Good afternoon everybody. My name is Shoko Mori. I’m going to go to Ghana as a rural community development officer. My assignment is to help improve the livelihood of local people who live in forest reserve area. Today, I’d like to talk about 2 topics relating to nature conservation; Mole National Park, and the project of environmental preservation of JICA. National parks in Ghana have important roles in nature conservation. In addition, JICA’s forestry project will last end next month where I am going to go. My presentation will take 10 minutes and is divided into 4 parts; 1st is location of Mole national park, 2nd is wildlife in the park, and 3rd is about other attractions. Finally, I will talk about the JICA’s forestry project. If you have any question, please keep them until the end of presentation.
Shall we start? OK, let’s start with part one.
First, I’d like to talk about location of Mole National Park. ( with map)
There are many national parks in Ghana. Ghana has a variety of natural areas, such as tropical forests in the south, savannahs in the north, and a transitional area between them located in the center of the land. Mole National Park is located in northern savannah area, and from 170 kilometers west of Tamale which is the 3rd largest city in Ghana. The park is 4840 square kilometers the largest game reserve. It takes 12 hours from the capital city Accra to Tamale, and 6 hours from Tamale to Mole by bus. The roads are difficult to reach, but a stunning panorama awaits you!
Second is about the wildlife in Mole. (with pictures)
You can see more than 90 species of mammals, 30 species of reptiles; such as snakes or lizard, and 300 species of birds in the park. The mammals include 600 elephants, 2000 antelopes, 3000 hartebeests, 4000 waterbucks, (actually, these 3 mammals are similar herbivorous which have big horns and run very fast) 5000 buffalo and 6000 warthogs. It is also home to uncounted leopards, hyenas, and various monkeys. But the last lion, discovered in 2004 and was been killed by poachers. And you can go on a walking or car safari with an experienced and armed ranger for each group. It is strictly prohibited to walk outside the motel without them. But this trekking safari lead you the direct contact with nature!
Third is about other attractions. (with pictures)
There is a beautiful water fall in the park, Kintampo Waterfall. And on a way to Mole from Tamale, you can drop at in Larabanga. You can find well preserved mud and stick Mosque. Local people believed that it was the oldest mosque in Ghana and is still a precious place for them. And you can see this kind of beautiful mosque more in Upper West region. So, Mole National parks contribute to preserve not only a variety of wild life, but also the natural resources and the cultural heritage.
And finally, I’d like to talk about the forestry project held by JICA in the middle of the land, called the Transitional area between tropical forest and savannah. This area is very important natural resources to protect from desertification. So JICA has been conducting forestry project about 10 years in Sunyani city, in Brong Afaho region where I am going to live and work. The project is named PAFORM, Participatory Forest Resource Management Project in the Transitional Zone. PAFORM is not only the project of forest resource management with local people, but also giving the opportunities of plantation around the forest reserve area, and income generation activities. I am looking forward to participating in these activities successfully.
To summarize my presentation, one point is that Mole National Park is the largest eco-tourism site in Ghana and plays an important role in preserving the natural resources. The other is that JICA helpes to conserve nature with local people in Ghana. My assignment is to help improve the livelihood of forestry in preserved areas. Development and environmental preservation are one of the most difficult global issues, as related to the MDGs are said so. Do you remember the 7th Goal? The answer is ‘ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY’. Sustainable development is our hard but common goal. I believe that we can find a way to work out in your own host countries.
Thank you for listening.
