Multi-species conservation planning of Ghana’s threatened tree species

Project: Ongoing

Funded by: Foundation Franklinia

Project Partner: Ghana Threatened Tree Network

With so many tree species at risk of extinction, there is a desperate need to scale up conservation action, whilst also ensuring that actions are still tailored as much as possible to the requirements of individual species. To avoid the duplication of effort and to maximise impact, BGCI is leading in the development of approaches that coordinate and mobilise multi-species conservation at the national level.

Project Goals

The goal of this project was to work with the IUCN/SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group and CSIR-FORIG, to host an in-person workshop to plan conservation action for Ghana’s threatened trees.

Key Achievements

Representatives from 17 organisations including government, NGOs, and academic institutions attended the workshop. In preparation for the workshop baseline data on the target species was collected. A template of the data collected can be found here. A visioning exercise resulted in a qualitative description of what the successful recovery of Ghana’s threatened trees would look like. After the session, participants’ contributions were translated into a set of measurable goals. Four working groups then discussed the key barriers to the effective conservation of the target species and the priority strategies to overcome them were identified.

A session was also held on which tools are needed to maintain momentum, reduce duplication of efforts, and build and sustain partnerships for the identified conservation actions. Based on the outputs of the workshop, a national conservation strategy has been published and will provide a roadmap to future conservation activities in the country.

Following its publication, Fondation Franklinia opened a call for proposals, specifically targeting Ghana to support the implementation of the plan. As a result, seven institutions have received funding to conserve at least 38 threatened tree species. BGCI worked with FORIG to submit a successful application to coordinate the implementation of the plan.