Accra Has 142 Bird Species

The Ghana Wildlife Society (GWS) has launched a report on birds of the Accra Metropolis titled "Urban Birds; a tool for sustainable development and planning".

The GWS with financial support from Standard Chartered Limited carried out an all year round survey on urban birds to document the occurrence of the birds in the Accra Metropolis and its surroundings. A total of 142 species of birds belonging to 38 family groups were recorded. This represents 20% of the total species recorded in Ghana. The report said Achimota and Legon were the most important habitat for birds in the metropolis, however a significant number of birds in terms of individuals were recorded in well planned residential areas such as Ridge, Cantonment and Roman Ridge.

The result of the survey suggests that the metropolis still holds a good representation of birds occurring within the Coastal Savannah Vegetation.

Professor Clement Dorm-Adzobu, Executive Director of GWS said birds are known to be good indicators of the quality of the environment. Therefore, a well collated and documented data on birds is a source of vital informal for quantifying and qualifying environmental changes and deterioration.

He said the Accra Metropolis has tremendous infrastructional development and has expanded to hitherto fallow and uninhabited areas, which has drastically changed the landscape that served as the natural habitats of birds and other wildlife. He said, GWS' vision is to conserve wildlife in all its forms, through their protection.

Prof. Dorm-Adzobu appealed to donors to support the work of the society by funding research activities on the wildlife species, and thanked Stanchart for their support.

Mr. Henry Dodoo-Amoo, Stanchart Area Credit Officer, West Africa received the report on behalf of Stanchart and the Minister of Presidential Affairs, Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey. He said people need to be educated about the essence of birds and the information should be shared with policy makers.

The report was also presented to the police, the Ga Traditional Council, and the Metropolitan Chief Executive.

The report will serve as a base line for future habitat review.