From chainsaw to uniform: Nigerian park relies on former hunters to protect the forest. JAN 22, 2026.

Photo Unsplash by Maurits Bausenhart

From chainsaw to uniform: Nigerian park relies on former hunters to protect the forest

Okomu National Park, in southwestern Nigeria, is adopting a somewhat unusual strategy to combat deforestation and illegal hunting: transforming former offenders into part of the solution. The initiative recruits former illegal loggers and hunters to act as forest rangers, leveraging their existing knowledge of the territory and, at the same time, offering an alternative source of income in a region marked by unemployment.

One example is James Leleghale Bekewei, 26, who previously made a living from illegally cutting trees within the reserve and now works patrolling trails, identifying extraction points, and helping to locate hunters and timber shipments. According to him, the teams have already made several arrests since the model was implemented.

The strategy stems from the diagnosis that the pressure on protected areas in Nigeria is not only environmental—it is also social. The lack of opportunities, combined with the state's low capacity to monitor and enforce the rules, has transformed the illegal exploitation of natural resources into a source of income for many families. As a result, one of the last large remnants of the region's rainforest becomes more vulnerable, along with endangered species that still survive there, such as forest elephants, pangolins, and buffalo.

The park's management, now under the responsibility of an NGO working in partnership with the national park service, states that a change began in 2022 with the hiring of rangers from surrounding communities. Candidates undergo physical tests and conduct evaluations, as well as training focused on human rights and environmental preservation. Unlike previous periods, the new rangers now operate armed, although it is significantly emphasized that their role is one of protection and mediation, not conventional policing.

The organization says that, before the restructuring, illegally extracted timber traffic was leaving a reserve daily. Now, after two years of operation, the group claims to have recorded around 200 arrests, with a downward trend—a sign that criminal activity may be receding, even if it hasn't been eliminated.

Even with progress, the challenge remains significant. The country has lost most of its original forest cover in recent decades, and the expansion of plantations—such as palm oil, very present in Edo state—is cited as one of the main forces behind deforestation outside protected areas. Within and around Okomu, poverty also weighed heavily: when there was a selection process for park rangers, hundreds of young people applied, but only a small percentage secured positions.

To reduce economic dependence on illegal logging, the park management has been supporting community microfinance and collective savings programs in neighboring villages. The idea is to finance small productive projects—such as equipment for cassava processing—and create more productive income streams. Looking ahead, the organization also mentions its intention to develop ecotourism and seek revenue linked to carbon credits as a way to sustain conservation and expand benefits to surrounding communities.

The central logic of the project is straightforward: if the forest is surrounded out of necessity, protection is only maintained in the long term when the surrounding population also gains the conditions to prosper. Okomu thus attempts to reverse the cycle of destruction and risk a path where former exploiters become guardians—and where preservation becomes more valuable than collapse.

The Green Amazon News – International

This text was compiled using public data, scientific reports, and information from meteorological institutions.

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The Green Amazon News Editorial Team