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Rainforests and Biodiversity
Experts assume that more than 150 species of animal and plant
species are becoming extinct every day in the beginning 21st century.
This alarming process doesn’t exclude the biodiversity of the West
African rainforests and our closest relatives, the primate species of
the world.
Therefore, the Upper Guinean
Rainforest with its unique biodiversity is regarded by the World
Conservation Organization (IUCN) as one of the world’s 25 “hotspots of
biodiversity”. These “hotspots” only cover 1,4 % of the earth’s surface
but they contain more than 60 % of all animal and plant species to be
found on this planet. Therefore they have highest priority for
long-term international conservation efforts.
The
“hotspot” Upper Guinean Rainforest provides habitat for six monkey
species that are being counted among the world’s 25 most endangered
primate species and many other rare animal species. In order to protect
these and to conserve the enormous biological variety of the area WAPCA
will concentrate on this area.
The Upper Guinean Rainforest
A 350 km wide strip of coastal forest
area is called the Upper Guinean Rainforest. It stretches from Sierra
Leone through Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire up to Ghana. In Ghana the Volta
River marks the end of this forest area. In Cote d’Ivoire there is a
v-shaped interruption (the “Baoule-V”) separating the Upper Guinean
Rainforest into an eastern and western part.
In
the eastern part of the Upper Guinean Rainforest live several endemic
animal species, for example the Western black and white colobus
(Colobus polykomos), the Lesser spot-nose monkey (Cercopithecus cephus
petaurista), Zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra), Liberian mongoose
(Liberiictis kuhni), Diana guenon (Cercopithecus diana) and White-naped
mangabey (Cercocebus atys lunulatus).
