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            nearly ninety percent of West Africa's 
original moist forest has been destroyed.
  One of the region's two largest remaining intact 
forests lies along the border between 
Nigeria and Cameroon. The 1.5 million acre Cross River 
rainforest is considered to be
 one of the most biologically rich forests on the 
planet.

	Local organizations working to protect the Cross
 River rainforest are celebrating
 a trend towards forest conservation under the leadership
 ofthe region's governor,
 Mr. Donald Duke. Since taking office, Mr. Duke has introduced
 several measures designed 
to slow deforestation, winning praise from environmentalists
 worldwide.

	Located in Nigeria's Cross River State, the Cross
 River rainforest harbors an estimated one
 third of Africa's primate species, as well as hippopotamuses,
 elephants, 950 species of butterflies
, and an incredible diversity of migratory and resident birds.
 The Cross River rainforest is lso home to many of
Africa's rarest trees, including Mahogany, Ironwood, Camwood,
 and Mimosup.

	Not surprisingly, the most urgent threat to the
 Cross River rainforest comes from large
 foreign-owned logging companies, which often 
blatantly disregard the region's forestry 
laws. Asian and European logging companies plan to 
log and export hundreds of thousands
 of board-feet of Nigerian

	Such extensive logging will further exacerbate 
the trade in "bushmeat," meat from wild forest
 animals, such as endangered gorillas and chimpanzees,
 that is sold for human consumption. 
Logging roads allow bushmeat hunters access to previously
 remote forest interiors, creating 
a deadly threat to many of Africa's animal species.

	Shortly after taking office, Governor Duke suspended 
all illegal forest logging concessions in
 Cross River National Park and placed a moratorium on all 
logging activities in the state. Most
 recently, Mr. Duke signed into law the Cross River State
 forestry commission bill, which,
 according to Mr. Duke, was designed to "give legal backing
 to the government's policy thrust
 of protecting and judiciously harvesting the forestry 
resources of the state."

	The director of Africa's NGOCF (Non-Governmental
Organization's Coalition for the Environment),
 Mr. Odigha Odigha, praised the recent developments,
 which he hopes will pave the way for more
 permanent protection of the region's forests and
 endangered species.
According to Rainforest Action Network's Africa Campaign 
Director, Frick Brownstein,
 "Logging and the trade in bushmeat threaten to all but 
obliterate West Africa's forests. Mr.
 Duke's actions offer us some hope. It is critical that 
we show our support and appreciation
 for the courageous steps Mr. Duke has taken towards 
conservation of Cross River's irreplaceable rainforest."

Nigeria's Cross River rainforest has been granted a significant
-but temporary-reprieve by the government's recent actions. Please
 write a letter to Mr. Donald Duke, Executive
 Governor of Cross River State, Office of the Governor, P.M.B. 
i070, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. Commend him for his recent
 actions and urge him to make forest preservation a continued 
priority for his government. (A one page letter 
to Nigeria requires 60 cents postage; a postcard requires 55 
cents postage.)

Dear Mr. Duke,
I was heartened to learn of the recent actions you have taken on hehalf
of Nigeria's Cross River rainfrrest. I commend your decision to 
suspend logging concessions in the Cross River National Park and to 
declare a moratorium on logging activities in the state.The Cross 
River rainforest is one of only two large, intact natural forests
left in West Africa. As such, conservation of this forest is of 
paramount importance for the survival of the region's many threatened
plant and animal species.I encourage you to continue working towards
permanent and efftctive protection for these forests. Speczfically,
I urge you to prohibit commercial logging of all primary forest
in Cross River State.Thank you for the leadershp you have already
shown on the important issue  of forest conservation in Cross River
State. I look forward to seeing forest preservation made a
continued priority for your government.

       The Great Apes, including gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos, are critically 
       endangered. If dramatic, large-scale action is not taken soon, our primate
 cousins will become extinct within our lifetime.
Working in collaboration with Rainforest Action Network and other concerned
 groups, The Primate Conservation & Welfare Society (PCWS) has designed a
 series of Primate Poster Projects to raise awareness about primate conservation 
and welfare issues around the globe. The first poster and action kit in the series
 address the trade in bushmeat, one of the most serious threats to African primates.
To order the poster and action kit, please call PCWS at I -888-595-7297, visit their 
website at <http://www.primates-online.com/bushmeat.html>, or write to them
 at PCWS, P0 Box 2101, Port Townsend, WA 98368 (send $14.25 for US orders,
 $16.50 for international orders). Proceeds will go to the PCWS Bushmeat Fund 
to be divided among organizations working in the field to help protect our
 closest animal relations.