In southwestern Ghana, a patchwork of tropical forest lies among widespread farmland dotted with towns.
In southwestern Ghana, a patchwork of tropical forest lies among widespread farmland dotted with towns. These forest fragments are remnants of the Upper Guinean forest of West Africa, a biodiversity hotspot that has been diminished by human activity and fires.
Primates, elephants, hippopotamuses, and butterflies are among the thousands of animals that live in the region’s primary forests, which are almost entirely within a network of forest reserves. But satellite images indicate that these protected forest remnants have become even smaller in recent decades. The false-color images above, acquired by the Landsat 4 and Landsat 9 satellites, show 12 protected forest reserves and Bia National Park in the Bia-Goaso forest district in 1989 (left) and 2023 (right). The forested canopies of the reserves are dark green, whereas the surrounding landscape is lighter green.
“This area has historically been important forest habitat for biodiversity, but elephant populations have declined precipitously because of human encroachment and habitat degradation,” said Michael Wimberly, a professor of geography and environmental sustainability at the University of Oklahoma. The photograph below, taken by Wimberly, shows intact forests in a reserve east of the Bia-Goaso region.
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Image: Photograph of the Bobiri forest reserve in Ghana by Michael Wimberly.
