A group of experts have urged the Federal Government to include Taylor Creek Forest Reserve in its proposed National Park system of the Niger Delta Basin.

The group, under the auspices instance of United Nations Development Programme, is working on the Niger Delta Biodiversity Conservation Project

The group said that the upgrade of the forest reserve to the status of a National Park would address the absence of a major recreational centre in Bayelsa as well as enhance the tourism potentials of the state.

Participants in a two-day round table on the establishment of National Parks in Yenagoa, made the call in an eight point communique issued on Sunday and signed by its Chairman and Secretary respectively, Prof. Godfrey Akani and Dr. Elijah Ohimain.

“Taylor Creek Forest Reserve located in the Yenagoa local Government Area of Bayelsa, being another biodiversity hotspot, should be included in the proposed National Parks system in the Niger Delta Basin group said,” he said.

The participants at the conference also advocated that other states in the Niger Delta region should be explored for inclusion in the Niger Delta Park system.

They advocated a comprehensive baseline study on the biodiversity of the proposed National Park system in Bayelsa.

According to them the study is necessitated by the recent tentative approval for the establishment of two national parks in Edumanom and Apoi Creek forest reserves by the Federal Government in the state.

The communique called for a vigorous and sustained sensitization of the host communities and other stakeholders as well as a legal framework for the establishment of the parks to be updated to reflect the current trend of events.

The Bayelsa state Government, according to them should constitute a working group in anticipation of the establishment of the parks and also ensure that the project should be public-private partnership driven.

The group urged oil companies operating in the Niger Delta should enlist support and demonstrate visible commitment to the project.

The meeting had in attendance stakeholders drawn from Government, academia, oil and gas companies, community based organisations, host communities, NGOs and the media.

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