Boabeng–Fiema Monkey Sanctuary – an example of traditional conservation in Ghana

Abstract

Villagers who live in the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary have traditionally had a taboo against killing the black-and-white colobus Colobus polykomos and mona monkey Cercopithecus campbelli, which inhabit the forest around their villages. The sanctuary is an important example of how traditional values in Ghana have resulted in wildlife conservation. The author, partly funded from the Oryx 100% Fund, carried out an assessment of the current status of the forest and monkey populations. He found that the monkeys are not immediately threatened but that some of the forest that the monkeys rely on has become degraded or destroyed. Further erosion of the forest should be minimized by careful planning of future village expansion, constructing fire-breaks and controlling farming activities along the forest perimeter.