Nigeria’s $11 Billion Highway Wipes Out Forests and Livelihoods as Locals Fight Back

The highway cuts through coastal forests and mangroves, which act as natural barriers against erosion and storm surges. As trees are cleared and the shoreline is reshaped, fishermen report dwindling catches and oyster farmers—who have relied on mangrove forests for generations—face collapse [158244]. In Sierra Leone, similar mangrove loss has already put women oyster farmers out of work, leaving them with fewer oysters and less income to survive [158244]. The pattern is repeating along Nigeria’s coast, where the highway is accelerating environmental damage that could take decades to reverse.

Local villagers and environmental groups say the project prioritizes corporate and tourism interests over the people who have lived on the land for centuries. “The loss of land is also the loss of livelihoods,” said Dayanna Palmar Uriana, a Wayuu indigenous leader from Colombia and Venezuela, speaking at a global ecocide awareness event [169880]. “It is the loss of the relationship we have with the land passed down from our ancestors.” The sentiment echoes across Nigeria’s coast, where residents fear they will be displaced and left without the resources they need to survive.

Scientists warn that large infrastructure projects like this one, combined with climate shocks, are pushing ecosystems beyond their limits. The United Nations reports that global sea levels are rising at twice the rate of a decade ago, threatening coastal communities worldwide [169387]. In Indonesia, extreme rainfall and landslides—driven by the climate crisis—recently killed 7% of the world’s rarest orangutans, highlighting how development and environmental collapse are linked [169960]. Without urgent action, the highway could become another example of how unchecked construction destroys the natural systems that support human life.