Supporting conservation in Kainji Lake National Park, Nigeria
- Worth Wild Africa
- Apr 1
- 2 min read
Frontline appeal for $2,000 to support the West African Conservation Network (WACN) and their pioneering conservation initiatives in Kainji Lake National Park, Nigeria
If animals are to survive and thrive across Africa in the face of all of the pressures caused by human population growth, poaching, climate change etc, then they urgently need the help of dedicated, talented people. People with visions about how to protect nature and give it a fighting chance. not just in established game reserves with already thriving tourist footfall and income, but new initiatives to revitalise neglected reserves in challenging areas.
One such area is the Kainji Lake National Park in Nigeria. Kainji National Park is a national park in Niger State and Kwara State, Nigeria. Established in 1978, it covers an area of about 5,341 km2. Due to insecurity in the region, the National Parks Service temporarily suspended operations and research in the Kainji National Park in 2021. West African Conservation Network (WACN), a Nigeria/United Kingdom-based organisation focused on environmental and wildlife conservation, has begun collaboration with the Nigeria National Park Service and other partners to restore the Kainji Lake National Park.
Patrick Egwu, British-born transport entrepreneur of Nigerian heritage and founder of WACN, is committed and dedicated to the National Park's development as a secure conservation area. Obsessed by wildlife and nature since he was a child, Patrick aims to establish Kainji Lake National Park as a secure, economically viable reserve for wildlife protection, seeking to see Kainji become a reserve in West Africa to rival those in the south and east of the continent.
Middle: Patrick Egwu
It's quite a vision, but WACN is already well established and working with government and local communities to protect the extraordinary biodiversity of Kainji Lake National Park, and secure a home for some of West Africa’s most iconic and endangered wildlife.
One of the most immediate jobs is to survey all of the species that live in the park and measure their abundance.
Worth Wild Africa is delighted to assist WACN with their practical conservation needs in these early days and is therefore appealing for US$2000 to purchase six Spypoint FORCE-PRO S Trail cameras. These cameras will also play a critical role in safeguarding key species in the park including the West African clade of the northern lion - a regionally endangered predator, the leopard, which is increasingly rare in the region due to habitat loss and poaching, the West African savanna buffalo, featured on the WACN logo and which is both highly significant ecologically and very vulnerable, and lots of other regionally important and threatened wildlife that define the park’s rich biodiversity.
Your generous support helping to purchase and supply the trail cameras will directly contribute to:
Wildlife population monitoring for conservation planning.
The early detection of poaching threats, enhancing park security.
Population surveying and scientific research to facilitate the development of effective protection and management strategies.
Together we can help WACN ensure the overall conservation success of one of West Africa’s last great wilderness areas and have a lasting impact on the survival of many amazing species.
___________
For further information about WACN, please see:
Comentarios