Atewa Range

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Coordinates: 6°10′0″N0°36′0″W / 6.16667°N 0.60000°W / 6.16667; -0.60000

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Atewa Range (dark red area) with Forest Reserve (lighter green area) Atewa Range.gif
Atewa Range (dark red area) with Forest Reserve (lighter green area)

The Atewa Range (also called the Atiwa-Atwaredu ranges) is in the Akyem Abuakwa region of southeastern Ghana, near the town of Kibi, and south-west of the Kwahu Plateau which forms the south-west boundary of Lake Volta. The range runs roughly north-south, consisting of steep-sided hills with fairly flat summits. It is the last remains of the Cenozoic peneplain that once covered southern Ghana, and contains ancient bauxitic soils. The range is the site of an important forest reserve, and the source of three major rivers.

Akyem Abuakwa describes a Akyem an Akan people traditional entity in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

Ghana Republic in West Africa

Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa. Spanning a land mass of 238,535 km2 (92,099 sq mi), Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south. Ghana means "Warrior King" in the Soninke language.

Kibi, Ghana Town

Kibi or Kyebi is a town and the capital of the East Akim Municipal District, a district in the Eastern Region of south Ghana, on the eastern slopes of the Atewa Range. Kibi lies at an altitude of 318 m, and, Kibi has a 2013 settlement population of 11,677 people.

Forest Reserve

Giant African swallowtail ( Papilio antimachus ) Antimachus.jpg
Giant African swallowtail ( Papilio antimachus )

A large area of the range has been declared a forest reserve, including about 17,400 hectares of upland evergreen forest, rare for Ghana. The reserve is managed by the Forestry Commission of Ghana in collaboration with other stakeholders, key among them is the Okyeman Environment Foundation, which has restricted people from farming in the area and instead is trying to encourage eco-tourism. [1] However, the reserve is under pressure from logging and hunting for bushmeat. It may also be vulnerable to mining exploration activities, since the reserve contains gold deposits as well as low-grade bauxite. [2]

Many of the plant species occur only in this part of Ghana, or in few other localities and part was declared as a specially protected GSBA (Globally significant Biodiversity area) following a national botanic survey of forest reserves by Ghana Forestry Dept. in the 1990s. [3] The forest reserve contains many birds that are rare elsewhere in Ghana including afep pigeon, olive long-tailed cuckoo, African broadbill, least honeyguide, spotted honeyguide, common bristlebill and blue-headed crested-flycatcher. [4] In a 2006 expedition to survey the reserve, scientists discovered two rare and possibly endangered species of primate in the reserve: Geoffroy's pied colobus ( Colobus vellerosus ) and the olive colobus ( Procolobus verus ), as well as 17 rare butterfly species and the critically endangered frog species Conraua derooi . Butterfly species include the Papilio antimachus , which has the widest wingspan in the world and the Mylothris atewa , which may be globally critically endangered. [5]

Afep pigeon species of bird

The afep pigeon, also known as the African wood-pigeon or gray wood-pigeon, is a member of the family Columbidae which lives in the Equatorial Forests of Africa.

The olive long-tailed cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia.

African broadbill species of bird

The African broadbill, also known as the Black-capped Broadbill or Delacour's broadbill is a species of bird in the sub-oscine family Eurylaimidae.

As of 2016, there’s an ongoing campaign to promote Atewa to national park status. [6]

Rivers

The Atewa range is the source of three important rivers: the Ayensu and Densu Rivers which flow south into the Atlantic, and the Birim which makes a long detour north and southwest around the Atewa range before joining the Pra River. The Birim, which flows through all the three of the traditional Akyem areas of Ghana, is an important but declining source of diamonds. [7]

Ayensu River major river in Ghana

Ayensu River is a river in Ghana. It discharges into Ouiba Lagoon, and is surrounded by the Winneba Wetlands. As early as 1939 there were plans to build a bridge along the river near Jahadzi. Geologically, Ayensuadzi-Brusheng Quartz Schists are found in the river area.

Densu River river in Ghana

The Densu River is a 116 km long river in Ghana rising in the Atewa Range. It flows through an economically important agricultural region, supplies half the drinking water to Ghana's capital city of Accra, and ends in an ecologically significant wetlands at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The Densuano Dam and Weija Dam are situated on the Densu River.

Birim River river in Ghana

The Birim River is one of the main tributaries of the Pra River in Ghana and the country's most important diamond-producing area, flowing through most of the width of the Eastern region. The river rises in the east of the Atewa Range, flows north through the gap between this range and the Kwahu Plateau, then runs roughly south-west until it joins the Pra. It gives its name to the Birimian rock formation, which yields most of the gold in the region. Ghana is the second largest producer of gold in Africa.

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Akim Oda Town in Eastern Region

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Western red colobus species of mammal

The western red colobus, also known as the bay red colobus, rust red colobus or Upper Guinea red colobus, is a species of Old World monkey found in West African forests from Senegal to Ghana. All other species of red colobuses have formerly been considered subspecies of P. badius. It is often hunted by the common chimpanzee. In 1994, western red colobus monkeys infected many chimpanzees with Ebola virus when they were hunted and eaten by the chimpanzees.

Wildlife of Cameroon

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Fauna of Ghana

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Conraua derooi is a species of frog in the family Conrauidae. It is found in Togo and Ghana. Common name Togo slippery frog has been coined for this species. Even feared to be extinct, a few populations were found in surveys in 2005–2007, after the species had gone unrecorded for more than 20 years.

Tana River mangabey highly endangered species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family

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Pennants colobus species of mammal

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Ebo Wildlife Reserve

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Niger Delta red colobus species of mammal

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References

  1. "Eco - Fest Foundation at Atewa Range". Biodiversity Reporting Award. June 2001. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  2. "Study of Pristine Ghanaian Forest reveals new, rare and threatened species". Wildlife Extra. December 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  3. Hawthorne, W.D. & M. Abu Juam. 1995. Forest Protection in Ghana.IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
  4. "Atewa Range Forest Reserve". BirdLife International. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  5. "Scientists find many rare species in Ghana forest". Xi'an Jiaotong University. 2007-12-11. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  6. A Rocha Ghana. Save Atewa Forest . Retrieved 27 Oct 2016.
  7. "Sustainable Tourism - An Alternative to the Atewa Bauxite?". National Commission On Culture (Ghana). Retrieved 2009-03-20.