Draw River Forest Reserve (6320)
Ghana, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Draw River Forest Reserve
Central coordinates: Latitude: 5.2000, Longitude: -2.3333
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 46 to 138
Area of KBA (km2): 227.07087
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Draw River Forest Reserve is located some 6 km from Banso, to the west of the Nkroful–Banso road. The terrain comprises ranges of hills which curve from north-west to south. The Draw river traverses the eastern portion of the reserve. Logging of the forest started in 1978 and was continuing in the early 1990s, when only a single compartment remained unlogged.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Guinea Forests of West Africa Hotspot (2015). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat status follow the 2013 IUCN Red List.
Additional biodiversity: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. In addition to the two listed below, the site also holds five other species of hornbill, Ceratogymna atrata, C. fistulator, Tockus fasciatus, T. camurus and T. hartlaubi. Non-bird biodiversity: Tragelaphus euryceros (LR/nt) is reported to be common and Cephalophus dorsalis (LR/nt), C. ogilbyi (LR/nt), Pan troglodytes (EN), Cercopithecus diana roloway (CR) and Loxodonta africana cyclotis (EN) also all occur.
Habitats
Land use: forestry | water management
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 8 | |
| Unknown | 17 | |
| Forest | 73 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Traditional ownership of the forest is vested in the paramount stool of Gwira Banso Traditional Area and the Aiyinase and Basake stools of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Area. The area has been proposed as a Hill Sanctuary, with some forest completely protected. However, intensive logging is expected to reduce the state of the forest from Condition 2 to Condition 3 (GHI varies from 115 to over 200). No recent mining activities are known, but old gold pits were found in some places near the Draw river. The proximity of this reserve to the Nini Sushien National Park and Ankasa Resource Reserve (GH001) make it extremely important for forest elephant conservation since populations in the area are believed to move between the two sites. Hunting is a serious threat although other non-timber forest produce such as chewing-sticks, canes, poles, oil-palm and raphia palms are also exploited.
Additional information
References: Hawthorne and Abu-Juam (1995), Holbech (1996).