Changes

= Site characteristics = <!-- A paragraph summary of physical and geographic aspects of the site, and a table of key information -->

= Site characteristics = <!-- A paragraph summary of physical and geographic aspects of the site, and a table of key information -->

[[File: chimpanzee_OforiAmanfo.jpg | 300px | thumb| right | Chimpanzee captured on a camera trap © Richard Ofori-Amanfo]]

[[File: chimpanzee_OforiAmanfo.jpg | 400px | thumb| right | Chimpanzee captured on a camera trap © Richard Ofori-Amanfo]]

The Bia Conservation Area (BCA) forms a 306km2 block in the moist evergreen and moist semi-deciduous forest zones of western Ghana (Taylor, 1960; Hall and Swaine, 1981) between 6º 20’– 6º 40’N and 3º 00’– 3º 10’W, sandwiched between the Bia River and the border with Côte d’Ivoire (Figure 1). Rainfall is bimodal, peaking in June and October, with an annual rainfall of between 1500–1750 mm (Hall and Swaine, 1981). Average monthly temperature in the area is 24–28 ºC, with extremes from 18–34 ºC. The farming system is rain-fed, with farming activities undertaken throughout the year. The BCA was originally part of a larger (about 1500km2) ecosystem for forest elephants known as the Bia Group of Forest Reserves. However, the Bia elephant range has reduced over time due to clearance for cocoa cultivation, and is now an isolated population in an ecological island of forest with hard boundaries and no transitional zone to farmland (PADP, 2001).

The Bia Conservation Area (BCA) forms a 306km2 block in the moist evergreen and moist semi-deciduous forest zones of western Ghana (Taylor, 1960; Hall and Swaine, 1981) between 6º 20’– 6º 40’N and 3º 00’– 3º 10’W, sandwiched between the Bia River and the border with Côte d’Ivoire (Figure 1). Rainfall is bimodal, peaking in June and October, with an annual rainfall of between 1500–1750 mm (Hall and Swaine, 1981). Average monthly temperature in the area is 24–28 ºC, with extremes from 18–34 ºC. The farming system is rain-fed, with farming activities undertaken throughout the year. The BCA was originally part of a larger (about 1500km2) ecosystem for forest elephants known as the Bia Group of Forest Reserves. However, the Bia elephant range has reduced over time due to clearance for cocoa cultivation, and is now an isolated population in an ecological island of forest with hard boundaries and no transitional zone to farmland (PADP, 2001).