Discovering Species

The RAP team surveyed the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in June 2006. The reserve lies within two climatic zones: the dry and the wet semi-equatorial transition zone. Three sites were surveyed during the RAP which ranged from lowland and some valley forests, to highland forest in the upper elevations.  In addition, the fish and dragonfly teams sampled streams and rivers and the associated standing water habitats.

The results strongly suggested that the biological community present at Atewa represents a very rare example of a relatively intact West African forest, a highly unusual and (from a conservation perspective) highly significant finding. Although Atewa showed signs of being slightly degraded, for the most part, it was considered to be in good condition having many diverse plants. 

All taxonomic groups surveyed were found to include unique species representative of Upper Guinean rainforest fauna. Atewa has a very high and unique diversity of dragonflies and butterflies, as well as primates that are highly threatened throughout West Africa. The RAP results added to previous biological data in several ways, most notably by showing that Atewa is an important site for amphibians.

All of the unique and diverse species documented, especially of amphibians, dragonflies, damselflies, and fishes, are dependant on the clean and abundant water that originates in Atewa for their survival. Millions of people from Ghana also depend on this water source, which is provided by the plateau formations that soak up rain and mist and then hold, clean and discharge the water for all to utilize.

Species Found