Cross River, Nigeria: Low-emission rural development (LED-R) at a glance

• 1st African sub-national jurisdiction to implement a jurisdictional approach to REDD+ & serves as an example for Nigeria to develop, refine, & scale up REDD+/LED-R
• Biodiversity-rich forests constitute ~50% of Nigeria’s remaining tropical forest; state aims to become the “greenest” state (forest cover & sustainable development) via 30-year green growth plan
• Cross River (CR) National Park covers ~20% of state & protects critically endangered gorilla habitat
• Main livelihood is subsistence & cash crop farming; most migrants employed as plantation labor; ~65% of communities use fuelwood as primary energy source
• Complex history of colonial forest reserve management with maintenance of customary access, followed by loss of customary rights, over-exploitation of timber & boom-bust of industrial plantations after independence
• Lost oil revenues due to Nigeria-Cameroon dispute in 2008 (an important source of state budget for conservation & agricultural development), increasing pressure for rivatization & private sector investment in state (e.g. palm oil companies)

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