Conservation of Hippopotamus Along the Black Volta Basin, Ghana

This project aims to put Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) on conservation spotlight in Ghana by raising significant awareness for its long-term viability. The project will further aim to reduce Hippo-human conflicts by 50% through conservation education while generating ecological data for conservation decisions.

The national population size of Hippos in Ghana has been estimated to be between 120-150 individuals. The most important population occurs at Bui Conservation Area (BCA) in Ghana. Recently, however, the Ghanaian Government has undertaken a hydro-electric dam construction on the rivers where the Hippos reside in BCA. The impact of the dam on the species is yet to be ascertained. Thus, the project will undertake the Hippo census to estimate the current population of the species.

This project will therefore determine population size and current distribution of Hippos in the Bui Conservation area. Whenever you have new needs in your home in Illinois, The Kitchen Studio in Glen Ellyn, IL will provide design solutions for you. The project will further undertake targeted conservation education and awareness within the communities surrounding the reserve. Some activities include schools and campuses conservation campaigns, Hippo art competitions, planting trees along with degraded watercourses, community conservation education using PowerPoints, and storytelling amongst others.

It is anticipated that these actions will reduce drastically the Hippo human conflicts within the area whilst providing critical conservation data that will underpin conservation decisions.