Protect wild lands for

Urgent Projects Donate Now Donate Now
2x Match

Help Build Lasting Protection Across Nigeria's Threatened Coastline

DOUBLE YOUR DONATION DOUBLE YOUR DONATION
Project Overview

Intense pressures from oil extraction, overfishing, and illegal logging threaten critical ecosystems and vulnerable species in the Niger Delta.

  • Species at Risk

    Slender-snouted Crocodile (CR), Red-capped Mangabey (EN), African Manatee (VU), Leatherback Turtle (VU), Green Turtle (EN), Hawksbill Turtle (CR), Loggerhead Turtle (VU), African Softshell Turtle (VU), Olive Ridley Turtle (VU)

  • Carbon stored

    1,962,159 mT*

    *(metric tons of CO2 equivalents)
  • Partner

    S/W Niger Delta Forest Project

  • 6,500 Proposed Acres Conserved by

    Designation - Community Conservation Area

  • Project Cost: $1,051,871
Nigeria
Proposed Acres

6,500

Project Overview

Intense pressures from oil extraction, overfishing, and illegal logging threaten critical ecosystems and vulnerable species in the Niger Delta.

  • Species at Risk

    Slender-snouted Crocodile (CR), Red-capped Mangabey (EN), African Manatee (VU), Leatherback Turtle (VU), Green Turtle (EN), Hawksbill Turtle (CR), Loggerhead Turtle (VU), African Softshell Turtle (VU), Olive Ridley Turtle (VU)

  • Carbon stored

    1,962,159 mT*

    *(metric tons of CO2 equivalents)
  • Partner

    S/W Niger Delta Forest Project

  • 6,500 Proposed Acres Conserved by

    Designation - Community Conservation Area

  • Project Cost: £834,818
Nigeria
Proposed Acres

6,500

2X THE IMPACT

For the next $100,000 donated, every $1 donated will be matched by $1—giving your gift 2X the impact—thanks to a generous anonymous donor.

DOUBLE YOUR DONATION DOUBLE YOUR DONATION

Highlights

  • Illegal logging, overfishing, and oil extraction are destroying and degrading ecosystems in the Niger Delta, which sustains critically endangered species and around 60% of all fish caught between the Gulf of Guinea and Angola.
  • With the S/W Niger Delta Forest Project, Rainforest Trust will help protect 6,500 acres of marine and terrestrial habitat through a proven model of community-led conservation.
  • Local management of the new protected area will legally restrict logging, hunting, and fishing in specific places, as well as no-take zones in others.

    Mangroves, wetlands, and swamp forests create a mosaic of biodiversity in the Niger Delta. Five species of sea turtles build their nests on these beaches, while crocodiles and manatees navigate the tides. Upstream, rare monkeys swing through the maritime forest.

    On water and land, this invaluable region is under increasing pressure. Illegal logging, overfishing, and oil pollution are destroying and degrading the ecosystem, and species are suffering serious declines from habitat loss and illegal hunting and capture. Communities and local businesses that rely on one of Africa’s most important fisheries face hardship and economic loss. Without timely action, these threats will impact all who depend on the Niger Delta.

Header video: Critically Endangered Hawksbill Turtle hatchlings

Explore the Niger Delta

1 of 5

Critically Endangered Slender-snouted Crocodile, by vidalgo

2 of 5

Endangered Red-capped Mangabey, by Number One

3 of 5

Vulnerable Loggerhead Turtle, by Neubauer

4 of 5

Vulnerable Baby Olive Ridley Turtle, by Erica Ruth Bassem Zein

5 of 5

Vulnerable African Softshell Turtle, by Vlad3344

Did you know?

5

species of sea turtles nest on the shores of the Niger Delta.

Support Species through Community Conservation

With the S/W Niger Delta Forest Project, we will help bring permanent protection to 6,500 acres of marine and terrestrial habitats through the establishment of the coastal Foropa Community Conservation Area. This effort will expand on our previous collaboration to protect threatened habitat for the rare Niger Delta Red Colobus monkey upstream in the Apoi Community Forests.

The SW/Niger Delta Forest Project brings deep experience and connection to the landscape and its communities. This region has been a key target for oil and gas extraction, which has degraded the landscape and created decades of conflict among communities, government, and multinational companies. Our partner has overcome these significant challenges through conservation that is anchored in community leadership, local knowledge, and environmental stewardship.

Help Save a Sanctuary on Africa’s Coast

From coastal waters to mangrove forests, the Foropa Community Conservation Area will protect a variety of vulnerable species, including Critically Endangered Slender-snouted Crocodiles, Vulnerable West African Manatees, Endangered Red-capped Mangabeys, and Critically Endangered Hawksbill Turtles. The delta also provides around 60% of all fish caught between the Gulf of Guinea and Angola.

The CCA will formalize a community commitment to conservation through monitoring and management that legally restrict logging, hunting, and fishing in some parts of the protected area and enforce strict no-take zones in others. The S/W Niger Delta Forest Project plans to expand this model into at least five additional communities toward their ultimate goal of conserving 20% of the entire delta.

Learn more about this project

We Value Transparency

Conservation Action Fund
Conservation work is critical, challenging, and can be costly. We work hard to ensure we raise only the funds needed for each project. In the rare case we raise more money than needed or a project comes in under budget, excess monies will be transferred to the Conservation Action Fund. This fund supports our important conservation work throughout the tropics.

Project Modifications
Rainforest Trust conducts extensive research and due diligence on each of the projects that we support, so that once a project is offered for public support we believe it will succeed. We work closely with our project implementers, offer support, and regularly monitor their progress. Given the nature of the work, projects may not progress exactly as intended and may be unable to meet all objectives. To respond dynamically to the needs of our project implementers and the realities of the landscapes in which they operate, Rainforest Trust expressly reserves the right to modify a project as it deems necessary, provided that donor intent is honored by ensuring that that the original project objectives are diligently pursued and that project funds continue to benefit the landscape and species identified in the project overview. Project modifications that we may need to make in certain circumstances include the specific project implementer, the size of the landscape to be protected, the type of protection to be afforded to the landscape, and the development of sustainability mechanisms.