The Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC) has reinforced national efforts to safeguard one of the country’s most important ecological treasures, the Kakum Conservation Area (KCA), by donating 22 jungle motorbikes, two new laptops, and two GPS devices to the Forestry Commission.
The support, officials say, will deepen ongoing conservation work and strengthen measures to address human–wildlife conflict.
Located about 30 kilometres from Cape Coast, the Kakum Conservation Area is one of Ghana’s most biologically rich forests and forms part of the West Africa Guinea Forest Biodiversity Hotspot.
It is home to around 260 species of birds and more than 40 species of mammals, including endangered forest elephants, pangolins and the bongo antelope.
Spanning 360 square kilometres of tropical high forest, moist evergreen and semi-deciduous forest zones, and large raffia swamps, the area comprises Kakum National Park and the adjoining Assin Attandaso Resource Reserve, which were gazetted as a unified conservation area in 1992.
The forest is bordered by three production reserves, Bempong, Ajuesu, and Apemenim, managed by the Forest Services Division. Together, these landscapes form a critical ecological corridor that supports biodiversity, rural livelihoods, and climate resilience.
Since 2018, the Forestry Commission, Ghana Cocoa Board, NCRC, the Hershey Company, Lindt Cocoa Foundation, Ferrero, Ecom, OFI, local communities, District Assemblies and other partners have jointly implemented the Kakum Cocoa Forest Landscape Project under the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme (GCFRP).
Over the past eight years, the consortium has pursued a “landscape approach” aimed at reducing deforestation, promoting climate-smart cocoa agroforestry, strengthening natural resource governance, and improving livelihoods.
This long-term work is guided by a 20-year vision for a landscape that remains green, biologically diverse, economically productive and socially vibrant—one capable of sustaining farming families while securing the ecological integrity of the Kakum forest.
Achieving this vision requires preventing deforestation, expanding tree cover on farmlands, conserving biodiversity, and improving community wellbeing.
Central to the partners’ collaboration are activities focused on biodiversity conservation, particularly efforts to curb hunting, poaching, illegal logging and the loss of agroforestry habitats.
Another persistent challenge is crop raiding, where elephants and other mammals leave the forest to feed on cocoa and food crops, generating significant losses for farmers and fuelling tensions between communities and protected area managers.
Speaking at the handover ceremony on Friday, November 14, NCRC’s Programmes Director, Dr Rebecca Ashley Asare, emphasised the importance of resourcing frontline teams.
“We have worked with the Wildlife Division for many years on forest protection and cocoa landscape improvement. A recurring issue has been logistical constraints, insufficient tools to support effective monitoring and to minimise wildlife incursions onto farms,” she noted.
“With support from the Hershey Company and the Lindt Cocoa Foundation, and through our MoU with the Wildlife Division, we are providing these items to strengthen park protection and assist both Forestry Commission staff and local communities,” she added.
Manager of Kakum National Park, Alex Agyei, welcomed the donation, saying it would enhance collaborative efforts with surrounding communities.
“The equipment will help us protect the resource, patrol boundary lines, and work with our partners to clamp down on bushmeat hunting and illegal tree felling,” he said. “The motorbikes will improve staff movement during patrols, ensuring more effective protection of the forest.”
Zonal and Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission for the Central, Western and Western North Regions, Richard Ofori-Amanfo, expressed gratitude to NCRC, describing the support as vital for law enforcement.
He encouraged staff to maintain the bikes and equipment properly, adding that Kakum remains one of Ghana’s finest forest ecosystems and an essential asset in national climate and carbon initiatives.
The donation marks the formal transfer of resources to the Wildlife Division, with further distributions expected soon to support Sub-HIA monitoring and patrol teams across the landscape.
These teams, working through a governance structure that includes 12 CREMAs, four Sub-HIAs, and a unifying HIA Management Board, cover more than 96,000 hectares of cocoa forest landscapes around Kakum.
