Cites Periodic Review of the Status of African Lion Across Its Range
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Wildlife Monitoring and Conservation in a West African Protected Area by Andrew Cole Burton a Dissertation Submitted in Partial
Wildlife Monitoring and Conservation in a West African Protected Area By Andrew Cole Burton A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science, Policy and Management in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Justin S. Brashares, Chair Professor Steven R. Beissinger Professor Claire Kremen Professor William Z. Lidicker Fall 2010 Wildlife Monitoring and Conservation in a West African Protected Area © 2010 by Andrew Cole Burton ABSTRACT Wildlife Monitoring and Conservation in a West African Protected Area by Andrew Cole Burton Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science, Policy and Management University of California, Berkeley Professor Justin S. Brashares, Chair Global declines in biological diversity are increasingly well documented and threaten the welfare and resilience of ecological and human communities. Despite international commitments to better assess and protect biodiversity, current monitoring effort is insufficient and conservation targets are not being met (e.g., Convention on Biological Diversity 2010 Target). Protected areas are a cornerstone of attempts to shield wildlife from anthropogenic impact, yet their effectiveness is uncertain. In this dissertation, I investigated the monitoring and conservation of wildlife (specifically carnivores and other larger mammals) within the context of a poorly studied savanna reserve in a tropical developing region: Mole National Park (MNP) in the West African nation of Ghana. I first evaluated the efficacy of the park’s long-term, patrol-based wildlife monitoring system through comparison with a camera-trap survey and an assessment of sampling error. I found that park patrol observations underrepresented MNP’s mammal community, recording only two-thirds as many species as camera traps over a common sampling period. -
Birding Tour to Ghana Specializing on Upper Guinea Forest 12–26 January 2018
Birding Tour to Ghana Specializing on Upper Guinea Forest 12–26 January 2018 Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Ankasa Resource Reserve (Dan Casey photo) Participants: Jim Brown (Missoula, MT) Dan Casey (Billings and Somers, MT) Steve Feiner (Portland, OR) Bob & Carolyn Jones (Billings, MT) Diane Kook (Bend, OR) Judy Meredith (Bend, OR) Leaders: Paul Mensah, Jackson Owusu, & Jeff Marks Prepared by Jeff Marks Executive Director, Montana Bird Advocacy Birding Ghana, Montana Bird Advocacy, January 2018, Page 1 Tour Summary Our trip spanned latitudes from about 5° to 9.5°N and longitudes from about 3°W to the prime meridian. Weather was characterized by high cloud cover and haze, in part from Harmattan winds that blow from the northeast and carry particulates from the Sahara Desert. Temperatures were relatively pleasant as a result, and precipitation was almost nonexistent. Everyone stayed healthy, the AC on the bus functioned perfectly, the tropical fruits (i.e., bananas, mangos, papayas, and pineapples) that Paul and Jackson obtained from roadside sellers were exquisite and perfectly ripe, the meals and lodgings were passable, and the jokes from Jeff tolerable, for the most part. We detected 380 species of birds, including some that were heard but not seen. We did especially well with kingfishers, bee-eaters, greenbuls, and sunbirds. We observed 28 species of diurnal raptors, which is not a large number for this part of the world, but everyone was happy with the wonderful looks we obtained of species such as African Harrier-Hawk, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Hooded Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Bat Hawk (pair at nest!), Long-tailed Hawk, Red-chested Goshawk, Grasshopper Buzzard, African Hobby, and Lanner Falcon. -
Kakum Natioanl Park & Assin Attadanso Resource Reserve
Kakum Natioanl Park & Assin Attadanso Resource Reserve Kakum and the Assin Attandanso reserves constitute a twin National Park and Resource Reserve. It was gazetted in 1991 and covers an area of about 350 km2 of the moist evergreen forest zone. The emergent trees are exceptionally high with some reaching 65 meters. The reserve has a varied wildlife with some 40 species of larger mammals, including elerpahnats, bongo, red riverhog, seven primates and four squirrels. Bird life is also varied. About 200 species are known to occur in the reserve and include 5 hornbil species, frazer-eagle owl, African grey and Senegal parrots. To date, over 400 species butterflies have been recorded. The Kakum National Park is about the most developed and subscribed eco-tourism site among the wildlife conservation areas. Nini Suhien National Park & Ankasa Resource Reserve Nini Suhien National Park and Ankasa Resources Reserve are twin Wildlife Protected Areas that are located in the wet evergreen forest area of the Western Region of Ghana. These areas are so rich in biodiversity that about 300 species of plants have been recorded in a single hectare. The areas are largely unexplored but 43 mammal species including the bongo, forest elephant, 10 primate species including the endangered Dina monkey and the West African chimpanzee have been recorded. Bird fauna is also rich. The reserves offer very good example of the west evergreen forest to the prospective tourist. The Mole national This park was established in 1958 and re-designated a National Park in 1971. It covers an area of 4,840 km2of undulating terrain with steep scarps. -
Trends and Dynamics of Poaching at the Mole National Park
TRENDS AND DYNAMICS OF POACHING AT THE MOLE NATIONAL PARK by CLETUS BALANGTAA (B.Sc Hons) A Thesis submitted to the Department of Wildlife and Range Management Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, College of Agriculture and Renewable Natural Resources August 2011 i CERTIFICATION I hereby declare that this submission is my own work towards the MPHIL and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person or material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of the University, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text. Presented by: Cletus Balangtaa .............................................. .............................................. Student Name &ID Signature Date . Certified by: Prof.S.K.Oppong .............................................. ............................................... Lead Supervisor Signature Date Certified by: Dr.Danquah ............................................. ............................................... Commented [u1]: Should be Dr.Danquah Head of Dept. Name Signature Date ii ABSTRACT Poaching is one of the major problems in wildlife conservation and management in the Mole National Park ecosystem. Unfortunately, it is not easy to identify poaching hotspots because poaching activities are dynamic and concealed in nature, thus there are no standardized methods to quantify them.This study -
Human Demography and Reserve Size Predict Wildlife Extinction in West Africa Justin S
doi 10.1098/rspb.2001.1815 Human demography and reserve size predict wildlife extinction in West Africa Justin S. Brashares1*, Peter Arcese1 and Moses K. Sam2 1Centre for Applied Conservation Biology, University of British Columbia, 3041^2424 Main Mall,Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaV6T 1Z4 2Ghana Wildlife Division, PO Box M.239, Ministry Post O¤ce, Accra, Ghana Species^area models have become the primary tool used to predict baseline extinction rates for species in isolated habitats, and have in£uenced conservation and land-use planning worldwide. In particular, these models have been used to predict extinction rates following the loss or fragmentation of natural habitats in the absence of direct human in£uence on species persistence. Thus, where direct human in£uences, such as hunting, put added pressure on species in remnant habitat patches, we should expect to observe extinction rates higher than those predicted by simple species^area models. Here, we show that extinction rates for 41 species of large mammals in six nature reserves in West Africa are 14^307 times higher than those predicted by models based on reserve size alone. Human population and reserve size accounted for 98% of the observed variation in extinction rates between reserves. Extinction occurred at higher rates than predicted by species^area models for carnivores, primates and ungulates, and at the highest rates overall near reserve borders. Our results indicate that, where the harvest of wildlife is common, conserva- tion plans should focus on increasing the size of reserves and reducing the rate of hunting. Keywords: edge e¡ect; extinction; human population; mammals; reserve size; species^area relationship extinction rates for 41 species of large mammals in six 1. -
THE AFRICAN LION (Panthera Leo Leo): a CONTINENT-WIDE SPECIES DISTRIBUTION STUDY and POPULATION ANALYSIS
THE AFRICAN LION (Panthera leo leo): A CONTINENT-WIDE SPECIES DISTRIBUTION STUDY AND POPULATION ANALYSIS by Jason S. Riggio Dr. Stuart L. Pimm, Advisor May 2011 Masters project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Environmental Management degree in the Nicholas School of the Environment of Duke University 2011 Abstract Human population growth and land conversion across Africa makes the future of wide-ranging carnivores uncertain. For example, the African lion (Panthera leo leo) once ranged across the entire con- tinent – with the exception of the Sahara Desert and rainforests. It now lives in less than a quarter of its historic range. Recent research estimates a loss of nearly half of the lions in the past two decades. Some sources put their numbers as low as 20,000 individuals. Given these declines, conservation organ- izations propose to list the African lion as “endangered” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and to upgrade the species’ CITES protections from Appendix II to Appendix I. To establish the lion’s current conservation status, I analyzed the size, distribution, and potential connections of populations across its range in Africa. It is particularly important to identify connected sub-populations and areas that can serve as corridors between existing protected areas. I compile the most current scientific literature, comparing sources to identify a current population estimate. I also use these sources to map known lion populations, potential habitat patches, and the connections between them. Finally, I assess the long-term viability of each lion population and determine which qualify as “lion strongholds.” The lion population assessment in this study has shown that over 30,000 lions remain in approx- imately 3,000,000 km2 of Africa. -
BB-Poster-2008.Pdf
Using Camera Trapping Methods to Asses African Wildlife in the Northern Ghana Mole National Park Beth Bonds, Cole Burton, Chantal Stoner Cletus Balangtaa, Moses Sam, and Justin Brashares Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California-Berkeley, USA, and Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission of Ghana Previous studies have produced a great amount of information on animals. Some of these Introduction Left: Red-flanked Duiker. Bottom: Spotted Hyena animals include: giant pandas in China, leopards in Thailand, and tigers in Nepal. More Apprehension of diminishing biodiversity in information on these animals is essential to African wildlife has been confronted by making understand their ecology and to provide for their large protected areas. Understanding the long-term conservation. ecosystem composition of these preserves is On a small scale, photo trap methods can essential to their success. Camera trapping derive an abundance of information on variables methods were applied in isolated Mole National such as patterns of habitat use, spatial distribution, Park (MNP) in northern Ghana in order to population fragmentation, dispersal distances, and measure biodiversity. This method involves Captions to be set in Times or population size. This study was primarily done to Times New Roman or placing trigger sensitive cameras at 1km intervals equivalent, italic, between 18 assess the relative population size of the varying and 24 points. Right aligned if species in the Ghana's National Park. along potential animal paths. The research has it refers to a figure on its right. Caption starts right at the top . edge of the picture (graph or Aardvark given way to significant data on illegal poaching, 500 photo). -
An Exploration of Policy Implementation in Protected
AN EXPLORATION OF POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN PROTECTED WATERSHED AREAS: CASE STUDY OF DIGYA NATIONAL PARK IN THE VOLTA LAKE MARGINS IN GHANA A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science Jesse S. Ayivor March 2007 This thesis entitled AN EXPLORATION OF POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN PROTECTED WATERSHED AREAS: CASE STUDY OF DIGYA NATIONAL PARK IN THE VOLTA LAKE MARGINS IN GHANA by JESSE S. AYIVOR has been approved for the Program of Environmental Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences by Nancy J. Manring Associate Professor of Political Science Benjamin M. Ogles Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Abstract AYIVOR, JESSE S., M.S., March 2007, Program of Environmental Studies AN EXPLORATION OF POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN PROTECTED WATERSHED AREAS: CASE STUDY OF DIGYA NATIONAL PARK IN THE VOLTA LAKE MARGINS IN GHANA (133 pp.) Director of Thesis: Nancy J. Manring The demise of vital ecosystems has necessitated the designation of protected areas and formulation of policies for their sustainable management. This study which evaluates policy implementation in Digya National Park in the Volta Basin of Ghana, was prompted by lack of information on how Ghana Forest and Wildlife policy, 1994, which regulates DNP, is being implemented amidst continues degradation of the Park. The methodology adopted involved interviews with government officials and analysis of institutional documents. The results revealed that financial constraints and encroachment are the main problems inhibiting the realization of the policy goals, resulting in a steady decrease in forest cover within the Park. -
Protected Area Governance and Its Influence on Local Perceptions
land Article Protected Area Governance and Its Influence on Local Perceptions, Attitudes and Collaboration Jesse Sey Ayivor 1,*, Johnie Kodjo Nyametso 2 and Sandra Ayivor 3 1 Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana 2 Department of Environment and Development Studies, Central University, Accra, Ghana; [email protected] 3 College of Education and Human Services, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: jsayivor@staff.ug.edu.gh; Tel.: +233-244213287 Received: 23 June 2020; Accepted: 30 August 2020; Published: 2 September 2020 Abstract: Globally, protected areas are faced with a myriad of threats emanating principally from anthropogenic drivers, which underpins the importance of the human element in protected area management. Delving into the “exclusive” and “inclusive” approaches to nature conservation discourse, this study explored the extent to which local communities collaborate in the management of protected areas and how the governance regime of these areas influences local perceptions and attitudes. Data for the study were collected through stakeholder interviews, focus group discussions as well as a probe into participating groups’ collective perceptions and opinions on certain key issues. A total of 51 focus group discussions were held in 45 communities involving 630 participants. The analysis was done using qualitative methods and simple case counts to explain levels of acceptance or dislike of issues. The results showed that the objectives of state-managed protected areas, by their nature, tend to exclude humans and negatively influence local perceptions and attitudes. This, in addition to human-wildlife conflicts and high handedness by officials on protected area offenders, affects community collaboration. -
Species-Packing of Grazers in the Mole National Park, Ghana
Species-Packing of Grazers in the Mole National Park, Ghana Dakwa, K. B. Department of Conservation Biology and Entomology School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana *Corresponding Author: [email protected] / [email protected] Abstract Hutchinson’s body weight ratio (WR) theory was used to determine the degree of species-packing of 22 species of grazers in Mole National Park (MNP). The hypotheses, which suggest that facilitation is more likely to occur at a WR greater than 2.0, competition at WR less than 2.0, and coexistence at WR equals 2.0 were tested by regressing the natural logarithm of the body mass of a grazer against its rank number in the grazer assemblage. The results indicated competition in the grazer assemblage at MNP as its WR is 1.40 and therefore grazers are tightly packed. However, as several species with similar body weight coexisted at MNP, the Hutchinson’s Rule could not be supported. Habitat heterogeneity rather than the size of conservation area related to species-packing and MNP with its low habitat heterogeneity showed a low degree of species-packing. Possible explanations have been advanced for existing ecological holes within the assemblage. Species-packing could still be a reasonable measure of the characteristics, dynamics, interactions and the patterns of assemble in animal communities. It could also be used to predict the effect of animal species loss or arrival on the stability of a natural ecosystem and provide useful guidelines in planning herbivore conservation measures in protected areas. Introduction in the assemblages of sympatric species in an area. -
2011 Impact of Trophy Hunting
Biological Conservation 144 (2011) 3064–3072 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon The impact of trophy hunting on lions (Panthera leo) and other large carnivores in the Bénoué Complex, northern Cameroon ⇑ B.M. Croes a, P.J. Funston b, G. Rasmussen c,d, R. Buij a, A. Saleh e, P.N. Tumenta a,f, H.H. de Iongh a, a Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, PO Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands b Department of Nature Conservation, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0002, South Africa c Painted Dog Conservation (PDC), Hwange National Park, Box 72, Dete, Zimbabwe d Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK e Ministry of Fauna and Forests (MINFOF), BP 126 Garoua, Cameroon f Department of Forestry, University of Dschang, Cameroon article info abstract Article history: In West and Central Africa large carnivores have become increasingly rare as a consequence of rapid hab- Received 30 June 2011 itat destruction and lack of resources for protected area management. The Bénoué Complex (23,394 km2) Received in revised form 23 September in northern Cameroon is a regionally critical area for large mammal conservation. In the complex lions 2011 (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are formally protected Accepted 25 September 2011 in three national parks and 28 hunting zones. Over-hunting may be having a strong additive effect Available online 3 November 2011 precipitating declines in large carnivore numbers across the complex. -
Abiotic and Anthropogenic Factors Affecting the Distribution of Four Sympatric Large Herbivores in the Mole National Park, Ghana
VOL.Ghana 59 J. Sci. 59 (2018), 23 - 30 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjs.v59i1.223 ABIOTIC AND ANTHROPOGENIC FACTORS AFFECTING THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOUR SYMPATRIC LARGE HERBIVORES IN THE MOLE NATIONAL PARK, GHANA K. B. DAKWA Department of Conservation Biology and Entomology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana Email: [email protected] /[email protected] Abstract The impact of abiotic and anthropogenic factors on the distributions of buffalo (Syncerus caffer), harte- beest (Alcelaphus buselaphus), roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) and waterbuck (Kobus defassa) at Mole National Park was assessed by transect survey. Generalized linear mixed effects logistic re- gression was used to model mammal presence/absence as a function of ecological factors. Hartebeest inhabited highlands and avoided floodplains but buffalo and roan avoided floodplains by selecting both lowlands and highlands while waterbuck inhabited lowlands but not necessarily the floodplains. Fire, water availability and anthropogenic activities were limiting factors, which constrained habitat use to make some areas unexplored for foraging. Buffalo, roan and hartebeest did not inhabit areas close to the park’s boundaries. Herbivores need optimal environment almost free of constraints to construct their distribution patterns. Therefore, management should address the problems identified in this study to ensure the herbivores’ redistribution to maximise their use of resources for their effective conservation. Introduction data on distribution of wildlife in a reserve, Mole National Park (MNP) was established conservation planning will remain inefficient in 1958 for the protection and conservation of and ineffective (Bauer et al., 2010). If we are representative savanna fauna in the northern to manage landscapes to conserve wildlife, part of Ghana.