This community-managed wildlife sanctuary consists of a 34-km stretch of riverine forest, floodplain, and savannah woodland along the Black Volta River, in northwestern Ghana. Created in 1998 in response to the decline of hippopotami in the region due to high levels of hunting, the sanctuary has used revenue from ecotourism to deliver infrastructure investments for the residents of its seventeen member communities.

Through a balancing of ecological and social needs, the sanctuary has delivered substantial conservation and socioeconomic benefits: poaching has been eliminated and the hippo population has stabilized within the sanctuary's core zone, while investments in schools, health facilities, solar lighting, and water infrastructure have improved the wellbeing of approximately 10,000 residents of the sanctuary's development zone. In 2009, the initiative was used as a model for the design of Ghana's Community Resource Management Area legislation.

 

Key Facts 

Equator Prize Winner: 2008
Founded: 1998
Location: Upper West Region, Ghana
Beneficiaries: 720 local households
Biodiversity: 237 bird, 50 mammal and 32 reptile species

 

Case Study

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find other Winners' Case Studies in our E-Library