MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF VERTEBRATE FAUNA COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF A HIGH FOREST CONSERVATION AREA IN GHANA, 20 YEARS AFTER HEAVY LOGGING

The first major inventory in Kakum Conservation Area (KCA), Ghana was carried out in 1994 after a sustained timber exploitation had been terminated in 1992 to allow for the formulation of a new management plan for a conservation area. However, for about 20 years, apart from staff patrol reports, no independent surveys have been carried out to inventory the vertebrate fauna to compare current presence and abundance status with the results of the 1994 inventory and so whether the vertebrate fauna species composition remains the same or not is not known. The trend of changes to the forest structure has also not been evaluated. Search methods, on- and –off field, lasting for five years, were used to collect data from records and the field to inventory vertebrate fauna while classified images of KCA were used to detect changes to the forest structure. The results indicated that since 1992, the forest canopies have been closing, the vertebrate fauna species richness has been maintained and their habitats improving; these are enough success indicators of the management plan. Currently, illegal hunting and crop damage by elephants are the only challenging problems to the management of KCA. It is proposed that KCA should be flagged to give special protection for the many vertebrate fauna of global conservation significance it harbours and that fencing it all round would be an ideal measure and a good investment.