New Rangers outpost in Gashaka Gumti National Park will address security threats – Minister

The Minister of Environment, Alhaji Balarabe Abbas Lawal, has said the newly-inaugurated ranger outpost in Gashaka Gumti National Park, spanning both Taraba and Adamawa states, will play a crucial role in enhancing conservation efforts and responding swiftly to threats within the park.

Speaking on Wednesday during the commissioning of the outpost, which is located in the northern sector of the park in Tungo Local Government Area of Adamawa, he admitted that Nigeria has faced unprecedented challenges in protecting its rich biodiversity.

The challenges, as enumerated by him, include poaching, habitat destruction, climate change, and more recently, general insecurity as a result of insurgency, banditry, and kidnapping, among others.

The collaboration between the National Park Service (NPS) and African Nature Investors (ANI), which Newspot learned assisted in contacting the outpost that will house over fifty rangers, the minister believed, would go a long way in addressing the identified ills in the park.

“The collaboration between NPS and ANI in managing these two national parks is apt and will go a long way in mitigating these challenges and protecting our wildlife, biodiversity, and ecosystem,” the minister said.

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Lawal, who spoke via the Conservator General of Parks, Ibrahim Goni, said these efforts have greatly complemented the federal government’s initiatives in safeguarding our national treasures.

“This partnership, therefore, signifies a robust alliance shaped by a shared vision to ensure that our parks are not only protected but also serve as sanctuaries for wildlife, ecotourism, and sources of livelihoods for local communities.”

Aligning his views with that of the minister, the Executive Director of Gashaka Gumti National Park, Tunde Morakinyo, who identified illegal mining as a major issue facing the park, expressed optimism that the new outpost will enhance ranger efforts to tackle illegal mining activities within the protected areas.

Morakinyo, who also called on the federal government to take immediate action to shut down illegal mining operations in the region, observed that illegal mining is the reason for the high increase in criminal activities in the area.

He also called for a collaborative effort to address the challenge, stressing that combating these activities is now more critical than ever.

Twenty-two miners were recently reported to have been killed as a result of the collapse of a mining pit at an illegal mining site located within the area.