual households have also been able to improve their

ncomes through arm development, the sale o non-timber orestproducts, and the creation o small-scale enterprises.

The Ekuri road – enabling improved community wellbeing

The project has also had substantial benets or the Ekuri Communityn terms o development and inrastructure projects. These projects

have been unded with revenues rom the sale o timber andnon-timber orest products. This has ensured that everyone in thecommunity understands the incentive or protecting the orest ands invested in its conservation. There is now clear understanding

amongst the community that i the orest is lost, the community alsooses its social saety net.

Proceeds rom the sale o non-timber orests products and levieshave enabled the initiative to build a 40 km road, culverts and bridgeso that arm and orest products can be transerred to markets, andhat supplies can be brought in or the building o two schools, a

health centre with improved acilities that meets the health needso the local population, and a civic centre where the community canparticipate directly in orest governance decisions.

Changing the ace o the local economy

Livelihood diversication opportunities have been created byhe initiative through trading arrangements, while greater market

access has been made possible by construction o the road, whichallows goods developed within the community to travel to moredistant markets. Various oods and cash crops now guarantee ahigher income, reducing pressure on high-value orest products. It isestimated that an individual amily can now earn up to USD 100 permonth rom growing a diversied parcel o cash crops. Sustainableharvesting techniques have also been promoted. For example,he community harvests aang leaves (Gnetum aricanum) or usen cooking with a technique that leaves the vines undamaged toegenerate new leaves or uture harvesting cycles. The group also

harvests mature rattans in clumps, allowing younger plants to growand mature. Okro and bush mangos are dried so they can be sold at

better prices in periods o scarcity or when they are otherwise out o eason. Randia (caplobia), a resilient cattle stick, is harvested abovehe base to allow or regeneration through coppice.

Women’s empowerment

The initiative has promoted the participation o women at all levels o decision-making and in all activities, to an unparalleled degree whencompared to neighboring locales. Women have been included inorest governance, community development, and poverty reduction

activities. Four o ten members o the initiative’s Board are women,

while in many o the micro-credit groups, women outnumber The initiative also works closely with the Kirsti Women’s Movema group based in Ekuri that has organized women’s cooperativincrease agricultural production.

POLICY IMPACTS

The work o the Ekuri Initiative has greatly helped to strengthe

links between the local community and Cross River State governauthorities. Implementation o its joint orest management mhas involved working closely with the Cross River National authority and the Cross River State Forestry Department. In 19volunteer Community Forest Ocer (CFO) was assigned to theby the national park authority. They assisted the Ekuri commuin compiling the rst inventory o a orest plot. The relationbetween these villages and the Forestry Department, previodescribed as antagonistic, became much more positive. This progwas attributed to a number o actors, including the role o thein promoting intensive discussions about orest management avillage level. This individual was also instrumental in inrastrucimprovement, and acted as an intermediary between the or

department and villages, articulating requests or assistancecollaboration in the early years o the initiative. The national authorities also provided training or sixteen local people in demarcation and enumeration skills. Finally, the initiative invowomen rom an early stage in the orest inventory process,promoted a strong sense o community ownership.

In turn, this relationship has had positive impacts on pomaking decisions at the state level. The successes o the initiin conservation and sustainable orest management inspiredCross River State government to rewrite its orest sector strateg1994, enshrining the practice o community orestry as a guiprinciple or the orestry sector, while logging concessions been abolished throughout the state. In September 2010, the CRiver State House o Assembly passed a orestry bill into lawhich attention was given to community orestry, conrmingparticipation o local communities in conservation and sustainmanagement o orests as a key strategy within the state.

The Cross River National Park has also been included as a keyin Nigeria’s REDD+ programme, with three REDD pilot proconsidered rom Cross River State. One o these projects winclude the Ekuri orests, along with neighbouring commorests in Iko Esai, Okokori, Etara-Eyeyeng, and Owai, and UkRiver Forest Reserves, comprising an approximate total o 214

hectares. The Ekuri Community’s engagement with the stincipient REDD+ programme has urther helped to strengthenbetween Ekuri and the state government.

Despite the successes o the initiative, however, Ekuri commmembers have yet to be included in steering committeegovernment advisory bodies, apparently due to the minority so Ekuri in Nigeria.

9



10

Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYhe initiative’s sustainability is largely based on ongoing awareness-aising activities, monitoring and enorcement o compliance

with the land use plan, sanctions on oenders, direct communityparticipation in orest governance, and equitable benet sharing.

he key components that have made the project sustainable toate are the commitment o sta and community members to the

project vision and, nancially, revenues generated rom the sale o on-timber orest products.

kuri has managed to successully leverage national and

nternational partnerships to mobilize unding or its inrastructuralprojects. This support has also had signicant benets in terms o apacity building. An example o this level o support is the receipt o grant o around €30,000 in 2002 rom IUCN. This project supportedkuri’s sustainable use o timber resources rom its 50-hectare plot

by improving the transport and marketing o timber, includingelocating the oce o the local logging company rom Calabaro Ekuri itsel, a distance o 200km. This had previously causedigh transport costs or the timber, while the community had little

nfuence over this oce. Two small trucks replaced the old truck, andew chainsaws were purchased to improve the quality o the timber.he grant was also used to build the organizational capacity o thekuri Initiative with the aim o developing greater accountability or

he unds rom orest use.

he project’s sustainability can be guaranteed i long-term nancialupport is provided or key program areas, thereby providingubstantial benets to target beneciaries and urther gaining theirupport or and commitment to conservation eorts.

REPLICATIONUsing revenues rom the sale o sustainable orest managemproducts, the initiative has been able to scale up activities inneighbouring communities – Okokori, Etara, Eyeyeng, OwaiMaminyin – which cover 10,000 people. Project expansionbeen made possible through awareness-raising, needs assessminrastructure development, capacity building, and the introduo a range o income-generating opportunities. This work supported by the Ford Foundation, UNDP-implemented GEF SGrants Programme, and by income generated rom the orest.

The initiative model has been shared with several communin Nigeria and others rom Cameroon, Uganda, MozambiqueSouth Arica. With support rom the Ford Foundation, the initihosted the 1999 Sub-Saharan Conerence on Community Forewhich drew participants rom local communities and governmagencies in selected countries south o the Sahara.

The UK Department or International Development (DID)supported the Cross River State Forestry Commission to replicatEkuri model in thirty-three other local communities, meaningnearly orty communities in Cross River State are currently appthe Ekuri community model. These include Agoi Ibami, Agoi EIko Ekperem, Biajua, Okiro, Abontakon, Iyamitet, Isoket, Beng

A, Iso Bendeghe, among many others. USAID’s Sustainable Pracin Agriculture or Critical Environment (SPACE) have also encourreplication o Ekuri’s model in Okuni, Nsoang, and Bamba.replicating communities are still in the early stages o developmhowever, and urther support is necessary or them to be scaled



“Biodiversity is essential for the world’s sustainable development: therefore, we must

conserve it”


1111

PARTNERS

Cross River National Park: Assigned a community orester toEkuri or two years, a vehicle, unding or the demarcation andenumeration o trees in the rst plot, and unds or completiono the health centre, road maintenance, and awareness-raisingactivities.Cross River State Forestry Commission, supported by UK

Overseas Development Agency (now DID), 1994: Funding ortechnical support, inventory mapping, vehicles or the transporto building materials, and training o six individuals in directionalelling o trees, maintenance o equipment, and other technicalskills.Ford Foundation, 1996-9: Funding or the perimeter survey o the Ekuri community orest, preliminary land use plan, a detailedve-year plan, agriculture and non-timber orest products plan,micro-credit scheme, assistance in registering the Ekuri Initiativewith the national government o Nigeria, and support toorganize the Sub-Saharan Conerence on Community Forestry.Forest Management Foundation, 1997: Funding or a truck totransport building materials to the community, and Ekuri timber,non-timber orest products, and arm produce to markets.Bonny Allied Industries: Cement or building our major bridges.Crushed Rock Industries: donation o chippings and aggregateused or building o the same bridges.Global Green Grants Fund, 2002: USD 5,000 grant to cover legalees regarding the illegal and raudulent lease o orest in Ekuricommunity orest; USD 3,000 grant or improvements to thepath between Old Ekuri and New Ekuri.IUCN, 2002-5: gave €30,250 grant or relocation o the initiativeoce, oil palm pressers, our power chainsaws, and micro-creditor women’s groups.•EU Micro Projects Programme in Six States (MPP6): Built

teen acilities – roads, schools, markets, health centres, waterinrastructure, and civic centres or Ekuri and other communitiesin Cross River State.UNDP-implemented GEF Small Grants Programme, 2010-11:gave USD 29,000 grant or capacity building project titled“Community Based Conservation in Ekuri Community Forest;Ekuri Community, Akamkpa LGA, Cross River State”Wheels4Lie, 2007: USD 2,000 or the distribution o twentybicycles in 5 communities.



Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:

Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)304 East 45th Street, 6th FloorNew York, NY 10017Tel: +1 646 781-4023www.equatorinitiative.org

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating or change onnecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizatio recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

©2012 by Equator InitiativeAll rights reserved

FURTHER REFERENCE

Pathak N., Kothari A., and Roe D. 2005. ‘Conservation with social justice? The role o community conserved areas in achieving the

lennium Development Goals’ in Bigg, T. and Satterthwaite, D. (eds.) How to Make Poverty History: The central role o local organizatio

meeting the MDGs. lIED. London, UK, pp. 55-78. pubs.iied.org/pds/G01283.pd

Ekuri Initiative PhotoStory (Vimeo) vimeo.com/24477411

http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348160963.pdf



case studies undp: ekuri initiative, nigeria

Documents