Ghana Nationwide

West Africa > Ghana > Ghana Nationwide

Summary

• Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Ghana.
• It has been estimated that up to 500 chimpanzees occur in Ghana.
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• The country has a total surface area of 238,535 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are habitat destruction mainly due to agricultural expansion, and hunting.
• Conservation activities focus on sustainable land management and community conservation

Site characteristics

The country shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to the east. The three main ecological zones found in the country are forest, interior savanna, and coastal savanna (Natiamoa-Baidu et al. 2001). The forest zone represents the eastern end of the Upper Guinea forest ecosystem, which is an area of high biodiversity and endemism (Natiamoa-Baidu et al. 2001). In addition to the western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), other endangered mammal species present in Ghana include forest elephats (Loxodonta cyclotis), Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana), African golden cat (Profelis aurata), and red colobus monkey (Procolobus badius) (Ntiamoa-Baidu et al. 2001). Forty Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are listed in Ghana, mostly in the coastal and western part of the country (BirdLife International 2019). Out of the 680 bird species occurring in Ghana, 23 of them are globally threatened species (BirdLife International 2019). The Lake Volta, in southeastern Ghana, is the largest artificial reservoir in the world by surface area (Ntiamoua-Baidu et al. 2001).

Table 1: Basic site information for Ghana

Area	238,535 km²
Coordinates	8.17 N, -1.29 W
Designation	Not applicable
Habitat types	Subtropical/Tropical Dry Forest, Subtropical/Tropical Lowland Forest, Dry Savanna, Moist Savanna, Arable Land, Pasture Land, Plantations, Urban Areas, Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

In 1989 Teleki estimated that 300-500 chimpanzees occurred in Ghana (Danquah et al. 2012). Later on, given the scarcity of surveys and evidence, chimpanzees were thought by some to be extinct, or nearly extinct in Ghana (Caldecott & Miles 2005). Their presence was confirmed during a primate survey in 2009 (Danquah et al. 2012). The chimpanzee population is confined mainly to the Bia-Goaso Forest Block, which is a high forest zone in southwestern Ghana (Danquah et al. 2012, Kormos et al. 2003). Based on the modelled density distribution of western chimpanzees across their geographic range Heinicke et al. (2019) estimated 24 (CI: 1-212) individuals in Guinea.

Table 2: Great ape population estimates in Ghana

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% confidence interval)	Density estimate (per km²)	Encounter rate (nests/km)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pan troglodytes verus	1989	300-500			Nationwide	Unknown	Teleki 1989 as cited by Danquah et al. 2012
Pan troglodytes verus	2009	264-574			Bia-Goaso Forest Block	Line transects (Distance)	Danquah et al. 2012	The nationwide chimpanzee population is likely restricted to this area
Pan troglodytes verus	2015	24 (1-212)			Nationwide	Model estimate	Heinicke et al. 2019	Based on density distribution predicted for geographic range of western chimpanzees using models and transect survey data

Threats

Habitat loss due to deforestation is a major threat to chimpanzees in Ghana. Deforestation is attributed mainly to agricultural activities (especially cocoa farming, timber extraction, bush fires (Ntiamoa-Baidu et al. 2001), as well as surface and underground mining (Attuquayefio 2017). The majority of protected areas have been subjected to some degree of disturbance, and reserves are mostly surrounded by farmlands (Ntiamoa-Baidu et al. 2001). Hunting is also a major threat due to the high demand for bushmeat throughout the country (Kormos et al. 2003, Danquah et al. 2012). The pet trade has also had a significant impact on the chimpanzee population in Ghana (Kormos et al. 2003, Gatti 2009). Due extreme habitat loss, the chimpanzee population in Ghana is very small compared to populations in other range countries, and much greater efforts are needed for their protection (Kuehl et al. 2017).

Conservation activities

The Wildlife Division (WD) of the Forestry Commission is responsible for the protection of wildlife in Ghana (Ntiamoa-Baidu et al. 2001). The WD is also responsible for the management of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Nature Reserves and Ramsar sites, but Forest Reserves are managed by the Forest Services Division (Gatti 2009). In addition, several national and international NGOs are involved in biodiversity conservation activities; these include the Conservation Alliance of Ghana, the Nature and Development Foundation, Ghana Wildlife Society, and Friends of the Earth. The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) has funded multiple projects focused on sustainable land management (see the list of GEF projects).

Impediments

Table 5: Impediments reported for Ghana

Impediment	Source
Lack of law enforcement	Ntiamoa-Baidu et al. 2001, Kormos et al. 2003

Research activities

Information on research activities conducted in Ghana is deficient, including research on chimpanzee ecology and behavior. Biodiversity-related research has focused on agricultural management and farming impacts on biodiversity (e.g., Tetteh et al. 2018, Nyadanu et al. 2016, Benhin et al. 2004). Research to investigate ways in which indigenous knowledge can contribute to conservation has also been conducted (e.g., Hens 2017, Adom et al. 2016).

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

Adom D, Kquofi S, Asante EA. 2016. The high impacts of Asante indigenous knowledge in biodiversity conservation issues in Ghana: the case of the Abono and Essumeja townships in Ahsanti region. British Journal of Environmental Sciences. Vol.4, No.3, pp.63-78.
Attuquayefio DK, Owusu EH, Ofori BY. 2017. Impact of mining and forest regeneration on small mammal biodiversity in the Western Region of Ghana. Environ Monit Assess 189, 237. doi:10.1007/s10661-017-5960-0
Benhin JK, Barbier EB. 2004. Structural Adjustment Programme, Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss in Ghana. Environmental and Resource Economics 27, 337–366. doi:10.1023/B:EARE.0000017653.15107.0f
BirdLife International. 2019. Country profile: Ghana. Available from http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/country/ghana. Checked: 2019-12-13
Daniel AT, Alex A, Kwesi O-F, Daniel A. 2018. Effect of cocoa farming intensification on biodiversity and ecosystem properties in southern Ghana. Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment, 10(7), 172–181. https://doi.org/10.5897/JENE2017.0673
Danquah E, Sam MK, Akom E, Appiah-Kubi SK, T Ayiku. 2009. Elephant Conservation and Possibilities of Creating Corridors in Western Ghana. Project_ AFE-0348. Technical report submitted by A Rocha Ghana to African Elephant Conservation Fund of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Gatti S. 2009. Status of primate populations in protected areas targeted by the community forest biodiversity project. WAPCA Ghana report.
Heinicke et al. 2019. Advancing conservation planning for western chimpanzees using IUCN SSC A.P.E.S. – the case of a taxon-specific database. Environmental Research Letters, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab1379
Hens L. 2006. Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation and Management in Ghana. Journal of Human Ecology, 20(1), 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/09709274.2006.11905897
Kormos R, Boesch C, Bakarr MI, Butynski T. (eds.). 2003. West African Chimpanzees. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. ix + 219 pp.
Ntiamoa-Baidu Y, Erasmus HO, Daramani, DT, Nuoh AA. Important Bird Areas of Ghana. Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands, Priority sites for Conservation. (L. D. C. Fishpool and M. I. Evans, eds.), pp. 367–389. Bird Life Conservation Series No.11. Newburg and Cambridge.
Nyadanu D, Aboagye LM, Akromah R, Dansi A. 2016. Agro-biodiversity and challenges of on-farm conservation: the case of plant genetic resources of neglected and underutilized crop species in Ghana. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 63(8), 1397–1409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-015-0327-2

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 13/12/2019