The road that leads to Emerald Forest Reserve does not inspire hope. For kilometre after kilometre, the landscape unfolds in stubborn monotony like palm trees, red laterite dust, and the skeletal silhouettes of what were once towering iroko and mahogany forests, cut down years ago and never replaced. Then the road bends, and the canopy closes overhead. Something survived. The Emerald Forest Reserve, a 120-hectare privately owned reserve, has been protected since 2003 by the Abayomi family. “When we came here, you could already see
The road that leads to Emerald Forest Reserve does not inspire hope. For kilometre after kilometre, the landscape unfolds in stubborn monotony like palm trees, red laterite dust, and the skeletal silhouettes of what were once towering iroko and mahogany forests, cut down years ago and never replaced. Then the road bends, and the canopy closes overhead. Something survived. The Emerald Forest Reserve, a 120-hectare privately owned reserve, has been protected since 2003 by the Abayomi family. “When we came here, you could already see