Expanding a Community Co-managed Forest Reserve in Ghana

Less than 20% of Ghana’s original rainforests remain and those still standing are under daily threat of encroaching slash and burn agriculture, logging, and uncontrolled development. The Togo-Volta Highlands (that span eastern Ghana and western Togo) is a highly deforested region of West Africa, and is home to rare amphibians and other species.

With our support, Rainforest Trust is working with Herp Conservation Ghana to expand the Onepone Endangered Species Refuge, protecting 10,000 acres of threatened rainforest which provides the majority of the global range, and is a crucial breeding habitat for, the endemic Critically Endangered Togo Slippery Frog.

Herp-Ghana works closely with the local communities within the proposed protected area, ensuring their full participation in the management and development of the reserve. This project also supports local communities to develop more efficient farming methods and is developing longer-term revenue streams such as sustainable ecotourism. The Reserve is of wider importance, protecting high-density rainforest that stores vast quantities of carbon and providing a secure sanctuary for more than 12 other threatened species, including the Critically Endangered Hooded Vulture and Great Tiger-nut Tree, and Vulnerable White-bellied Pangolin.