Lekki Conservation Centre | |
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Location | Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria |
Coordinates | 6°26′11″N3°32′8″E / 6.43639°N 3.53556°E Coordinates: 6°26′11″N3°32′8″E / 6.43639°N 3.53556°E |
Area | 0.78 square kilometres (78 ha) |
Established | 1990 |
Governing body | Nigerian Conservation Foundation |
Website | www |
Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC) is a 78-hectare (190-acre) Natural Resource Conservation in Lekki, Lagos State Nigeria. [1] [2] [3] [4] It is part of PARCC West Africa project. [5]
The centre was established in 1990 to serve as biodiversity conservation icon and environment education centre. The facility was built by the Chevron Corporation for the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), as a reserved sanctuary for the rich flora and fauna of the Lekki Peninsula. The company has since provided annual funding for the management of the centre. [6] [7] [8]
To start the conservation project, three potential areas were surveyed in 1987 by NCF technical team in partnership with the defunct Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative. Thereafter, Lekki area was chosen to establish the demonstration site for the conservation project. Locating the conservation project on Lekki Peninsula informed the name of the project – Lekki Conservation Centre. The centre was established by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation to protect the wildlife and mangrove forests of Nigeria's South-West coastline from the threat of urban development. [9]
The Nigerian conservation Foundation is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to sustainable development and nature conservation. [10] It also serve as an area of biodiversity conservation and environmental awareness center. The foundation aims to preserve Nigeria's species and ecosystems, promote sustainability when using natural resources and advocates actions that minimise the impact on the environment and prevent resource wastage. NCF has worked tirelessly to raise environmental awareness and promote responsibility. The center is located along the Lekki-Epe Expressway in the Lekki Peninsula, opposite Chevron. [2]
The reserve area which covers a land area of 78 hectares (192.74 acres) is located on Lekki Peninsula, next to the Lekki Lagoon, and near the Lagos Lagoon. It protects the wetlands of the Lekki peninsula which consists of swamp and savannah habitats. Approaching the reserve, there's a boulevard of coconut trees that leads to a well-laid-out car and Visitors Park. It is endowed with an abundance of plant and animal life. Its huge tract of wetlands is set aside for wildlife viewing. Raised walkways enable the viewing of animals like monkeys, crocodiles, snakes, and various birds. There is also a conservation center and a library.
The wetlands are managed by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, and it now includes a figure-of-eight system of footpaths, with hiking trails and stepping stones to cross waterways. A trail boardwalk was constructed in 1992 to enrich tourists view of the vast resources of the nature reserve which is encapsulated on a mangrove terrain. Side attractions along the trail includes swamp outlook, bird hide, rest stops and the tree house. The 1.8 km nature trail behind the foremost main buildings is connected by two wooden tracks. A sturdy wooden track leading to the nature trail, reveals an expansive stretch of marshland and savannah grassland teeming with wild life, as well as rich aquatic flora and fauna. [11] [12] There's also a tree house which offers a twenty-one meters-high tree platform where one can have a panoramic view of the picnic area, reserve, visitor's center and children's playground among the trees. The bird hide overlooks a swamp/marsh which is home to crocodiles and monitor lizards. The nature reserve traverses a mosaic of vegetation types: secondary forest, swamp forest and Savanna grassland. Several bird species can be seen here. The centre is a popular site for school excursions, and the shooting of music videos in Nigeria.
The mammal life, although mostly nocturnal is sometimes seen. The small reptiles, and a range of snakes and lizards are also found here. Amphibian life includes a wide range of endangered species. There is a cone-shaped structure which functions as the auditorium for lectures, conferences and seminars. At first glance, there are rare collections of striking pictures of endangered species of animals as well as plants prescribed in glass stands around the oval hall.
Efforts have been made to save different types of animals, reptiles and birdlife from extinction. The endangered species of animals includes bush bucks, crocodiles, mona monkeys, squirrels, snakes, crocodiles, monitor lizards, duikers, giant rats and hogs. [11] [12] While the trees hosts mona monkeys and other species of monkeys, the open grasslands are home to bushbucks, maxwell's duikers, giant rats, hogs, mongooses, chameleons, squirrels and an impressive variety of birdlife. [13] Park rangers are also available as guides. [11] [12] Lekki Conservation Centre has the Longest Canopy walkway in Africa. [14] [15]
Sundarbans is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. Sundarban Reserve Forest (SRF) of Bangladesh is the largest mangrove forest in the world. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal. It comprises closed and open mangrove forests, land used for agricultural purpose, mudflats and barren land, and is intersected by multiple tidal streams and channels. Sundarbans is home to the world's largest area of mangrove forests. Four protected areas in the Sundarbans are enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, viz. Sundarbans West (Bangladesh), Sundarbans South (Bangladesh), Sundarbans East (Bangladesh) and Sundarbans National Park (India).
Kakum National Park, located in the coastal environs of the Central Region of Ghana, covers an area of 375 square kilometres (145 sq mi). Established in 1931 as a reserve, it was gazetted as a national park only in 1992 after an initial survey of avifauna was conducted. The area is covered with tropical forest. The uniqueness of this park lies in the fact that it was established at the initiative of the local people and not by the State Department of wildlife who are responsible for wildlife preservation in Ghana. It is one of only 3 locations in Africa with a canopy walkway, which is 350 metres (1,150 ft) long and connects seven tree tops which provides access to the forest.
Canopy walkways - also called canopy walks, treetop walks or treetop walkways - provide pedestrian access to a forest canopy. Early walkways consisted of bridges between trees in the canopy of a forest; mostly linked up with platforms inside or around the trees. They were originally intended as access to the upper regions of ancient forests for scientists conducting canopy research. Eventually, because they provided only limited, one-dimensional access to the trees, they were abandoned for canopy cranes. Today they serve as ecotourism attractions in places such as Dhlinza Forest, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia, Sedim River, Kulim, Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda and Kakum National Park, Ghana.
Corcovado National Park is a National Park on the Osa Peninsula, in Osa Canton, southwestern Costa Rica, which is part of the Osa Conservation Area. It was established on 24 October 1975 and encompasses an area of 424 square kilometres (164 sq mi). It is the largest park in Costa Rica and extends over about a third of the Osa Peninsula. It is widely considered the crown jewel in the extensive system of national parks and biological reserves spread across the country. National Geographic has called it "the most biologically intense place on Earth in terms of biodiversity".
The Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest ecoregion situated in the western and northern part of Madagascar. The area has high numbers of endemic plant and animal species but has suffered large-scale clearance for agriculture. They are among the world's richest and most distinctive dry forests and included in the Global 200 ecoregions by the World Wide Fund. The area is also home to distinctive limestone karst formations known as tsingy, including the World Heritage Site of Bemaraha.
The wildlife of Sierra Leone is very diverse due to the variety of different habitats within the country. Sierra Leone is home to approximately 2090 known higher plant species, 147 known species of mammals, 172 known breeding bird species, 67 known reptile species, 35 known amphibian species and 99 known species of fish.
The wildlife of the Democratic Republic of the Congo includes its flora and fauna, comprising a large biodiversity in rainforests, seasonally flooded forests and grasslands.
The wildlife of Liberia consists of the flora and fauna of the Republic of Liberia. This West African nation has a long Atlantic coastline and a range of habitat types, with a corresponding diversity of plants and animals. Liberia is considered a biodiversity hotspot and has more intact forests characteristic of the Upper Guinea Massif than do neighbouring countries. There are 2000 species of vascular plants, approximately 140 species of mammals, and over 600 species of birds.
Wildlife of the Gambia is dictated by several habitat zones over its total land area of about 10,000 km2. It is bound in the south by the savanna and on the north by the Sudanian woodlands. The habitats host abundant indigenous plants and animals, in addition to migrant species and newly planted species. They vary widely and consist of the marine system, coastal zone, estuary with mangrove vegetation coupled with Banto Faros, river banks with brackish and fresh water zones, swamps covered with forests and many wetlands.
The wildlife of Nigeria consists of the flora and fauna of this country in West Africa. Nigeria has a wide variety of different habitats, ranging from mangrove swamps and tropical rainforest to savanna with scattered clumps of trees. About 290 species of mammal and 940 species of bird have been recorded in the country.
Logging, agriculture, and the collection of wood for fuel are cited as the leading causes of deforestation in the West African country of Nigeria.
The Borneo lowland rain forests is an ecoregion, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the large island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It supports approximately 15,000 plant species, 380 bird species and several mammal species. The Borneo lowland rain forests is diminishing due to logging, hunting and conversion to commercial land use.
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The Nigerian Conservation Foundation is an environmental non-governmental organization which works to preserve the natural resources and biodiversity of Nigeria. The Foundation was founded in 1980 by Shafi Edu and has worked since then on a number of resource management and conservation projects across Nigeria. Chief Ede Dafinone is the current Chairman of the Foundation and Dr. Muhtari Aminu-Kano is the Director-General.
The Cross River National Park is a national park of Nigeria, located in Cross River State, Nigeria. There are two separate sections, Okwangwo and Oban . The park has a total area of about 4,000 km2, most of which consists of primary moist tropical rainforests in the North and Central parts, with mangrove swamps on the coastal zones. Parts of the park belong to the Guinea-Congolian region, with a closed canopy and scattered emergent trees reaching 40 or 50 meters in height.
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Desmond Olumuyiwa Majekodunmi is a Nigerian environmentalist. He is the chairman of the Lekki State Urban Forest and Animal Shelter Initiative (LUFASI), and a radio show host of the Green Hour on Nigeria Info 99.3 FM. Majekodunmi is also an author, a singer and script-writer. In addition to this, he works as a farmer, multi-media engineer/producer, film maker and musician.
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