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Ghana: Biodiversity and Tropical Forestry Assessment

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FEdward S. Ayensu Associates Limited SCIENCE, TECilNOLOGY AND ECONOMIC CONSULTANTS GHANA: BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FORESTRY ASSESSMENT EDWARD S. AYENSU AMMISHADDAI ADU EDWIN BARNES With the Assistance of YAA NTIAMOAH-BAIDU CHRIS GORDON OSWALD DZIDZIENVO REPORT SUBMITTED TO USAID MISSION IN GHANA In fulfillment of Contract P1O/T641-0110-3-50035 January 1996 Accra, Ghana P.O. Box 16525, Kotoka International Airport, Accra, Ghana Tel: (233-21) 77-55-54, Fax: (233-21) 77-31-16, Telex: 2685 CRAMER, GH Registered address: 4 Dr. Amilcar Cabral Road. Airport Residential Area Accra Ghana ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge with grateful thanks the assistance received from various persons during the course of the preparation of this report. I am particularly grateful to my collaborators Mr Ammishaddai Adu, Mr Edwin Barnes, Mr Oswald Dzidzienyo, Dr Chris Gordon and Dr Yaa Ntiamoah-Baidu for their contribution. The report has benefited greatly from the draft reports of contributions of the under­ mentioned and their associates for the preparation of the Ghana National Biodiversity Country Study:- Prof. J.S. Djangmah, Prof. E. Laing, Prof. G.C. Clark, Prof. A.A. Oteng-Veboah, Dr J.E. Fleischer, Ms. Gertrude S. Aboagye, Mrs Anna R. Barnes, Prof. A. Baah-Nuakoh, Dr. Kwadwo Tutu, Dr. Kwabia Boateng, Dr. M.A. Odei, Dr S.O. Benneff-Lartey, Dr G.T. Agyepong, Dr. P.C. Acquah, Dr G. Manful, Prof. K. Tuffouh, Mr G. Punguse. I also wish to extend special thanks to the USAID Ghana Mission for providing the opportunity for E.S.A. Associates Ltd to prepare this report. Finally may I thank Ms Julia Kwakye and Ms Audrey Selormey for providing excellent logistical support. Professor Edward S. Ayensu Team Leader TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ... ... .... 2 LIST OF FIGURES ... ... ... ... ... 7 LIST OF TABLES ... ... ... ... 8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 PART A INTRODUCTION 20 Objective of Report ... ... ... ... 20 Methodology ... ... ... ... 20 The role of USAID in Biodiversity and Tropical Forestry 21 Review of Biodiversity ... ... ... ... ... 21 PART B COUNTRY SPECIFIC PHYSICAL, BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT ... 39 Physical Geographical Features ... ... ... 39 Socio-Economic Environment ... ... ... 52 Major Ecosystem Types and Floral/Faunal Assemblages 57 Tropical Forest Ecosystem and its Subtypes ... ... 60 Savanna Ecosystem and its subtypes ... ... 67 Mangrove Ecosystem ... ... ... 73 Rivers, Lakes and Reservoirs ... ... ... 76 Coastal Lagoons and Wetlands ... ... ... 82 The Marine Environment and Ecosystem ... ... 88 Aquatic and Marine Resource Use: Capture Fisheries 93 Land Use and its relevance to Biodiversity and Tropical Forestry 95 Land Use Technologies, Deforestation and Desertification 103 Critical Habitats & Plant &Animal Species of Conservation Concern ... ... ... ... ... ... 110 Critical sites ... ... .... ... 110 National Parks, Nature and Resource Reserves, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Ramsar sites ... 111 Ghanaian Wild Animal Species of Conservation Concern 121 Commercially Endangered Plants 124 3 PART C RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE ENVIRONMENT 126 Policy Environment 126 Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology ... 126 Ministry of Lands and Forestry ... ... ... ... 128 Ministry of Food and Agriculture ... ... ... ... 129 Ministry of Mines and Energy ... ... ... 130 Forest Management 131 Management System ... ... ... ... 131 The Reserve System ... ... ... ... 133 The Unreserved System ... ... ... ... ... 134 Forest Protection ... ... ... ... ... 137 Research into Forestry and utilization of Forest Products 138 Tropical Hardwood Industry ... ... ... ... 140 Wildlife Management ... ... ... ... ... ... 141 Ghana W ildlife Policy ... ... ... ... ... 141 Wildlife Protected Areas ... ... ... ... 142 Conservation outside Protected Areas ... ... ... 144 Effectiveness of Current Wildlife Conservation Strategies 148 Threats to Wildlife Resources ... ... ... ... 150 Management of Biodiversity ... ... ... ... ... 152 Institutional Arrangements ... ... ... ... ... 155 Government Departments Ghana Wildlife Department ... ... ... ... 155 Forestry Department ... ... ... 157 Environmental Protection Agency ... ... ... ... 158 Research Institutions Council for Scientific and Industrial Research ... 155 Centre for Research into Plant Medicine ... ... 157 Universities of Ghana ... ... ... ... 158 4 Non-Governmental Organizations Ghana W ildlife Society ... ... ... ... ... 160 Ghana Association for the Conservation of Nature ... 161 Friends of the Zoo ... ... ... ... ... 161 Green Forum ... ... ... ... ... 161 National, Collaborative and International Programmes concerning Biodiversity and Tropical Forestry ... 161 National Environmental Action Plan ... ... ... 161 Tropical Forectry Action Plan ... ... ... 162 Forest Resources Management Project ... ... ... 163 International Tropical Timber Agreement ... ... 164 UNESCO: Man and the Biosphere ... ... ... 164 Cooperative Integrated Project on Savanna Ecosystems in Ghana (CIPSEG) ... ... ... ... ... 165 United Nations University ... ... ... ... ... 166 UNCED and the Convention on Biodiversity ... ... 166 Policy and Legislation ... ... ... 167 Forestry ... ... ... ... ... 168 W ildlife ... ... ... ... ... 171 Aquatic and Marine Environments ... ... ... 174 Land ... ... ... ... ... 178 PART D CONCLOSIONS, DATA NEEDS, RESERACH GAPS AND PROPOSED ACTIONS ... ... ... ... ... 179 Biodiversity ... ... ... ... ... 182 Forestry ... ... ... ... ... 183 W ildlife ... ... .. .. ... 184 Land Use ... ... ... ... 189 Aquatic and Marine Resources: Capture Fisheries ... 192 PART E POLICY OPTIONS AND PROPOSED ACTIONS FOR USAID'S CONSIDERATION ... ... ... ... 194 REFERENCES 204 PART F APPENDICES Scope of Work . ... ... 212 List of Appointments and Interviews ... ... ... 214 Team Member Qualifications ... ... ... 215 LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1 Ghana: Relief ... ... ... ... ... 40 Fig. 2 Ghana: Geology ... ... ... ... ... 41 Fig. 3 Ghana: Physiographic Regions ... ... ... 42 Fig. 4 Ghana: Drainage ... ... ... ... ... 44 Fig. 5 Ghana: Mean Annual Rainfall ... ... ... 46 Fig. 6 Ghana: Mean Annual Temperature ... ... 47 Fig. 7 Ghana: Vegetation ... ... ... ... ... 48 Fig. 8 Ghana: Soils ... ... ... ... ... 51 Fig. 9 Map of West Africa Showing Extent of Biogeographic Zones in Ghana ... ... ... ... ... 59 Fig. 10 Map of the Drainage Basins of Ghana ... ... 77 Fig. 11 Map of the Volta Lake ... ... ... ... 80 Fig. 12 Territorial Waters of Ghana ... ... ... 89 Fig. 13 Distribution of Commercial Crops ... ... ... 97 Fig. 14 Area of Mine Concentration in Ghana ... ... 101 Fig. 15 Location of Wildlife Protected Areas in Relation to Vegetation Formation Groups ... ... 113 Fig. 16 Forest, Wildlife and Game Reserves ... ... 114 7 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Forest Species thouglht to be Endemic inGhana ... ... 64 Table 2 Area of Land Covered by the Vegetation Types in Ghana ... 68 Table 3 Status of Typical animals recorded inForest and Savanna Protected Area inGhana ... 70 Table 4 Mangrove and Associated Flora inGhana ... ... 74 Table 5 Some Common Faunal Components of Ghanaian Mangroves ... ... 75 Table 6 Drainage Areas and Run-Offs Yields of the Main River Basins of Ghana ... ... 76 Table 7 Length of Major Rivers and their Flow Ranges ... ... 78 Table S Territorial Waters of Ghana ... ... 88 Table 9 Sedimentological Sub-Divisions of the Continental Shelf of Ghana ... ... 88 Table 10 Coastline Length of Ghana ... 90 Table 11 Wildlife Conservation Areas inGhana ... ... 112 Table 12 Species Records of Faunal Groups inDifferent Wildlife Protected Areas ... 121 Table 13 Threatened Species of Wild Animals Occuring inGhana ... 123 Table 14 List of Animals in Ghanaian Zoos ... ... 146 Table 15 Ghana Wildlife Department Staff Strength (as at October 1994) ... ... 157 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The objective of this report is to present a concise review and evaluation of what is currently known of the entire range of Ghana's biodiversity and tropical forest resources and the state of their management. In the discussion of the management of these resources, an evaluation is made of current practices for their exploitation and conservation in so far as they promote or detract from sustainability. Measures required for deriving enhanced socio-economic benefits from Ghana's biodiversity and tropical forests which take into full account the critical problems and constraints and the needs of conservation and sustainability of these biological resources are highlighted. These issues have led to the provision of recommendations which are intended to assist USAID prepare a strategic plan for assistance to Ghana covering the period 1997 to 2001. Methodology The team made a desk audit of available information on Ghana's biodiversity and tropical forestry. The large body of information on biodiversity which is contained in various documents available in institutions, including World Conservation and Monitoring Centre, (WCMC) Cambridge, UK, World Resources Institute and the Smithsonian Institution were consulted. Following this desk audit, field work was undertaken during which various individuals and organizations were consulted. This involved eliciting information on policies of various sector Ministries which are concerned directly or indirectly with biological diversity and tropical forest resources of Ghana. These included the Ministries responsible for Environment, Science and Technology, Food and Agriculture, Lands and Forestry, Mines and Energy. Discussions were also held with scientists and officials of the technical Departments of various
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